Borderline Personality Disorder

Section 1: Borderline personality disorder is a serious mental illness marked by unstable moods, behavior, and relationships. Because some people with severe borderline personality disorder have brief psychotic episodes, experts originally thought of this illness as atypical, or borderline, versions of other mental disorders. While mental health experts now generally agree that the name "borderline personality disorder" is misleading, a more accurate term does not exist yet. The symptoms of borderline disorder were first described in the medical literature over 3000 years ago. The disorder has gained increasing visibility over the past three decades. The full spectrum of symptoms of borderline disorder typically first appears in the teenage years and early twenties. Although some children with significant behavioral disturbances may develop readily diagnosable borderline disorder as they get older, it is very difficult to make the diagnosis in children. It is estimated that more than 14 million American adults, distributed equally between men and women, have borderline personality disorder. It is more common than schizophrenia or bipolar disorder: an estimated 11% of outpatients, 20% of psychiatric inpatients and 6% of primary care visits meet the criteria for the disorder. Obtaining an accurate diagnosis can be difficult. As ,ost patients with bipolar disorder go years before receiving an appropriate diagnosis and starting mood stabilizers[1] As with all personality disorders, the person must be at least 18 years old before they can be diagnosed with it. Borderline personality disorders is typically diagnosed by a trained mental health professional, such as a psychologist or psychiatrist. Family physicians and general practitioners are generally not trained or well-equipped to make this type of psychological diagnosis. Researchers today don’t know what causes borderline personality disorder. There are many theories, however, about the possible causes of

References: [1] Nagata, T., Yamada, H., Teo, A. R., & Yoshimura, C. (2013). Using the mood disorder questionnaire and bipolar spectrum diagnostic scale to detect bipolar disorder and borderline personality disorder among eating disorder patients. BMC Psychiatry, 13(1), 1-8. doi:10.1186/1471-244X-13-69 [2]Mandal, E., & Kocur, D. (2013). Psychological masculinity, femininity and tactics of manipulation in patients with borderline personality disorder. Archives Of Psychiatry & Psychotherapy, 15(1), 45-53. [3]Links, P. S., Kolla, N. J., Guimond, T., & McMain, S. (2013). Prospective Risk Factors for Suicide Attempts in a Treated Sample of Patients With Borderline Personality Disorder. Canadian Journal Of Psychiatry, 58(2), 99-106. [4]Cheavens, J. S., Strunk, D. R., & Chriki, L. (2012). A Comparison of Three Theoretically Important Constructs: What Accounts For Symptoms of Borderline Personality Disorder?. Journal Of Clinical Psychology, 68(4), 477-486. doi:10.1002/jclp.20870 Section 2:Movie: “Girl, Interrupted” In April 1967, 18-year-old Susanna Kaysen inattentively checks herself into Claymoore Hospital after taking an overdose of aspirin. She denies the accusation from many that she was attempting to commit suicide, claiming that she was only "trying to make the shit stop". Shortly after Susanna is diagnosed with borderline personality disorder. While at Claymoore, Susanna befriends fellow patients Polly, Cynthia, Lisa, and Daisy who all contribute to Susanna’s experiences at McLean. Susanna privately reflects, in her diary, upon their their personal issues and how they come to cope with the time they must spend in the hospital. As time passes Susanna has increasing difficulty making sense of visual patterns, and suggests that sanity is a falsehood constructed to help the "healthy" feel "normal" in comparison. She also questions how doctors treat mental illness, and whether they are treating the brain or the mind. During her stay, Susanna also undergoes a period of depersonalization, where she bites open the flesh on her hand after she becomes terrified that she has "lost her bones." She develops a frantic obsession with the verification of this proposed reality and even insists to see an X-ray of herself to make sure. On her last night at Claymoore Hospital, Susanna awakens to discover her friends reading her diary, which including all of the private thoughts and comments she has made about them. A fight between Susanne and an her friends ensues. Susanna is released the next day. Before she leaves, she says goodbye to all her friends, making peace with them for the previous night. Even saying they must come and see her, when they too are released. At the end of the film, Susanna states that by the 1970s, most of her friends were released from Claymoore, indicating that their disorders are treatable.~~~ After watching “Girl, Interrupted” and researching about borderline personality disorder. It is my belief that most people do not understand that people get this illness through no fault of their own, only by a genetic roll of the dice. A lot of Americans and other people around the world seem to think that mental illness is somehow caused by one’s self. They also don’t seem to understand how a mental illness can cause certain behaviors and tend to think it is some kind of character defect, and so it gets blamed on its victims to some degree. One popular myth, about borderline personality disorder, is that almost everyone who has borderline disorder is a woman. The movie “Girl, Interrupted” did not help with this, as most of the cast were female. This myth is harmful in two ways. First, it increases the stigma associated with the disorder in women, and understandably results in women being less receptive to the diagnosis. Second, it decreases the awareness of the diagnosis in men. This results in inadequate treatment and continued suffering. As in women, this myth also decreases the acceptance of the diagnosis by men. Early research studies did suggest that borderline disorder seemed to occur about two to three times more frequently in women than in men, but also indicated that it does occur fairly commonly in men. A more recent study proved a equal prevalence in both men and women. Another harmful myth about borderline personality disorder is that mental disorders, by their nature, don 't require close family involvement in the treatment process if it is to be optimally effective. There are now preliminary research data that suggest that family involvement is also very important in the effective treatment of borderline disorder. Nonetheless, many psychiatrists and other mental health clinicians continue to deny meaningful input from family members, especially parents and spouses, to aid in the treatment process. Even in “Girl, Interrupted” all patients were sent to a hospital were they remained till they were “cured” and their families were hardly seen at all.My personal rating of “Girl, Interrupted” would not be very high. I feel that the movie is more about how women can support each other through the toughest of circumstances. Than about borderline personality disorder. It 's not a bad film, it has in my opinion some very good acting, including a great performance by Angelia Jolie. Where the films strays off into weak areas is in its presentation of characters and storyline. The characters are fleshed out with obvious problems like weight disorders, pathological lying, disfigurement, etc... It is not that their problems are obvious, but they are presented through cliches linked with each respective illness. It is easy to understand the characters, but hard to get attached. The film also tries too hard to push the idea that these folks are not as insane as the chaotic times that surround them.