Borderline personality disorder is a serious mental illness characterized by emotional instability, extreme emotional exchanges, and difficulty in interpersonal relationships. It is often accompanied by self-destructive behavior or extreme choices. Let's learn about borderline personality disorder in detail, including specific symptoms, causes, treatment, and prevention methods.

What is Borderline Personality Disorder?

Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) is a serious mental illness with core symptoms of emotional instability, severe difficulty in interpersonal relationships, and identity confusion. The term 'borderline' originates from the meaning that this disorder lies on the boundary between neurosis and psychosis.

Causes of Borderline Personality Disorder

While the exact cause of borderline personality disorder is unknown, it is believed that the following factors play a complex role.

● Genetic predisposition: Some studies have found evidence of the influence of biological factors.

● Instability in early parent-child relationships: It develops in childhood with unstable relationships with parents or primary caregivers.

● Experiences of abuse or neglect: Many people who have BPD have experienced physical, mental, or sexual abuse or neglect in childhood.

● Abnormalities in brain structure and function: Some brain areas appear to function differently than in normal individuals.

Main Symptoms of Borderline Personality Disorder

1. Emotional Instability and Extreme Emotional Exchanges

People with borderline personality disorder experience extreme mood swings that are unpredictable. They can shift from happiness to anger or despair frequently, depending on the situation. These extreme emotional changes can last for hours to days.

People with BPD often engage in impulsive and self-destructive behaviors, including binge eating, alcohol and drug abuse, and reckless driving. They also have a much higher rate of suicide attempts than the general population.

2. Difficulty in Interpersonal Relationships and Fear of Close Relationships

People with borderline personality disorder want to have close relationships with others, but they are terrified of being abandoned in close relationships. They may be overly dependent at times, but also reject and attack, leading to a lot of confusion and difficulty in interpersonal relationships.

They have a strong dichotomous way of thinking, seeing people as either all or nothing, and may idealize someone, but completely devalue them for a small mistake. Their interpersonal relationships are characterized by this extreme instability.

3. Identity Confusion

People with borderline personality disorder are unsure of who they are and what they want. They have a very confusing and inconsistent sense of self. They suffer from chronic feelings of emptiness and their values, interests, and opinions change frequently, depending on the situation. They exhibit extreme shifts in self-image, even multiple times in a day.

Treatment for Borderline Personality Disorder

Medication alone cannot cure the root cause of borderline personality disorder. The most effective treatment is to combine psychotherapy with cognitive-behavioral therapy.

1. Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT)

It addresses borderline symptoms by training people in emotion regulation, interpersonal skills, and mindfulness meditation. It has proven highly effective in reducing impulsivity and self-harm behavior.

2. Schema Therapy

This therapy focuses on healing emotional wounds caused by parental love deprivation in childhood through 'reparenting'. It provides a parental role to the inner child to emotionally nurture them.

3. Traditional Psychoanalytic Therapy

This is a long-term therapy that analyzes unconscious conflicts and integrates the self.

Family members or partners of the patient can also help with treatment by understanding the patient and responding appropriately.

Prevention and Ways to Help Patients

Along with continuous research on borderline personality disorder, childhood trauma prevention and the creation of a healthy nurturing environment should be prioritized.

Family members and loved ones who are supporting patients should approach them with a consistent attitude without being disturbed by the patient's extreme behavior. While acceptance and empathy are important, it is also necessary to set firm boundaries.

If the patient is at risk of self-destructive behavior or extreme choices, professional help should be sought. Borderline personality disorder is a serious condition that is difficult to improve without professional treatment.

Conclusion

Borderline personality disorder is a challenging illness for both the patient and those around them due to emotional ups and downs, identity confusion, and interpersonal relationship problems. However, with professional treatment, social attention, and family support, symptoms can improve, and people can live healthy lives. Understanding and inclusion can help people with borderline personality disorder regain stability and adapt well to society.