A borderline personality disorder is characterized by continuous instability in a person’s self _image, changes in the mood of the person most of the time, and even break-ups in close personal relationships which always leads to distress and loss of friendships. People with this kind of borderline personality disorder are taken to be intelligent, very friendly, and clever. They can keep this good mood for some time until they are destructed again maybe by a stressful and distressing circumstance like the loss of a loved one or a rejection by a close friend. People with this disorder do behave in a very weird manner, are afraid of being alone, act in a way that hurt others, they always see themselves as bad people in the world when they are in the company of other people and they always see themselves as being on the wrong side or doing something bad most of the time. Therefore, it’s hard for them to keep or maintain close relationships as they are so short-tempered and react so fast to situations that annoy them. These people lack a sense of self-identity and thus they always end up being promiscuous, alcoholics, arrogant, and even are in danger of committing suicide.
A borderline personality disorder is a result of childhood abuse by parents or guardians, it can also be inherited from the family though this is not so common, maybe as a result of brain insanity which is involved in changes in emotions and aggression, relationships which are meaningless and sexual harassment (Arthur, 2004).
Current trends in diagnosis and treatment of this borderline personality disorder are based mainly on signs and major symptoms, it is recommended that it be carried out by a professional doctor through a serious psychological evaluation to ensure that the right diagnosis process is followed to be in a position to attend to the patient with borderline personality disorder correctly, by giving the patient the right medication and therapy needed so that they can get cured effectively.
Therefore, for one to be diagnosed with borderline personality disorder there are certain criteria to be followed. This criterion is found in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of mental disorders. This is a manual used by professionals and therapists in diagnosing mental problems in a patient so that they can know the specific problem they are dealing with and how to offer proper treatment and medication for such a condition in the required manner. Professionals recommend that to diagnose a borderline personality disorder, the following symptoms should be available; high rate of fear of rejection by people around for example the loved ones like parents, wives, or husbands, frequent breakups in relationships, instability in self-image, absence of self-identity, frequent mood swings, being so high in temper and portraying behaviors which are weird and very destructive. Diagnosis of this borderline personality disorder is mainly done in adults and not in children or adolescents because these are still growing up and those signs that may be taken for borderline disorders may just pass away with time.
Borderline personality disorder treatment includes psychotherapy, medications, or one being hospitalized for some time to avoid him or her from hurting him/herself. The most effective treatment for borderline personality disorder is psychotherapy which includes dialect behavior therapy. This therapy is carried out in an individual, group, or through phone guiding and canceling. They use skills that can help one to regulate emotions, persevere depression and stress, and promote their relationships. Another therapy given to patients with this disorder is transference-focused psychotherapy. According to (Mellon, 1996) this mainly enhances the relationship between the patient and their therapists attending to them. It helps the patient to be in a position to understand the problem and emotions that occur in that friendship, and thus one can use this in other relationships.
Medication can only be used in curing problems such as depression and anxiety but not in curing borderline personality disorders. When the disorder becomes so high the patient may be recommended to be hospitalized for his good and safety (Marsha, 1993).
A borderline personality disorder is common and is a very serious disorder which needs fast and professional attendance of the patient so as help them avoid personal destructions such as committing suicide, physical fights with other people, reduce on divorces rates occurring as a result of this disorder and reduce on the frequent relationship break-ups. It is advised not to diagnosis borderline personality disorder to children below the age of eighteen because they are still adolescents and therefore still growing up and those signs and symptoms seen may disappear with time. Therefore this diagnosis is only done to adults who have reached maturity levels and portray signs and symptoms of borderline personality disorder. A borderline personality disorder is mostly recognized by the frequent mood swing which is an easily recognized sign in patients suffering from it; it’s also noticed by the frequent breakups in relationships either with the person’s close friends or even relatives.
Reference List
- Arthur, F. (2004). Borderline personality disorder: a patient’s guide to taking control. New York: Norton & company.
- Marsha, L. (1993). Cognitive-behavioral treatment of borderline personality disorder. New York: Guilford Press.
- Mellon, T. (1996). Disorders of Personality: DSM-IV-TM and Beyond. New York: John Wiley and Sons.