Living in Emotional Chaos?
A borderline disorder is often associated with the constant ups and downs.
medical
Tobias Freyer explains the most important facts.
Impulsive and emotional behavior can have many causes, including borderline personality disorder.
"Women are affected at least twice as often as men," says Dr.
medical
Tobias Freyer, chief physician and medical director of the Oberberg Parkklinik Wiesbaden Schlangenbad and specialist in psychiatry and psychotherapy.
The expert explains about the mental illness and reveals how borderline manifests itself in couple relationships and how those affected can deal with it.
What does it mean to have borderline personality disorder?
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Borderline sufferers have problems with the regulation of feelings (symbol image)
© IMAGO / Shot Shop
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Tobias Freyer: The borderline disorder is a form of personality disorder in contrast to the healthy/undisturbed personality and to other personality disorders such as the anxious-avoidant, narcissistic or schizoid personality disorder.
The technically correct term is: emotionally unstable personality disorder of the borderline type.
Those affected have problems with the regulation of feelings.
They experience positive and negative emotions more intensely and it takes much longer for these people's emotions to subside.
This can cause borderliners to become overwhelmed with their emotions and become very tense.
What are the typical symptoms of a borderline disorder?
Freyer: The emotionally unstable personality disorder of the borderline type (BPD) is characterized by the difficulties in emotion regulation described above.
In addition, people with a borderline disorder often suffer from a pronounced instability in their self-image.
Their interpersonal relationships are also characterized by extremely positive and negative feelings.
They tend to either strongly idealize or devalue other people and their partners, experience pronounced fears of abandonment.
They tend to be more impulsive than healthy people, experiencing tantrums such as smashing objects, or showing impulsiveness in other areas such as spending money, substance abuse, binge eating, or reckless driving.
The high levels of tension are very uncomfortable for those affected.
Many people with BPD learn to end these conditions through self-harm, which helps in the short term but can be very damaging in the long term.
Typical are scratches or cuts.
It is important here that the self-injuries are typical, but do not have to be a mandatory prerequisite for the diagnosis of a borderline disorder.
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Which people suffer most from it?
Feyer: The lifetime prevalence, i.e. the probability of meeting the diagnostic criteria for emotionally unstable personality disorder of the borderline type in the course of life, is around three to five percent for the entire population.
Women are affected at least twice as often as men.
Symptoms usually peak in young adulthood (between the ages of 20 and 30), but often appear in adolescence or even childhood.
Fortunately, the disorder resolves in about 80 percent of those affected over the course of their lives.
Victims of sexual abuse in childhood are particularly often affected by the disorder.
Many of those affected state that they injured themselves when they were still in elementary school.
People who are naturally quick to respond to strong emotions suffer from BPD and do not learn or have not learned to deal with their strong emotions appropriately.
The environment is also important here.
In particular, dealing with children and adolescents that does not take into account or suppresses the feelings of the children is considered an important factor in the development.
What are the effects of borderline on a couple relationship?
Freyer: Those affected typically have very intensive couple relationships that are often characterized by arguments.
Due to the feeling of inner emptiness and the lack of their own identity as well as the fear/oversensitivity to rejection and rejection, the patients often seek very close proximity to their partners, behave clingingly, and in order to bond the partner even more closely, they utter suicide threats in conflicts between partners.
The partner is idealized for a long time, but then the relationship can suddenly break off.
Due to the symptoms and problems described, couple relationships are often heavily burdened. Depending on the personality of the partner, very unhealthy and dependent couple relationships or violent/unpleasant separations, on-off relationships, etc. can result.
How can partners deal with this?
Freyer: It is certainly helpful if your partner reacts very calmly, considerately and empathetically.
However, this cannot replace treatment.
Which treatment methods are used for borderline?
Freyer: Predominantly psychotherapeutic, only in serious cases or in cases associated with so-called comorbidity (i.e. the simultaneous presence of a depressive illness, ADHD or similar) are psychotropic drugs such as antidepressants, atypical neuroleptics or tranquilizers used.
Psychotherapy aims to give those affected a better understanding of their problems, to learn how to deal more effectively with strong feelings and mood swings, and to reduce or eliminate self-injury and impulsive behavior.
Can you protect yourself from developing borderline personality disorder?
Freyer: Anything that influences the development of an emotionally unstable personality disorder should be avoided, but it largely takes place in childhood and is naturally not within the sphere of influence of those affected.
These include hostile parental behavior, unstable parental relationships, sexual abuse, early drug use, eating disorders.
Obtaining therapeutic help at an early stage is certainly the most important clue.
This article only contains general information on the respective health topic and is therefore not intended for self-diagnosis, treatment or medication. In no way does it replace a visit to the doctor. Unfortunately, our editors are not allowed to answer individual questions about clinical pictures.
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