Definition

[little_lily613]

What exactly is Borderline Personality Disorder?

G~d bless!
~Lily~

 

[madison1101]

Simply put, it is a deeply ingrained, maladaptive pattern of thinking, feeling and behaving.

According to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual for Psychiatric Disorders, 4th Ed. Text Revision:

"
Official Criteria for Borderline Personality Disorder
A pervasive pattern of instability of interpersonal relationships, self-image, and affects, and marked impulsivity beginning by early adulthood and present in a variety of contexts, as indicated by five (or more) of the following:

1) frantic efforts to avoid real or imagined abandonment
2) a pattern of unstable & intense interpersonal relationships characterized by alternating between extremes of idealization and devaluation
3) identity disturbance: markedly and persistent unstable self-image or sense of self
​

4) impulsivity in at least two areas that are potentially self-damaging (e.g. spending, sex, substance abuse, reckless driving, binge eating)
5) recurrent suicidal behavior, gestures or threats, or self-mutilating behavior
6) affective instability due to a marked reactivity of mood (e.g., intense episodic dysphoria, irritability, or anxiety usually lasting a few hours and only rarely more than a few days)
7) chronic feelings of emptiness
8) inappropriate, intense anger or difficulty controlling anger (e.g., frequent displays of temper, constant anger, recurrent physical fights)
9) transient, stress related paranoia or severe dissociative symptoms"

To receive the diagnosis, a person must have five of the nine criteria.
​

 

[BelovedWord]

Hello,

Madison gave the DSM-IV criteria for BPD. I have lived with this disorder all my life. I often got angry, violent, made poor financial decisions (spend all my money on things I want instead of paying bills), and my relationships both personal and career wise were total failures. BPD is an emotional disorder. The National Association of Mental Illness (NAMI) is proposing to change the name from Borderline Personality Disorder to Emotional Dysregulation Disorder. Most people with BPD suffered some sort of physical, sexual and or emotional abuse in some form or other. Not all have these but most have at least one. Some don't have any at all. It is caused by a chemical imbalance in the brain caused by decreased serotonin and dopamine.

Me personally, I suffered from sexual and emotional abuse as a child and young adult. I reacted by acting out and being a problem. BPD sufferers often view the world in black & white, while others without BPD view the world as a gray, or happy median. BPD sufferers also have the god-like and god-less type of thinking, meaning that people in their lives are viewed as all good and on your side, or they are all against you.

I had to take a year and a half to change the way I think and to come in contact with my emotions and gain coping skills. It is a hard road to be on, but with the right help and frame of mind and the will to get better and enjoy life it is possible to overcome it.

There is alot that I left out about BPD and if you want to know more, please let me know and I will help you.

God Bless,
Brian

 

[madison1101]

Hello,

Madison gave the DSM-IV criteria for BPD. I have lived with this disorder all my life. I often got angry, violent, made poor financial decisions (spend all my money on things I want instead of paying bills), and my relationships both personal and career wise were total failures. BPD is an emotional disorder. The National Association of Mental Illness (NAMI) is proposing to change the name from Borderline Personality Disorder to Emotional Dysregulation Disorder. Most people with BPD suffered some sort of physical, sexual and or emotional abuse in some form or other. Not all have these but most have at least one. Some don't have any at all. It is caused by a chemical imbalance in the brain caused by decreased serotonin and dopamine.

Me personally, I suffered from sexual and emotional abuse as a child and young adult. I reacted by acting out and being a problem. BPD sufferers often view the world in black & white, while others without BPD view the world as a gray, or happy median. BPD sufferers also have the god-like and god-less type of thinking, meaning that people in their lives are viewed as all good and on your side, or they are all against you.

I had to take a year and a half to change the way I think and to come in contact with my emotions and gain coping skills. It is a hard road to be on, but with the right help and frame of mind and the will to get better and enjoy life it is possible to overcome it.

There is alot that I left out about BPD and if you want to know more, please let me know and I will help you.

God Bless,
Brian

I also had suffered with BPD from my early teens till a few years ago, probably close to 38 years. I have also researched BPD for fifteen years, and there is little evidence that BPD is caused by a chemical imbalance. My therapist never supported that theory at all. It is not organic, but learned. Comorbid depression could be caused by chemical imbalance, but not the personality disorder.

For me, BPD was a set of learned patterns that could be unlearned. I am now cured of it, and no longer have the diagnosis. The patterns were learned because of the traumatic events that occurred in my childhood, especially abandonment in my infancy.

NAMI is not the body of psychiatrists and therapists who write the DSM-IV-TR. They are probably working with the DSM-IV writers on the change of the name of the diagnosis.

In that your name says you are a Christian counselor, I assume you have researched BPD with emperical research. I would be interested in learning what authors you have studied, because I am a therapist working in a psychiatric hospital and am always adding to my library.

 

[Ave Maria]

I kind of like to think of my borderline personality disorder as having bipolar disorder but on a more frequent scale. Why? Because my moods often go from one extreme to the next within a matter of minutes...

 

[little_lily613]

Thank you all for your responses! G~d bless,
~Lily~

 

[BelovedWord]

I also had suffered with BPD from my early teens till a few years ago, probably close to 38 years. I have also researched BPD for fifteen years, and there is little evidence that BPD is caused by a chemical imbalance. My therapist never supported that theory at all. It is not organic, but learned. Comorbid depression could be caused by chemical imbalance, but not the personality disorder.

For me, BPD was a set of learned patterns that could be unlearned. I am now cured of it, and no longer have the diagnosis. The patterns were learned because of the traumatic events that occurred in my childhood, especially abandonment in my infancy.

NAMI is not the body of psychiatrists and therapists who write the DSM-IV-TR. They are probably working with the DSM-IV writers on the change of the name of the diagnosis.

In that your name says you are a Christian counselor, I assume you have researched BPD with emperical research. I would be interested in learning what authors you have studied, because I am a therapist working in a psychiatric hospital and am always adding to my library.

Hi Madison,

I am not a mental health counselor, so I posted from my personal experiences and learned knowledge from my own therapist and the various books I have read for my own healing. My christian counseling does deal with depression and crisis situations. I also do drug/alcohol addictions counseling. I apologize if I came across as a mental health counselor, as I am not certified in that area. Thank you for your comments my friend!

In His Service,
Brian