Borderline Personality Disorder Profile

Because of the intensity of mood swings and the severity of instability exhibited in interpersonal relationships, those with Borderline Personality Disorder can be disruptive and cause chaos within support groups or with those who are unskilled or untrained in dealing with BPD. As a result it is our recommendation that if BPD is suspected, the best course of action is referral to a specialist in this area for assessment and treatment. BPD is a complex and difficult disorder to treat and requires professional attention and sometimes medication.

Statistics show that approximately 25% of those suffering from a Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, such as Post-Abortion Syndrome will also exhibit symptoms of Borderline Personality Disorder.

DSM-IV Definition of BPD*

1. A pervasive pattern of instability of interpersonal relationships, self-image, and affects, and marked impulsivity beginning by early adulthood and present in a variety of contexts, as indicated by five (or more) of the following:
2. Frantic efforts to avoid real or imagined abandonment. Note: Do not include suicidal or self-mutilating behavior covered in (5).
3. A pattern of unstable and intense interpersonal relationships characterized by alternating between extremes of idealization and devaluation. This is called "splitting."
4. Identity disturbance: markedly and persistently unstable self-image or sense of self.
5. Impulsivity in at least two areas that are potentially self-damaging (e.g., spending, sex, substance abuse, reckless driving, binge eating). Note: Do not include suicidal or self-mutilating behavior covered in (5).
6. Recurrent suicidal behavior, gestures, or threats, or self-mutilating behavior.
7. 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).
8. Chronic feelings of emptiness.
9. Inappropriate, intense anger or difficulty controlling anger (e.g., frequent displays of temper, constant anger, recurrent physical fights).
10. Transient, stress-related paranoid ideation or severe dissociative symptoms.
    

Dissociation is the state in which, on some level or another, one becomes somewhat removed from "reality," whether this be daydreaming, performing actions without being fully connected to their performance ("running on automatic"), or other, more disconnected actions. It is the opposite of "association" and involves the lack of association, usually of one's identity, with the rest of the world.

There is no "pure" BPD; it coexists with other illnesses. These are the most common. BPD may coexist with:

• Post traumatic stress disorder
• Mood disorders
• Panic/anxiety disorders
• Substance abuse (54% of BPs also have a problem with substance abuse)
• Gender identity disorder
• Attention deficit disorder
• Eating disorders
• Multiple personality disorder
• Obsessive-compulsive disorder
  

Statistics about BPD

BPs comprise:

• 2% of the general population
• 10% of all mental health outpatients
• 20% of psychiatric inpatients
• 75% of those diagnosed are women
• 75% have been physically or sexually abused
  
  

Statistics and Facts about BPD

• Post traumatic stress disorder
• Mood disorders
• Panic/anxiety disorders
• Substance abuse (54% of BPs also have a problem with substance abuse)
• Gender identity disorder
• Attention deficit disorder
• Eating disorders
• Multiple personality disorder
• Obsessive-compulsive disorder
  

There is no "pure" BPD; it coexists with other illnesses. These are the most common. BPD may coexist with

• BPD patients make up 20% of the inpatients in the mental health system and is the fastest growing population
• BPD makes up 11% of the outpatients in the mental health system
• BPD has a 10% suicide rate.
• 70% of the hundreds of people on family and friends (non-BP) support groups sought the help of therapists.
• PD is cormobid (occurs along with) major depression, bipolar disorder, substance abuse, and eating disorders.
• The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual 1V, published by the American Psychiatric Association, lists the incidence of BPD in the general population as 2%. This is 50% more common than Alzheimer's disease and nearly that of bipolar disorder and schizophrenia combined. However, the statistic of 2% cannot be accurate for the following reasons: clinicians are actively discouraged from putting BPD on a patient's chart because of the stigma and insurance denials and because most clinicians do not have the training to make a diagnosis.
• The latest research findings indicate that many of the core traits of the severe personality disorders like BPD (e.g., impulsiveness and mood swings) appear to have neurobiological underpinnings.
  Although BPD has been shown to have neurobiological underpinnings and an article about this appeared in a newsletter published by the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill (NAMI), NAMI has not included BPD in its advocacy efforts. (NAMI advocates for five brain disorders: schizophrenia, bipolar, mood disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and panic attacks.) As we said above, BPD is 50% more common than Alzheimer's disease and nearly that of bipolar disorder and schizophrenia combined.

*Information from: http://www.bpdcentral.com