Greg Whittaker
Wor-Wic Community College
Abnormal Psychology
Shane Ferguson, M.A.
July 19, 2014
Borderline personality disorder is a serious medical condition that profoundly affects the lives of those who have it and those around them. In an effort to maintain serenity, families often struggle to avoid situations that can set off another explosive episode. They walk on egg shells, a failed effort because it is not possible to predict what will encourage an outburst. Living with a person who suffers from borderline personality disorder is like walking through a minefield, you never know when an explosion will occur. (Brody., 2009) It was previously thought that three times as …show more content…
(2014) says people with borderline personality disorder usually have a poor self-image, they feel empty inside and find it extremely difficult to be alone. People with this disorder are impulsive, severely volatile and seem to have unstable relationships when and if they have them at all. Out of all the personality disorders, borderline personality disorder is the most common, most difficult to understand and a lot of times has the most damaging impacts because of suicidal behavior. Some people with this disorder may engage in cutting or burning themselves to mask empty feelings or to punish themselves. When people with borderline personality disorder become agitated they may become mildly psychotic. Opposed to losing all sense of reality they are more apt to have a distortion of beliefs or how they perceive themselves. Their feelings can be exaggerated, while a family member or friend may be upset with them, they may believe the person is expressing feelings of hate or disgust. (PsychCentral., …show more content…
Medication is used to treat symptoms as they arise or to treat other disorders occurring simultaneously, including alcoholism, drug abuse, mood or anxiety disorders. Antipsychotic medication may be prescribed if the person’s thinking is distorted. These include Zyprexa and Risperdal among others. At times mood stabilizers will be prescribed, such as Lithium, Depakote, or Topamax. Prozac, Zoloft, Paxil and Celexa are selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRI’s) used as antidepressants and seem to be most effective when treating people with borderline personality disorder. (Biskin et al.,