BORDERLINE PERSONALITY DISORDER

It is no secret that your teenage and adolescent life can be challenging and confusing. Billie Dee, a lady in her late 20’s said she had a very troubled childhood. She said she felt lonely, confused and had bad thoughts about killing herself. This made her indulge in drugs and alcohol to numb the pain. But she only said that abuse of drugs only made the loneliness worse. She finally got help with the help of her mother and to her shock, she was diagnosed with borderline disorder and PTSD (Post-traumatic stress disorder). Billie was just like any other confused and frustrated teenager growing up experiencing these feelings.

Borderline personality disorder an illness affecting the cognitive functionality (how your brain works) and the feelings you have about yourself and others. As a result, you may have unstable and extreme feelings and relationships with family and friends. Just like Billie, you may experience fear of being left alone and you may anxious about being alone. Luckily, this disorder can be treated as many people with this kind of disorder have responded well to therapy and medication. However, failure to seek help may lead to impulsive and irrational actions which may get you into trouble, injure you and possibly threaten your life.

PREVALENCE

According to DSM-IV-TR, this disorder is not flexible despite the age. In addition, this condition affects about 3% of teenagers in society. In addition, it affects both male and females from all races and walks of life. This disorder is often screened in children and young adults aged 10-20. This is because tests are conclusive and significant at a younger age. However, the factors contributing to the risk of the borderline disorder are not known. Nonetheless, scientists have reason to believe that the following factors could significantly increase the risk of developing borderline disorder;

Family history and genetics. Scientists believe that if your family tree had a history of individuals with a borderline personality disorder, then you are at risk of developing the same. Your genetical makeup could increase the chances of developing this condition. Other scientists believe that parenting plays a key role in the development of this disorder.

A stressful childhood could also increase the risk of borderline disorder in teenagers and young adults. Many people who have been diagnosed with BPD (borderline personality disorder) have also had a stressful life. Stress in these individuals has been marked with sexual and physical abuse and neglect during their childhood. Stress could also be induced by separation from the parents.

CAUSES

As mentioned earlier, the causes of this type of disorder are not fully known. This is usually the case with most mental and cognitive disorders. However, the following are causes of BPD;

Environmental changes. Introduction to a different environment could induce certain brain changes and trigger BPD. Secondly, abuse from guardians’ parents’ relatives and other stakeholders in a child’s early life has been known to induce BPD. Like the case study of Billie Dee, abuse whether sexual, physical, emotional or mental could do harm in a child’s life and trigger not only BPD but other mental disorders.

Biological makeup and genes is another cause of BPD in children as mentioned above. Lastly, brain abnormalities could trigger BPD. Studies have shown that abnormalities of the brain involving regions of emotion, aggression, and general feelings could trigger BPD on children and adults.

WARNING SIGNS

As mentioned earlier, people with the borderline disorder show extreme emotion in relating to others and is coupled with similar behavior. However, the following are warning symptoms of borderline personality;

You fear being rejected and alone. Just like Billie, the main warning sign relating to borderline disorder is the fear of abandonment or separated. You cannot stand the being left alone. In addition, you cannot imagine being rejected by your friends at school or family at home.

The second warning sign of the borderline disorder is that you have unstable and intense relationships with people especially friends from school, at home and family. You can be happy and in sync with a person momentarily but after a while, you think the person does not care about you or is cruel towards you.

Thirdly, you might be heavily stressed out and was out of touch with reality. Billie said that she was stressed out like a child having the borderline disorder. Unfortunately, stress could open ways for you to suffer from other disorders such as depression.

You experience bad thoughts such as injuring yourself and killing yourself. Suicidal thoughts are a distinctive feature with those suffering from the borderline disorder. You constantly want to separate yourself and injure yourself.

TREATMENT

Before treatment, a patient first undergoes diagnosis. This is done in order to evaluate the person’s condition to fully determine the type of illness is present. Diagnosis is done with the help of a doctor or a mental health expert. There are no lab tests required.

After diagnosis, treatment follows. Treatment can take the shape of psychotherapy, medication or both depending on the severity of the illness. Psychotherapy involved talking. It is done by a therapist. This is a fundamental part of treatment. It helps improve brain functions and reduce impulsiveness and general emotional imbalance.

Medication in BPD is not formally approved by the FDA (Food and Drug Administration), however, there are certain drugs that could be prescribed to help with the symptoms. This makes it easier and comfortable for patients to carry on with their daily routine such as schoolwork.

WHERE TO SEEK HELP IN NZ

You might be confused and not aware of where you should start. However, you could start by making use of resources such as the numbers below.

Do not hesitate and let this treatable illness make you uncomfortable at school and at home.

Talk to a trained counselor at any time of the day or night, call or text 1737. If you are having bad thoughts of harming or taking away your life, please talk to a professional who cares at 0508 828 865. If you wish to talk to fellow youth, they are waiting for you at  0800 376 633, free text 234 or email talk@youthline.co.nz or online chat.