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Borderline Personality Disorder

 

What is a Personality Disorder?

A personality disorder is a severe disturbance in the
 behaviour of the individual, and is nearly always associated with considerable personal and social disruption. Personality disorders tend to appear in late childhood or adolescence and continues to be manifest into adulthood. It is
 unlikely that the diagnosis of a personality disorder will be
made before 16 or 17 years of age.

Borderline Personality Disorder patients often self harm

 

Diagnostic Criteria for Borderline Personality Disorder

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Frantic efforts to avoid real or imagined abandonment. 

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A pattern of unstable and intense interpersonal relationships

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identity disturbance: markedly and persistently unstable
self-image or sense of self 

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impulsivity in at least two areas that are potentially
self-damaging (e.g., spending, sex, substance abuse, reckless
driving, binge eating). 

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Recurrent suicidal behavior, gestures, or threats, or
self harm 

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Affective instability due to a marked reactivity of mood (e.g.,
intense episodic dysphoria, irritability, or anxiety usually
lasting a few hours and only rarely more than a few days) 

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Chronic feelings of emptiness 

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Intense anger or difficulty controlling anger

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Stress-related paranoid ideation or severe
dissociative symptoms 

Treatment

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During brief reactive psychoses, low doses of antipsychotic drugs
(e.g., haloperidol or respiridone) may be useful

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antidepressants have  been found to be
effective in reducing this intense anxiety and depression. 

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use of anti-anxiety medication may be used to relieve the
 intense anxiety of borderline patients. Long-term use of
anti-anxiety medication should be considered only with caution

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Many borderline patients will only see a therapist during a crisis. The therapist's crisis intervention should focus on solving the patient's immediate problems

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Borderline patients need many hours of psychotherapy 

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Due to their suicide attempts, or brief psychotic episodes,
borderline patients frequently are hospitalized