Professional Documents
Culture Documents
full-awareness of the individual, as explained in the DSM-5. Self-mutilation may occur during
dissociative experiences and often brings relief by reaffirming the ability to feel or by expiating
the individuals sense of being evil. (APA). It doesnt help that individuals with BPD have
lower pain sensitivity during dissociation (Winter).
Their sensitivity to emotional stimuli may help us understand why negative stimuli can be so
harmful. This has been proven through Functional neuroimaging studies, which found that there
was higher brain activity in areas which affected emotional processing when shown negative
images compared to individuals that didnt have any mental illness (Winter).
Borderline Personality Disorder greatly affects relationships as well. Intimacy is usually
expected to occur early on in relationships, with an expectation of receiving affection on
demand. While demanding affection and attention, these individuals do the same, offering
affection and attention back. Because of this, the intimacy early on, the affection and attention,
any drastic changes in the relationship can affect how someone with BPD sees someone. They
may feel like they were abandoned, or feel like the other is not there as much as they used to.
Idealization can turn to devaluation. Sudden changes in mood may also lead to the individual
with BPD to lash out at others, leading to feelings of being evil and regret (APA).
Application
I have a friend who I will call Megan. She has been attending therapy for BPD for about
two years now, and has been going to therapy in general for about six years. During her time
there she has learned how to handle her anger effectively, avoiding taking it out on others. She
had been doing well for some time, effectively reducing the symptoms of BPD, but has recently
retracted, having been abandoned by her friends. She has gone back to cutting and has
occasionally shown much more sarcastic behavior towards her old friends, and has become much
more dependent of me. She blames herself for having been abandoned, and believes that she is
evil. She believes that she can compensate through cutting. She has even attempted suicide by
crashing her car, hoping to gain the attention of her boyfriend, who seemed to have been losing
interest. While she used to idealize her friend and boyfriend, she now sees them as literal
demons, and will bring up her hatred of them whenever she cuts again. After the incident, she has
reported a greater sense of emptiness.
Our relationship seems to be dependent on each other emotionally, as shown in the DSM5. An individual with BPD will expect to be given affection and attention when demanded and
they will also give it back. If this stops, the fear of abandonment grows (APA). She has
occasionally shown a fear of abandonment, texting me about her worries after I do not contact
her in a day. She has grown to know that I will give her attention if I find that she is upset, so she
occasionally takes that to her advantage. Meanwhile, we both tend to speak a lot, telling each
other funny stories and she relies on me when she needs emotional support. She hopes that by
forming that bond with me and a couple of other friends, she can find support and eventually
start to reduce the symptoms once more.
Conclusion
I learned more about BPD that I was not explicitly told or shown by my friend. It is
comforting knowing that the symptoms seem to decrease with age. I would like to eventually see
more studies finding why it is that the symptoms worsen at older age since that would be helpful
in treating that age group with BPD who may be distressed and confused as to why they
regressed. This topic has personally helped me in understanding my friend more, and I know that
if more people knew more about BPD then people may be more understanding as to why
attachment is so difficult to them.
References
American Psychiatric Association. (2013). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental
disorders : DSM-5. (5th ed.).http://dx.doi.org/10.1176/appi.books.9780890425596
Ng, F. Y. Y., Bourke, M. E., & Grenyer, B. F. S. (2016). Recovery from Borderline
Personality Disorder: A Systematic Review of the Perspectives of Consumers, Clinicians, Family
and Carers. PLoS ONE, 11(8), e0160515. http://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0160515
Shea, M. T., Edelen, M. O., Pinto, A., Yen, S., Gunderson, J. G., Skodol, A. E., Morey,
L. C. (2009). Improvement in Borderline Personality Disorder in Relationship to Age. Acta
Psychiatrica Scandinavica, 119(2), 143148. http://doi.org/10.1111/j.1600-0447.2008.01274.x