Borderline personality disorder is a frequently encountered psychiatric health problem today. As a result of conducted research, differences experienced in social life and family relationships increase the frequency of personality disorders. Furthermore, personality disorders also pave the way for serious problems in family communication, as well as social and occupational adjustment. While in past times it was thought that personality disorders could not be treated, today this situation has become quite the opposite.
Borderline personality disorder is a mental illness that causes problems in an individual's way of thinking and understanding an event, his feelings toward the other party, and his interpersonal communication. The word ‘borderline’, which names the illness, means ‘on the border, uncertain’. The reason for this is that at the time borderline personality disorder was initially named, it was determined as a boundary between two mental problems defined as neurosis and psychosis. Borderline personality disorder generally manifests itself during adolescence and early adulthood. Borderline personality disorder is more common in women than in men.
What Are the Symptoms of Borderline Personality Disorder?
Instant mood changes may occur in individuals with borderline personality disorder. Individuals with this illness mostly feel the need to question their purpose in life, their roles, their identities, and their life goals, and the answers they give to these questions can change rapidly.
Individuals with this illness observe the events they experience in a clear-cut manner. According to these people, when an event occurs, it is either very good or very bad. There is no middle ground for anything. The opinions developed by individuals experiencing borderline personality disorder about other people may change suddenly. There is no reason for his opinions to change. For example, he may become very close friends with someone one day, and act the next day as if he hates that person. For this reason, he experiences ups and downs in his relationships with others. Along with these, these individuals enter into excessive emotions and exhibit exaggerated behaviors in their emotional relationships. We can list the symptoms of borderline personality disorder as follows;
- Rapid mood swings towards family and friends
- The person's inability to feel belonging anywhere
- Developing a sense of trust rapidly
- Engaging in harmful behaviors
- Having suicidal thoughts or attempting suicide
- Not paying attention while driving, bad habits, spending excessive money, inability to control impulses
- Rapidly changing emotions
- Inability to control anger
- Feeling of emptiness
Symptoms such as having unfounded suspicions about other people and experiencing insecurity can also be observed.
Not all symptoms may be observed in people experiencing borderline personality disorder. While some people have all of the symptoms, some individuals may experience only a few symptoms. The rate, timing, and intensity of the observed symptoms may vary from person to person. The occurrence of symptoms can affect certain events in daily life. Events such as arguments and separations usually experienced in emotional relationships in individuals with this illness can lay the groundwork for the occurrence of symptoms.
What Causes Borderline Personality Disorder?
The events causing this illness have not been fully clarified. However, the presence of certain factors influences the development of this disorder. For example, it is observed that the genetic structure has an effect on the development of the illness. In studies conducted to better observe the progression of the disorder, some differences in functioning were detected between the brain structure of an individual in good health and a person with borderline disorder. Exactly a link between these changes and the disorder could not be established solely.
The proportion of borderline patients who have experienced conditions such as neglect, abuse, and abandonment during childhood is high. These events occurring at a young age are also a factor in the development of the disorder. Mental disorders occur with the successive occurrence of many different events. Therefore, we cannot say that borderline personality disorder is seen in every individual or family experiencing a bad event.
What Problems Does Borderline Personality Disorder Lead To?
Borderline patients may experience significant problems in their daily lives. The lives of individuals whose disorder is unclear, undiagnosed, and not treated properly are adversely affected due to this illness. We can list the problems caused by borderline personality disorder as follows;
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Dropping out of education
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Instability at work, losing his job
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Disagreements within emotional relationships, experiencing serious problems in marriage, separation
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Behaving destructively in interpersonal relationships
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Committing acts that require imprisonment
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Suicide attempt
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Acting on his impulses and therefore encountering problems such as unintended pregnancy, drug addiction, alcohol addiction, fighting with other individuals
Borderline illness causes adverse problems in many different areas, from a person's health to his personal life, from his financial situation to his criminal record. The individual needs to receive treatment in order to adapt to his life in a more robust, healthy way and to be protected from the different effects of the disorder.
Since mental disorders generally do not create significant physical problems in the person, both the patient and the patient's family may ignore this situation. However, some psychiatric disorders also have negative effects in every area of life. Therefore, individuals exhibiting symptoms of the disorder need to see a specialist. Diagnosing borderline illness without delay causes the person to recover without a bad effect on his life.
How Is Borderline Personality Disorder Diagnosed and Treated?
The diagnosis of this illness is determined as a result of the doctor listening to the person's history, the results of certain tests applied to the patient, psychological analysis, the person's past illnesses and control, symptoms, and the evaluation of the person.
The diagnosis of this illness is especially for adult individuals. Symptoms of borderline personality disorder in childhood and adolescence may pass as the child grows older. Therefore, this illness is generally not diagnosed in the young age group.
The main method applied for treatment is the psychotherapy method. In necessary cases, drug treatment can be recommended in addition to psychotherapy. If the specialist is concerned about the safety of the patient, he may deem hospitalization appropriate for the individual.
Borderline personality disorder is not an illness that responds to treatment immediately. One needs to be patient during the treatment process and it may take time for the person to feel well. The patient's family and environment should also support him during this process.
