Borderline personality disorder is a hard-mental disease to diagnose, according to The National Institute of Mental health the definition of borderline personality disorder is: “… a serious mental disorder marked by a pattern of ongoing instability in moods, behavior, self-image, and functioning. These experiences often result in impulsive actions and unstable relationships” (pg 1). When we look at that definition alone this is a very vague description of the disorder that anyone that is experiencing just a rough time in life, can be diagnosed with this mental disorder. Roughly about 3 million Americans are diagnosed with borderline personality disorder a year. To find out who really has this mental disorder we should look at case studies, …show more content…
The first case study that I found was of a 26-year-old female named Dal who was diagnosed with borderline personality disorder just by the way of her relationships and her attitude towards them, which would be strong willed not easily to be run over. Now just by looking at her age and how many relationships she said she has had that were serious, which would be six, I believe that she is too young to be considered to even have had one serious relationship. Being her age and the relationships, she has stated that she has been in seriously, is ridiculous. If she has had one partner a year, in which I doubt, that means she has had one partner since the age of maybe 19 or 20. At this age it is hard to even know who you are and what you want in life to even be serious with someone else. I believe her immaturity and little life experiences attributed to her rage, anger and lashing out in her relationships. She has admitted to getting physical and into heated arguments with some of her partners. And with a relationship per year where is the time for self-reflection, there is none, before wounds and scars are healed she has dove into another mentally demanding position in the blink of an …show more content…
Kriesman wrote in his article Is Borderline Personality a Woman’s Disease? He believes that women are treated better than men when it comes to emotions and lashing out, while us women get the diagnoses of borderline personality disorder men get jail time and reprimanded for acting out in such ways. In two clinical studies that were conducted after clinicians were presented with patient’s symptoms, they were told later what the sex was of the case studies, and reports indicate that only after indicating the participant as male or female that is when the diagnoses of borderline personality disorder increased. So, in fact clinicians do associate this disease with being a woman’s
Torgersen, S. (2009). The nature (and nurture) of personality disorders. Scandinavian Journal of Psychology, 50(6), 624-632. doi:10.1111/j.1467-9450.2009.00788.x
Denise Gilmartin, a 26 year old female, exhibits behaviors which meet criteria for Borderline Personality Disorder. Denise exhibits unstable intense interpersonal relationships characterized by idealization and devaluation (Criterion 2). She has a history of brief tumultuous relationships and friendships. They start of with quick intense attachments and are described by Denise as “wonderful” and “incredibly special” (idealization); however, these feelings quickly devolve into “contempt” and “loathing” (devaluation). Additionally, Denise displays an unstable sense of self (Criterion 3). Her unsteady employment history is partially explained by dramatic shifts in interests. She switched from marketing to legal work to waitressing. It is also important to note that interpersonal issues underly most of her
People with Borderline Personality Disorder tend to view the world as simple as possible. People who view the world like this, confuse the actions of others. (Hoermann et al, 2005) Recurrent thoughts about their relationships with others, lead them to experience extreme emotional reactions, great agony which they have a hard time controlling, which would result in engaging in self-destructive behaviors. Diagnosing a patient with this disorder can be challenging which is why is it is labeled as one of the difficult ones to diagnose. (Hoermann et al, 2005)
This paper looks at a person that exhibits the symptoms of Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD). In the paper, examples are given of symptoms that the person exhibits. These symptoms are then evaluated using the DSM-V criteria for BPD. The six-different psychological theoretical models are discussed, and it is shown how these models have been used to explain the symptoms of BPD. Assessment of
Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) has been a disability surrounded by stigma and confusion for a long time, and the time to bring awareness and public understanding to this disability is long overdue. The disability itself often gets misdiagnosed as an other disability since the symptoms overlap with many other disabilities (NIMH, n.d, para 16), or worse case scenario, a medical professional refuses to diagnose or treat the disability due to the belief that these people are untreatable because of a negative schema about the disability and clinical controversies on whether BPD is a legitimate diagnosis (Hoffman, 2007) . However, after nearly three decades of research, it has come to light that BPD does indeed exist, does have a good prognosis for remission with treatment (BPD Overview, n.d, para 3), and that there are many treatment options available such as three different types of psychotherapy (Dialectical Behavior Therapy, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, and Schema-focused therapy), omega-3 fatty acid supplements, and/or medications (NIMH, n.d, para 29, 30, 31, and 39, 41). Even though the disability started as a psychoanalytic colloquialism for untreatable neurotics (Gunderson, 2009), BPD is very treatable and doesn’t deserve the stigma it currently carries throughout society.
According to the DSM-5, Personality Disorders are characterized by “impairments in personality functioning and the presence of pathological personality traits”. Borderline Personality Disorder is one of ten personality disorders listed in the DSM-5. The DSM-5 lists several criteria that must be met in order for someone to be diagnosed with Borderline Personality Disorder. They are quoted as follows:
In the past, BPD was believed to be a set of symptoms between problems associated with mood and schizophrenia. These symptoms were believed to be comprised of distortions of reality and mood problems. A closer look at this disorder has resulted in the realization that even though the symptoms of this disorder reveal emotional complexity, this disorder is more closer to other personality disorders, on the basis of the manner in which it develops and occurs in families, than to schizophrenia (Hoffman, Fruzzetti, Buteau &ump; Neiditch, 2005). The use of the term borderline has however, resulted in a heated controversy between the health care fraternity and patients. Patients argue that this term appears to be somehow discriminatory and that it should be removed and the disorder renamed. Patients point out that an alternative name, such as emotionally unstable personality disorder, should be adopted instead of borderline personality disorder. Clinicians, on the other hand, argue that there is nothing wrong with the use of the term borderline. Opponents of this term argue that the terms used to describe persons suffering from this disorder, such as demanding, treatment resistant, and difficult among others, are discriminatory. These terms may create a negative feeling of health professionals towards patients, an aspect that may lead to adoption of negative responses that may trigger self-destructive behavior (Giesen-Bloo et al, 2006). The fact however, is that the term borderline has been misunderstood and misused so much that any attempt to redefine it is pointless leaving scrapping the term as the only option.
In conclusion, keeping Gender Dysphoria as a diagnosis aids the most vulnerable population in seeking treatment and care, options, protection, and guidance. As society and medicine moves forward, we may be able to steer away from mental health bias and general discrimination towards non-conformity, but for now it is important to protect the patients who are helped by the diagnosis. Gender Dysphoria currently allows patients to be treated under their insurance, have access to care, and fight for their
The movie Girl, Interrupted follows the story of fictional Suzanna Kaysen who voluntarily institutionalizes herself to a mental hospital whereby she is diagnosed with Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD). The central focus of this paper will explore the realities and the stereotypes as presented in the movie regarding Borderline Personality Disorder.
Linehan addressed the need for effective and empirically supported psychotherapeutic treatment for borderline personality disorder. She discovered important shortcomings in standard cognitive and behavioral (CBT) treatments (Chapman & Robins, 2004). DBT was developed to address difficulties faced when implementing standard CBT to ...
Borderline personality disorder can overlap with a Bipolar I disorder because the mood liability and impulsivity are common between the two disorders. One would only diagnose Bipolar I if the symptoms represent a distinct episode and the noticeable increase over the baseline. A lot of Susanna symptoms are recent and haven’t been occurring for a long period of time. For this reason I believe that borderline Personality Disorder in an appropriate diagnosis for
An estimated 1.6%-5.9% of the adult population in the United States has BPD, with nearly 75% of the people who are diagnosed being women. Symptoms of Borderline Personality Disorder include Frantic efforts to avoid being abandoned by friends and family, Unstable personal relationships that alternate between idealizations, Distorted and unstable self-image, Impulsive behaviors that can have dangerous outcomes, Suicidal and self-harming behavior, Periods of intense depressed mood, irritability or anxiety lasting a couple hours/days, Chronic feelings of boredom or emptiness, Inappropriate, intense or uncontrollable anger - often followed by shame and guilt, and Dissociative feelings. The three main factors that could cause this mental illness are Genetics, Environmental factors, and Brain function. This illness can only be diagnosed by a mental health professional after a series of interviews with the patient and family/friends of the patient. The patient must also have at least five of the nine symptoms of this illness in order to be diagnosed. The most common treatment for this illness is some form of psychotherapy. Some other treatment options are to prescribe medications and if needed a short-term
Gender is not based on the sex of a person, but the cultural norms of that society. Gender roles are based on the norms and standards in different societies (Flores 2012). Each societies has their own set of social norms, and the identities that fit those norms. In the United States masculine roles are associated with strength, dominance, and aggression. Women in the US are expected to be more passive, nurturing and subordinate (Flores 2012). Gender roles not only assign traits to men and women they affect the way men and women are supposed to think and act. Women are held to a different set of rules than men are. For a woman to show anger in public is highly stigmatized, and looked down upon. When a man does it it's considered normal. When women are in the media they are given a different set of g...
I learned quite a bit about Borderline Personality Disorder. An illness I never looked into in depth before. Borderline Personality Disorder is as described by Janine Ogden and Jean Prokott a disorder characterized by persistent patterns of insole moods and interpersonal relationships. Fear of abandonment and chronic instability often occur with BPD and it is estimate that 2 to 4 percent of the population is affected. With the Montgomery County Mental Health department’s office bing located in the mental health unit of our largest provider, St. Mary’s Hospital, I learned much from the therapists and social workers that often dropped by the office. Susan Ninan, a social worker that works with patients in the county jail has been dealing with a difficult case. This case eventually ends up being a part of Sara’s responsibility which will be talked about later. Susan’s case was with a young man who had attempted suicide. Because of his attempt, half of his face is missing. He had been a part of multiple crimes which I’m not knowledgable, but either way has ended up in the jail. He was diagnosed with Borderline Personality Disorder. His largest fear was not having his 30 minutes a day to talk with Susan. She was as he called it “the only one that he could talk to” she was “his only friend”. My ignorance showed when I
The history of BPD can be traced back to 1938 when Adolph Stern first described the symptoms of the disorder as neither being psychotic nor psychoneurotic; hence, the term ‘borderline’ was introduced (National Collaborating Centre for Mental Health, 2009, p. 15). Then in 1960, Otto Kernberg coined the term ‘borderline personality organization’ to describe persistent patterns of behavior and functioning consisting of instability, and distressed psychological self-organization (National Collaborating Centre for Mental Health, 2009, p. 15).