[seeker1950]

I would appreciate a definition of borderline personality disorder. I heard a "specialist" on a TV documentary describing symptoms of this, and felt it sounded like me!
I have never posted in this subject thread and didn't even realize it was here till this evening.
Would just appreciate feedback.
Thanks,
Patty

[PetulantWolf]

I will look for the criteria to paste in a sec...keep in mind you can have features of BPD without being borderline...there are degrees you can have traits of several personality disorders and just be "normal"...whatever that is...

[seeker1950]

Thanks, Wolf..
I have looked this up thru various links since posting my question, and see that it is nebulous in description of traits...and see SOME things which describe me, but not severe...I am thinking anyone could formulate their own diagnosis as having this, but since I maintain a fairly healthy life, good job, stable friends, family, etc, much of it does not apply to me. At the same time, I do recognize that I am "hypervigilant" in my attempt at romantic relationships, suffering severe hurt of rejection and overly long periods of extreme recovery....also a great deal of self-blaming for failures, insecurity and inferiority. Is this BPD?
Patty

Hi Patty,

From what I've read....(keep in mind-I'm not a professional)and have also been told by professionals.... is that when one has traits but they are not debilitating one's whole life, then it is not considered a personality disorder but a personality "style".

Sounds like it doesn't affect your whole life just a few parts of it and you are able to go about things in a fairly healthy manner.....then that would be a personality "style" not a "disorder".....
At least, that's my understanding.... perhaps someone will come and explain more..... -- I could be incorrect in this......

(it's been suggested that I'm of some kind of disordered type... my work(or lack of),every relationship I have/had, the way I see myself in any situation.... it's all affected)

take care

mandy

[seeker1950]

Thanks, Mandy...You're a sweetie!
My traits are not debilitating either, but I do recognize some things that point to this.
Patty

[Perna]

One thing, for me, that makes me think of borderline personality disorder is not having any specific thing to point to for some of the abrupt mood shifts and feelings. If you are constantly hypervigilant about relationships with the opposite sex (as opposed to ALL relationships) that shows a consistency that I don't feel around people suffering from BPD? And your feeling of not having things severely; everyone gets "sad" for a few days and loses interest in life, etc. but that doesn't make them clinically depressed; I think everyone gets some feelings of most mental illnesses but not to the "degree"/extent or length of time that people suffering from that illness do. Everyone changes their mind but not as abruptly or intensely as someone suffering from BPD can?

http://psychcentral.com/lib/2007/an-...lity-disorder/

Here's a link to a short article here on PC and there are additional links at the bottom of the article.

Hope this helps!

[seeker1950]

Thanks, Echoes and Perna..
I've done more reading and will look at the link you provided, Echoes. I think it's like Perna says, some of the things are like my "personality type," but generally I am not in this category as much as I had initially thought.
Thanks!
Patty

Patty, when I approached this subject with my therapist (who doesn't assign diagnoses) she said in her opinion most difficulties that bring someone to therapy are personality disorders to some degree. I liked that she said that and I agree.

ECHOES

[Christine329]

To me, borderline is the altering of reality to better suit your life and emotions. To always want to be #1 and to always want to be on top. To change "you" to become loved by any and everyone. Yet when you change "you" in that moment it feels so real. I dont know who I truly am, I dont know my likes and dislikes bc they are always changing to impress others and become wanted. Borderline to me is a nightmare. I hate that Im this way but Im fixing it, Im getting help. I have never had a stable relationship or a friendship. I either love you or hate you and in my opinion everyone hates me so therefore I try to make that change by becomeing the person I think they want me to me. I SI to feel I exist and that Im alive. I lash out either at myself internally or at others to them or in my head. I fear hurting people, in fact it is my biggest fear but I do it all the time, never intentional but I do. Im textbook borderline but Im lucky enoughto have a husband who understands the disorder and eals with it and helps me through my struggles. Feel free to PM for more info into my little world!!

[seeker1950]

Christine...Thanks for the reply...I don't SI though I do have thoughts of death and illness quite a bit...In the past, I have overcompensated in relationships, giving and doing too much, and in casual associations, have found myself talking too much, explaining too much, as a way to be accepted. I've dealt with that and am not doing that now, but it has been a lifelong pattern.
I've had a severe inferiority complex since childhood, stemming from childhood abuse and even remember my father telling my mother,when I was preschool age, "You're going to give her an inferiority complex!, " which she did, being severely punished for the least faux pax or infraction which I didn't even realize as a child I was doing.
I'm age 56 now, and have dealt with much of this and am able to quiet the tendency to overcompensate. It has definitely impacted my romantic relationships. I've never really been successful.
Patty

with respect to the history of the term (helpful to get some context) 'borderline personality disorder' or 'borderline personality organisation' was meant to refer to individuals who were somewhere at the borderline between psychotic and neurotic.

what does that mean? freud and others were developing the psychoanalytic method which involved lying down on a couch and free associating while the therapist practiced 'theraputic neutrality' which was (in theory) supposed to consist in the therapist making 'mmm hmm, i see' comments along with some controntational interpretations. people who were neurotic (who had a tendency to experience distressing emotions) tended to do well in psychoanalysis. they fairly rapidly developed transference (started to project the traits of past figures who were important onto the therapist) and they developed a bond or attachment to their therapist. freud thought that neurotic symptoms resulted from an oedipus complex. we can recast that (in more modern terms) as a problem in fairly late childhood (can't quite remember when... ages 4-6?).

people who had psychotic symptoms were thought to be unsuitable for psychoanalysis. instead of engaging in the defences (projection and transference and so on and so forth) they tended to deteriorate when they were in analysis and they would become psychotic and often paranoid. they also had more difficulty in bonding / forming a theraputic alliance with their clinicians. most often... they didn't. psychosis was thought to result from a problem that occurred much much earlier in development.

people with borderline personality organisations originally presented with neurotic symptoms and hence it was thought that they would be suitable for analysis. when they were analysed they would rapidly deteriorate and become psychotic, however. they didn't seem to form a good working alliance with their clinician. they seemed to have difficulty attaching / bonding. freud thought that people with borderline personality organisations were thus unsuitable for therapy.

so the origins of the notion is that people who are 'borderline' are between neurotic symptoms and psychotic symptoms. the developmental problem is thought to occur earlier than the oedipal phase. the majority of current psychoanalytic theorists place the main problem at rapproachment / seperation individuation, i think. around age 2 i think.

in practice 'borderline personality disorder' became something of a dumping ground for individuals who initially looked like they would make good progress with treatment but who deteriorated over time. typically people are diagnosed with depression and / or anxiety and / or post traumatic stress and / or avoidant personality disorder and / or an eating disorder and / or OCD and / or... the notion, however, is that people with borderline personality disorder tend not to get better the way that people with 'simple' forms of axis one psychopathology typically do with treatment.

'borderline personality organisation' referred to both the modern day borderline personality disroder and the modern day narcissistic personality disorder (roughly). both of these conditions were thought to be forms of borderline (between psychosis and neurosis) organisations.

there was a lot of work by theorists trying to argue that borderline personality disorder was a syndrome in its own right and that the diagnosis SHOULD NOT be used as a dumping ground for people who didn't progress in the way their clinicians had hoped.

what do i think? well... i think that the historical take is very interesting indeed... i also like linehan's notion that borderline personality disorder is primarily a disorder of emotion regulation. i also have a great deal of time for Kohut's work on narcissistic personality disorders (where he is talking about borderline personalitly organisations really). many theorists have altered traditional analytic techniques of free association, couch work, and theraputic neutrality into other techniques such that people with borderline personality organisation can be treated by psychoanalytic / dynamic therapy.

i guess an analyst would say... whether you have a personalitly disorder or not would be revealed in how you respond to traditional analysis. generally speaking a diagnosis is important with respect to obtaining treatment / health insurance reimbursement but that is about all, really. i don't know why people are so keen to label themselves...