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Post by Mea on Dec 16, 2015 8:33:23 GMT
May 15 - Associated Features Supporting Diagnosis
Individuals with Borderline Personality Disorder may have a pattern of undermining themselves at the moment a goal is about to be realized (e.g., dropping out of school just before graduation, regressing severely after a discussion of how well therapy is going, destroying a good relationship just when it is clear that the relationship could last). Some individuals develop psychotic-like symptoms (e.g., hallucinations, body-image distortions, ideas of reference {belief that casual events, people’s remarks, etc. are referring to oneself when, in fact, they are not}, hypnagogic phenomena {sleep hallucinations, sleep paralysis, etc.}) during times of stress.
Individuals with this disorder may feel more secure with transitional objects (i.e., a pet or inanimate possession) than in interpersonal relationships. Premature death may occur in individuals with this disorder, especially in those with co-occurring depressing disorders or substance use disorders. Physical handicaps may result from self-inflicted abuse behaviors or failed suicide attempts. Recurrent job losses, interrupted education, and separation or divorce are common. Physical and sexual abuse, neglect, hostile conflict, and early parental loss are more common in the childhood histories of those with Borderline Personality Disorder.
Common co-occurring disorders include depressive and bipolar disorders, substance use disorders, eating disorders, post-traumatic stress disorder, and attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder. Borderline Personality Disorder also frequently co-occurs with the other personality disorders.
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Post by Mea on Dec 16, 2015 8:34:06 GMT
May 16 - Comparing BPD to Other Personality Disorders
Other personality disorders may be confused with Borderline Personality Disorder because they have certain features in common It is therefore important to distinguish among these disorders based on differences in there characteristic features. However, if an individual has personality features that meet criteria for one or more personality disorders in addition to Borderline Personality Disorder, all can be diagnosed.
Although Histrionic Personality Disorder can also be characterized by attention-seeking and rapidly shifting emotions, Borderline Personality Disorder is distinguished by self-destructiveness, angry disruptions in close relationships, and chronic feelings of deep emptiness and loneliness.
Paranoid ideas of illusions may be present in both Borderline Personality Disorder and Schizotypal Personality Disorder, but these symptoms are more transient, interpersonally reactive, and responsive to external structuring in Borderline Personality Disorder.
Although Paranoid Personality Disorder and Narcissistic Personality Disorder may also be characterized by an angry reaction to minor stimuli, the relative stability of self-image, as well as relative lack of self-destructiveness, impulsivity, and abandonment concerns distinguishes these disorders from Borderline Personality Disorder.
Both Dependent Personality Disorder and Borderline Personality Disorder are characterized by fear of abandonment; however, the individual with Borderline Personality Disorder reacts to feelings of abandonment with feelings of emotional emptiness and rage, whereas the individual with Dependent Personality Disorder reacts with increasing appeasement and submissiveness and urgently seeks a replacement relationship to provide caregiving and support.
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Post by Mea on Dec 16, 2015 8:35:22 GMT
May 17 - Borderline Stigma
There are all kinds of stigma and abuse people with BPD face in the psych community. We discussed a few days ago some of the misconceptions about BPD, but unless you have BPD, you may not be aware of the full consequences of those misconceptions and how ableism affects every aspect of the borderline life.
A quick google search will compare people with BPD to children, infantilizing them and insisting they cannot take care of themselves, which leads to emotional abuse against them as loved ones follow this advice, remove their agency, and make decisions for them. Advice on How to Care For Your Borderline (much of it worded like your typical How to Take Care of Your Hamsters articles) can be compared to typical signs of emotional abuse. An emotionally abusive partner insists you cannot make your own decisions, and yet books and websites will tell you someone with BPD cannot make their own decisions. An emotionally abusive partner will insist you are crazy and that you are making up your problems, and yet books and websites will tell you someone with BPD makes up their own problems.
Even well-known sites like the Huffington Post have articles such as “9 Tips on How to Recognize Someone with Borderline Personality Disorder,” and while they actually recognize the diagnostic criteria, it still encourages armchair diagnosing from loved ones and removes agency from the person who is possibly mentally ill. It reads like a Nine Tips on How to Spot a Rare Animal and encourages non-professional neurotypical people to unofficially diagnose people in their lives while not giving them the facts of the disorder. (And I am sure these same people turn around and encourage against self-diagnosis. Because clearly non-professional neurotypical people know more about mental health than people who are actually mentally ill. /sarcasm)
There is especially a great amount of misogyny in the mental health field. Misogyny against borderline women is especially awful. You may have read in articles, asking if your borderline girlfriend is a Waif, a Queen, a Hermit, or a Witch. Shoving borderline women into categories based on misogynist ideas about women, all while sexualizing them and telling you that borderline women are attractive because of how broken they are. They tell you they’re alluring and spontaneous and mysterious, but will turn around and ruin your life. There are forums dedicated to people who have dated people with BPD, and if you have BPD, I recommend you don’t read what’s there. It’s upsetting and sickening.
If you do not have BPD, it is important to remember the stigma which exists and to be critical of any information you see. If you have a borderline loved one, ask for their opinion on any articles you find. Keep in mind the stigma also exists against many mental illnesses, especially other personality disorders, and a lot of what you read is based on misconceptions and a long, long history of ableism.
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Post by Mea on Dec 16, 2015 8:37:12 GMT
May 18 - Five-Factor ModelThere have been multiple studies about the use of the Five Factor Model (FFM) being used to predict the presence of a personality disorder. This model of personality examination studies five traits in a person. - Openness to Experience
- Conscientiousness
- Extraversion
- Agreeableness
- Neuroticism
People with personality disorders tend to have high neuroticism and low agreeableness, and the other three traits have been used to predict which personality disorder a person has. You can take a test here. www.personalitytest.org.uk/
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