›› Borderline Personality Disorder
Treatment
Borderline
Personality Disorder (BPD) is a serious mental illness characterized by
the inability to regulate emotions. According to various online
sources, this disorder affects women primarily with an onset during
adolescence. Patients with BPD demonstrate constant emotional
instability and distress that leaves them in a constant state of
despair. The goal of Borderline Personality Disorder treatment is to
help patients eventually gain stability over their illness and lead
productive lives. Men and women who receive treatment for Borderline
Personality Disorder usually require extensive mental health services
throughout their lives, including regular psychotherapy sessions and
periodic re-evaluation by a psychiatrist and adjustment of
psychotropic medications when necessary.
The most significant goal of Borderline Personality Disorder treatment
is to help the patient gain control over urges to inflict self-harm or
even commit suicide. These patients have great unstable emotional mood
swings in response to stress or significant life events and should
always be monitored closely during an episode. Often short periods of
psychosis accompany the mood swings, and the patient loses touch with
reality at this point. Narcissism is also a cardinal feature of
Borderline Personality Disorder, and maintaining interpersonal
relationships is difficult and self-esteem suffers greatly. BPD
patients are very controlling and are constantly insecure and
questioning of people they meet. They are quick to start relationships
but soon become disappointed and make great demands, when threatened
with abandonment the symptoms accelerate, which can lead to self-injury
or suicide attempt. Borderline Personality Disorder treatment attempts
to decrease number of episodes and stabilize mood swings and erratic
behavior.
The exact cause of Borderline Personality Disorder is unknown, but is
thought to be the result of a combination of factors, such as a
traumatic life event or genetic influences. Psychotherapy is an
absolute for Borderline Personality Disorder treatment, which can be
very difficult for the therapist at time because there is always the
threat of self-mutilation or suicide. Successful Borderline Personality
Disorder treatment also involves the right medications to control mood
swings. Various anti-depressants have been shown to be effective, and
at time, inpatient hospitalization may be required at times during an
acute episode. For more information on BPD visit www.psychcentral.com
or www.remedyfind.com, as well as the National Alliance on Mental
Illness at www.nami.org. Borderline Personality Disorder treatment can
be successful and patients can achieve stability in their lives with
better medications and advanced therapies, but they can’t do
it on their own.
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