Find out more about the symptoms, causes and help for borderline personality disorder here.
What is borderline personality disorder?
Borderline personality disorder (BPD) is a mental illness. The prevalence of this disorder in young people is estimated to be about 5 per cent. Girls and women are more often affected by this clinical picture than boys and men.
Symptoms according to DSM IV
The DSM IV is a diagnostic book for doctors and psychologists. It contains characteristics and symptoms of the different clinical pictures. In order to make a diagnosis of a mental illness, however, it is by no means sufficient for one symptom alone to occur. In the case of borderline disorder, for example, at least (!) five of the following criteria must be fulfilled over a long period of time.
- Extreme fear of being abandoned.
- Very unstable relationships in which the other person is idealised or devalued.
- Massive disturbances in self-perception.
- Striking impulsivity in several self-harming areas (e.g. substance abuse, binge eating …).
- Repeated suicidal acts or self-harming behaviour.
- Very pronounced mood changes.
- Chronic feelings of emptiness.
- Extreme outbursts of anger.
- Stress-induced paranoid ideation or severe dissociative symptoms (e.g. “being detached” from the body).
Self-harming behaviour in BPH
Self-injurious behaviour or “cutting” can therefore (but does not have to) be one of many symptoms of borderline personality disorder. However, it can also be a symptom of another mental illness or occur without a mental illness being present. This means that not everyone who self-harms has borderline or other mental illness. It is also not the case that cutting leads to a borderline disorder. As described above, several symptoms have to occur together over a longer period of time for a diagnosis of mental illness to be made.
Causes of borderline personality disorder
As with most mental illnesses, it is assumed that borderline personality disorder is caused by the interaction of various factors. Such factors can also be traumatic experiences, for example. However, it would be wrong to assume that everyone who has had traumatic experiences will develop borderline personality disorder. Conversely, it is also possible to become mentally ill without a trauma being at the forefront.
Help and therapy
As you can see, it is quite complicated to draw a line between what is still considered “normal” and what is considered “in need of treatment”. The diagnosis of mental illness is therefore reserved for doctors (e.g. psychiatrists).
If you have found yourself in the descriptions or have the feeling that this applies to someone you know, then contact adults you trust or a counselling center. With appropriate treatment and therapy, the symptoms of the disease can be alleviated and the quality of life can be greatly improved.
For further help and support — Speak with a licensed therapist today.