Borderline Personality Disorder refers to the mental health disorder that affects the way an individual feels and thinks about oneself, as well as other people. This disorder commonly causes problems in the daily functioning of a person. It involves self-image issues, patterns of unstable relationships, and difficulty in emotion and behavior management.
A person that is diagnosed with a borderline personality disorder often feels instability that leads him to fear of being abandoned. This makes a person experience a hard time tolerating an alone time. Also, even though a person wants to be loved and be in a long-lasting relationship, this disorder makes him push people away, feel angry, and be impulsive at all times.
This disorder often grows during the early adulthood stage. It may start at an early stage, yet this disorder gets better as time passes by. As a person starts to age, the tendency of it to worsen is decreasing.
Anyone who suffers from this kind of disorder must not be discouraged, for there are helpful and effective ways to cope with it. Below are the symptoms, solutions, and causes of this disorder for further details.
Symptoms
Borderline Personality Disorder affects the way a person feels about oneself and relates to other people. Below are the symptoms to be aware of:
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There is an intense feeling and fear of abandonment. This is possible even going to drastic measures just to evade an imagined or real separation or rejection from a loved one.
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There is a pattern showing an unstable and intense relationship with other people. This includes idealizing that a person does not care or is cruel towards the victim’s feelings and emotions.
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There are rapid changes in self-image and self-identity that include altering of values and goals, as well as viewing oneself as bad or non-existent at all.
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There are periods of loss of contact with what is real and stress-related paranoia. This feeling can last for minutes and even hours.
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Risky and impulsive behavior becomes a habit to a person with this disorder. This includes unsafe sex, reckless driving, gambling, sabotaging success, drug abuse, binge eating, spending sprees, ending a good relationship, and quitting a good job.
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Self- harm and injury are also considered as a symptom. Worst, if the person is already having suicidal thoughts that can be alarming. This is often the response of victims, especially to separation or rejection.
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There are mood swings that can last for hours and days. This includes intense anxiety, shame, irritability, and happiness. There is just altering emotions that make them look and feel unstable.
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Empty feelings
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Intense and inappropriate burst of anger. Losing temper, being bitter, sarcastic, and involvement in physical fights.
When is it time to consult a doctor?
If a person shows any of the mentioned symptoms above, talking and consulting to a doctor is a must. In this way, urgent solutions can be given to prevent the disorder from getting severe. The right time to see a doctor is now after confirming certain symptoms that show the qualities of this disorder.
If there are suicidal thoughts
Whenever suicidal thoughts are on fire, it is best to call for medical assistance right away. This can prevent the person from doing self-harm or, worse, committing suicide. Follow these actions below to prevent this kind of incident involving borderline personality disorder:
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Call the local emergency hotline for an urgent response.
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Call the nearest mental health care provider, a doctor, or a hospital.
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Reach out to a close friend, family, loved-one, peer, or just a coworker.
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Contact the most trusted and effective faith community.
Noticing the given symptoms is an easy job to do. If it is not too severe, talking to the person calmly and politely can be helpful. Besides, forcing someone to reach out for medical help is not easy, so making alternative ways to help the person cope with the disorder is highly-recommended.
Causes
Aside from the symptoms and ways to cope up with this disorder, here are also the causes or roots to help us understand it better.
The same with most of the mental health disorders discovered these days, borderline personality disorder BPD still does not have any root or cause identified. However, there are cases studied showing some of the potential roots of this disorder. These causes gave links between the victim, disorder, and environment.
Brain abnormalities
The first potential root or cause of this disorder is the abnormalities of the brain. Some researches demonstrate changes in certain brain areas responsible for a person’s aggressiveness, impulsiveness, and emotional regulation. There are also chemicals such as serotonin that is present in the brain that is not properly functioning. This chemical is responsible for releasing a good mood, but when it stops functioning, the brain is hugely affected.
Genetics
On the other hand, genetics is also found as another potential cause of BPD or borderline personality disorder. Some studies used twins as a test, and it showed that mental disorders could be passed from generation to generation.
Risk Factors
Aside from the causes, there are also risk factors that must be considered involving borderline personality disorder. Included here are the following:
Stressful childhood
Most of the affected victims of this disorder did not have a good childhood. Instead, they suffered from stress, physical, and sexual abuse that they still carry up to these days. The feeling of being neglected or ignored is also one factor that contributed to the development of this disorder. Other than that, losing or parting ways with loved ones is also a factor of this disorder. As long as a scenario creates stress in the mind of a child, then it can potentially lead to this disorder as they enter the early adulthood stage.
Hereditary Predisposition
If a close family member, especially the parents and siblings, has the same disorder, then passing it genetic and hereditary is possible.