Achieving Stability: A Guide to Manage Borderline Personality Disorder

Borderline personality disorder is one of the disorders found in cluster B of the personality disorders. People with borderline can be identified by the instability in their lives. The patients experience instability or are impatient in almost all aspects of life, be it relationships or career choices. They are likely to go through a period of extreme admiration, to the point of idealization for a person which is likely to be followed by a period of hatred and paranoia. In the paragraphs to follow we explain the symptoms and some treatment options for this disorder.

Symptoms:

Borderline personality disorder has a wide range of symptoms and all these symptoms appear at one time or other depending upon the stage of the behavioral cycle the patient is going through. Following are some of the major symptoms of the disorder

• An internal split in perception of people in close relationship. A small change in the behavior of the other person can trigger the split and an idealized loved one can become a betrayer in seconds.
• Extreme paranoia is experienced by the patients who are experiencing border line. This paranoia is mostly about abandonment.
• Feelings of emptiness which often lead to thoughts or actual acts of self-harm.
• Suicide ideation and a tendency to blackmail others by threatening about self-harm. The threats are mostly a consequence of the extreme fear of abandonment.
• Big shifts in mood along with anxiety and depression

Treatment options:

Borderline personality disorder is mostly caused by abandonment or trauma from a trusted individual in childhood. There are two parts of the treatment. One is used to help with the symptoms while the other is used to eradicate the causes of the issue.

Anti-anxiety and antidepressants can make life a lot easier for people dealing with borderline disorder. Although there are therapy options for depression, but medication has been proved to be the best remedy for mood swings. Some of the therapeutic techniques that can be used are as follows

1. Cognitive therapy: This therapy works best to eradicate fear of abandonment as it trains the patients to keep their thoughts focused on the present moment instead of obsessing over the future and the past. Abandonment anxiety is a product of thinking about the future where the patient dreads that a loved one might leave them. By focusing on the present, cognitive therapy thus eliminates the prospect of abandonment anxiety.
2. Behavioral therapy: This therapeutic approach is used to deal with suicide ideation and other acts of self-harm. Borderline patients are inclined towards self-harm to feel something because of feelings of emptiness all the time. In behavioral therapy, the patient is trained to find alternative ways of feeling something. In most cases, patients are asked to put ice cubes on their hands whenever they feel a tendency to physically harm themselves.
3. Talk therapy: As the name suggests, talk therapy involves talking with a psychologist in detail about previous traumas and abandonment.

If you are experiencing symptoms of borderline personality disorder, you should visit a psychologist as soon as possible. You can visit our website oladoc.com to read up on the symptoms of this condition such as depression and look for top psychiatrists in Lahore, Karachi and Islamabad.You can also call our helpline at 042-3890-0939 to get directed to the specialists that are suitable for your specific concerns.