Free Essay Dedicated to Borderline Personality Disorder

A borderline personality disorder is human behavior which is usually characterized by unusual difficulty in controlling emotions and unstable sense of self-control in a relationship, and this always results to the development of a feeling of emptiness and fear of abandonment. One study found that people with a borderline personality disorder had a high rate of sexual trauma, this is where a child was raped or sexually abused at a given time. The abuse cannot easily be forgotten and will always torment the child mind hence the development of borderline personality disorder.

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Many families have directly or indirectly experienced the effects of borderline personality disorder, thus from their close relatives or a member of the extended family, the stress and trauma that come with the patients with BPD has further escalated and causing major issues and destruction to the society (Castillo, 2003). Therefore, in my opinion, the role to manage and to take good care of patients suffering from BPD should not be left for the family members only, but different members of society should take part, thus the government should play a role, the civil society should create awareness in our churches and schools on how to live with people suffering from BPD, lastly members of the family should show love and care to the patients as this will give them hope and make them very responsive to therapy instructions.

The society and family members should be aware of the possible factors and situations that might result to or cause borderline personality disorder. Also, the community should be made aware of the signs and symptoms of BPD; this will help to take early precautions and can help to prevent the disorder before it becomes firm. Lastly, the necessary medical attention for the patients of BPD should be clearly explained to the families, and the whole society as this will help to care for the people suffering from BPD.

Causes of borderline personality disorder

Medical researchers have now identified the possible genetic factors which are behind personality disorder, some have identified the malfunctioning gene, and this is considered to be a factor in obsessive-compulsive disorder, malfunctioning gene is where sometimes gene mutations prevent one or more of proteins from working properly, by changing genes instructions for making a protein, a mutation can cause a protein to malfunction or just to miss entirely and this can cause disorder(Lieb et al.2003) . Nevertheless, other researchers have explored genetic links to aggression and anxiety and fear traits which also play a role in personality disorder, for examples some kids develop disorder which can be linked to their parents.

Another cause of borderline personality disorder is childhood trauma; many researchers have considered this as a significant cause of personality disorder, the collaborative longitudinal personality disorder sturdy, offer clues about the role of childhood experiences. Verbal abuse by close people like relatives and friends can also bring an impact on child development this can further develop into BPD. The research finds that mothers like screamed at their children, telling them they didn't love them and going ahead to threaten to send them away. Children who experienced such abuse are more likely to develop BPD compared to the children who are being brought up by loving parents.

Many children have very high reactivity; thus they are susceptible to light, texture, noise and other stimuli which may also play a role in the development of BPD. Overly sensitive children, who researchers call high reactivity are more likely to develop shy, timid and anxious personalities, however, this is not primarily considered as most infants are not highly reactive. Lastly the BPD can also be caused by the relationship between children and their peers, furthermore some children are being bullied in school by their peers who might also inflict pain to them, and this can affect the development of a child as he will always be traumatized, in further persistence it can result to development of BPD.

Most children who are suffering from peer bullying from their peers always have problems in controlling and regulating their emotions and thoughts, they are always impulsive and have reckless behavior, moreover they can easily break into a fight; as a result, people with this makes them have difficulty in relating with other people when they grow up. However, this cause can be controlled when detected at early stages, by showing love and care to the children.

Signs and symptoms of Borderline personality disorder

The signs and symptoms of borderline personality disorder always vary from one individual to another and women are more likely to be affected than men, this mainly because they are more exposed to causes. The common symptoms of BPD include having an unstable or dysfunctional self-image or the feeling of a distorted sense of self, this is where an individual feels inferior and even considers him or her useless to the society, these people are always feeling isolation, boredom, and self-emptiness.

People suffering from BPD are having difficulty feeling empathy for others. The individual is recorded to have a history of unstable relationship which can easily change drastically from an intense and romantic relationship with a lot of love to intense hate. These unpredictable changes have always led to poor relationship amongst people suffering from BPD. The patients also have a persistent fear of abandonment and rejection, which also include extreme emotional reactions to real and even perceived neglect. Some friends and even close relatives always abandoned people suffering from BPD, and they are not included in critical decision making in the family.

The researchers have found that intense and highly changeable moods that can actually last for several days or last for just a few is also assigned of BPD, thus the victims can be happy and very jovial but even without change of events and actions, the person will change to be sad and very cruel the next minute. Most people who have borderline personality disorder have a feeling of anxiety, worry, and depression. Depression is a severe medical illness that negatively affects how an individual feel, the thinking capability and how a person act but this can be managed medically, Fortunately, it is also treatable. Depression causes feelings of sadness and a loss of interest in activities once enjoyed. It can lead to a variety of emotional and physical problems and can decrease a person's ability to work and to think critically.

People suffering from BPD tends to be impulsive, self-destructive and also having dangerous behavior like reckless driving and some of them excessively consumes drug or alcohol, and even get involved in unsafe sex which exposes them to a lot of sexually transmitted infections. Hostility which can easily result into a fight over a minor issue is also another symptom of BPD, this also makes people get involved in a fight without proper reason, and hostility has been a significant problem to the people who have a borderline personality disorder as it has resulted even in the murdering of spouses.

Many people experience one or more of the above symptoms regularly, but a person with a borderline personality disorder will encounter many of the symptoms listed above consistently throughout adulthood.

One of the ironies of this disorder is that people with BPD may crave closeness, but their intense and unstable emotional responses tend to alienate others, causing them always to be lonely most of the times.

Comparing depression between the patients with and without borderline personality disorder

When comparing the depression between the patients with and without borderline the researchers found that depressed patients with borderline personality disorder had younger age onset, more depressive episode and also recorded the highest number of suicide attempts in the past, thus many people with BPD when are experiencing depression they can easily commit suicide as a result of uncontrolled hunger and anxiety, furthermore they have high chances of committing murder compared to patients without BPD.

The BPD is a frustrating mental health condition that does not only impact the patient's life but also impacts everyone they share a relationship with; these include friends, family, and even romantic partners. Since a lot of family issues that are directly affected by borderline personality symptoms and behaviors, the whole family may suffer. There are some common effects of BPD on the family which include: stress, watching a loved one with BPD undergoes and dealing with the problematic relationship symptoms, and signs of BPD is not only traumatizing but also very stressful for the family members. The members of the family always feel very helpless watching loved one with BPD engaging in destructive behavior. Besides the chronic stress for a loved one, many members of these patients experience very severe psychological trauma due to the very high risk of some behavior of people suffering from BPD. For example, many people suffering from BPD engage in self-harm behavior like biting, cutting or even burning them, this behavior can sometimes result in the death of an individual.

Members of the family are the ones taking the responsibility of managing these high risks, for example driving their loved ones to the hospital to seek medical care after a suicide attempt, and this always makes family members experience psychological trauma which might also result to post-traumatic stress disorder. Another problem which the family members undergo is guilt and responsibility; many family members of patients of BPD experience a problematic struggle with feelings of guilt. Most research on the causes of research on the causes of BPD suggest that childhood maltreatment, which might be informed of abuse and neglect may be related to the development of BPD and evidence of a robust genetic empowerment, these findings leave family members with no options but only to blame themselves especially parents .most parents always feel guilty and constantly blame themselves even if the development of the diseases was outside of their control.

Along with the internal struggles about responsibility for the development of BPD, many family members have a hard time figuring out what responsibility they have for their loved ones' recovery from BPD. Some families try to be supportive but are concerned that if they are too supportive they will reward some of the BPD-related behavior, such as self-harm. Others want to be supportive but feel angry at the person with BPD about their practice; some have difficulty being supportive because of their psychiatric issues. There is also a struggle between family and mental health systems.

Usually, the stress of dealing with a loved one's BPD symptoms is compounded by the stress of managing their treatment. Often, clinicians rely on the BPD family to help organize the family member's treatment, which can involve multiple providers and teams and many different levels of care. Family members may be called upon to notice changes in their loved one's status provide transportation to appointments or coordinate searches for new treatment options, negotiating these details and the more extensive mental health system is not an easy task and can place another burden on an already stressed BPD family system.

Treatment and management of borderline personality disorder

When dealing with BPD it's always advisable to consider talk therapy as the very first choice of treatment, and it's usually unlike other illnesses where medication is often the first option. The treatment of BPD involves many sessions a week with a mental health counsellor (Linehan, 1993). For ef...