What Is Borderline Personality Disorder?

Borderline Personality Disorder is a mental disorder characterized by a pervasive pattern of instability of interpersonal relationships, self-image, identity, and moods. These individuals are often so desperate to have relationships with other people that they often do not respect boundaries of another person and have strong, one-sided feelings toward a person that the individual is trying to maintain a relationship with. Individuals with this disorder tend to be impulsive and often engage in behaviors of substance abuse or other activities such as purchasing items or sex. These individuals often have a tendency to direct their intense anger inwardly and tend to engage in suicidal attempts or self-mutilation such as cutting or burning oneself.
Karen had made a suicide attempt by drinking excessive amounts of alcohol and overdosing on sedatives that she had previously been prescribed in the past. Karen had made this attempt because she was trying to cope with a recent break up with her boyfriend whom she had a relationship with for three months prior to this event. After spending time in the hospital, Karen needed to get her therapist at the time, to tell the hospital that she would be receiving treatment once she was discharged from the hospital. When Karen called her current therapist to get his approval for discharge, he said that this was her third attempt in two years and he proceeded to terminate treatment with her. He further explained that he thought that her self-harm and suicide attempts were forms of manipulation and attempts of gaining attention for herself to avoid her issues. These self-harming tendencies often surfaced when Karen had experienced interpersonal turmoil and distress. This maladaptive behavior to cope with her issues with abandonment and fear of rejection has developed from her abusive past
She started working as a waitress and met her new husband, George, there. George was 33 and Karen was 18 years old when they got married. George shortly thereafter started to emotionally and physically abuse her. He would assume she was flirting and having affairs with other men behind his back and force her to quit her job. George would make it so that she was completely dependent on him; financially and socially. He would eventually set strict house rules in order to restrict Karen from going to certain places and meeting certain people without him. Her past abuse with her family did not help her because she could not tell if the beatings she received were deserved or if she could find better treatment from someone somewhere else. His abuse made it so that she was completely dependent on him and she went into depression following his death that would hospitalize