Borderline Personality Disorder Essay

Words: 2699
Pages: 11

DIFFICULTY DIANOSING 16 YEAR OLDS WITH BORDERLINE PERSONALITY DISORDER

INTRODUCTION:

For many years, Borderline personality disorder was considered a mental illness only associated with adults above age 18, however in recent years mental health professionals have begun to consider the possibility of Borderline Personality Disorder being diagnosed in adolescents. Borderline personality disorder is characterized by extreme patterns of impulsivity such as promiscuous sex, spending sprees, reckless drinking or abusing substances, unstable and intense personal relationships and an unstable self-image, amongst a few other symptoms. It is important to remember when making a diagnosis of Borderline personality disorder that quite often
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This pain is perpetuated through their extreme sensitivity to rejection and abandonment often leading to predictions or assumptions of abandonment or rejection, more often than not unprovoked which tends to cause disharmony within personal relationships. This often leads the individual to be unbalanced with in their personal relationships often swiftly swinging between extremes of idealization or absolute hatred. Individuals with Borderline Personality Disorder often use another defence mechanism known as “splitting” which is a form of dichotomous (black and white) thinking. This way of thinking adds to the distress within relationships as the individual struggles to come to terms with the swaying thoughts and feelings one minute being positive and the next tending towards the negative. The intense emotional pain these individuals are often in, tend to result in self-harming and self-injuring behaviours such as head banging and cutting. These behaviours can lead to suicide, however it is not always the intent of an individual self-harming to commit or attempt to commit suicide. An individual with Borderline Personality Disorder has difficulty regulating their emotions. They often experience extreme emotions, and many feelings of anger. Under stress these individuals often experience in