Coping with Borderline Personality Disorder
According to the National Institute of Mental Health, borderline personality disorder occurs more frequently in women than does bipolar disorder or schizophrenia, even though the latter two conditions are more widely reported in the media. The Institute also mentioned that the disorder affects two percent of all adults, and most of those affected were found to be young women.
Borderline personality disorder symptoms may include intense feelings of depression, anxiety, and anger in emotional bouts that can last from anywhere between just a few hours to a whole day. These emotions may manifest in conjunction with, or even result in, occasions of self-injury, impulsive aggression and substance abuse. In the last instance, the problems facing borderline personality disorder treatment are complicated by a dual diagnosis, or a diagnosis of both mental disorders and addiction problems.
Women who exhibit borderline personality disorder symptoms can also show very unstable patterns in the fabric of their social relationships. Intense but shaky attachments may be formed with authority figures, but these emotions may shift suddenly from idealization or high admiration to devaluation or great dislike. This could result in negative feelings of self-worth, as well as the fear of abandonment by the people to whom they are attached and whose attention they greatly value.
At the Harmony Place, our women clients receive the utmost respect because we believe that understanding a woman's unique psychological makeup is essential to finding more than just a cure for borderline personality disorder. More importantly, our goal is to set each client on a uniquely personal yet holistic path to total wellness.
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