BORDERLINE PERSONALITY DISORDER
Introduction
Borderline Personality Disorder is a serious mental disorder that involves a person having unstable mood patterns, inconsistent behavioral patterns and relationships. This internal conflicts cause chaotic behavior and affecting one’s relationships and self-image. This disorder is more common among young adults and adolescents. Borderline Personality Disorder is characterized by:
• Extreme reactions including intense rage and panic
• Irrational irritability
• Fears of abandonment
• Extreme dislike and devaluation of others alternating with feelings of admiration towards them
• Suicidal behavior and thoughts
• Unstable moods
• Impulsive and dangerous behavior such eating disorders, alcoholism and unsafe sex
• Extreme feelings of boredom or loneliness
• A distorted self-image whereby one has no clear outline of who they are and what it is that they enjoy
Conceptualizing Borderline Personality Disorder using biopsychosocial and diathesis-stress models
The specific cause of Borderline Personality Disorder is unknown. However it can be explained using the biopsychosocial model. The biopsychosocial model states that the overall wellbeing of a person is dependent on the interdependence of biological, genetic, psychological and sociocultural factors. This factors could make a person more prone to develop Borderline Personality Disorder. Research has shown that a person must have a genetic predisposition in order for them to develop the disorder. A combination of the environmental and biological factors trigger the development of the disorder. Some of the biological factors that can cause a person to develop Borderline Personality Disorder include:
• Genetic abnormalities that lead to a predisposition to the disorder. These abnormalities affect the brain pathways that are responsible for emotional processing and cognitive reasoning and perception. These genes are passed on from people who already have the...