Borderline Personality Disorder Analysis

The primary features of borderline personality disorder (BPD), according to the DSM-V, include emotional instability, unstable interpersonal relationships, self-image issues, impulsive behaviors, fear of abandonment, an intense need for intimacy, and a fear of rejection. A person must meet 5 of 9 criteria to receive a diagnosis of borderline personality disorder. Alternative criteria based on trait research, with a minimum of four of seven maladaptive traits are also acceptable under the DSM-V (APA, 2013).
Marsha Linehan, (1993) the creator of DBT therapy, states that people with BPD are more sensitive to emotion, have increased intensity of emotion and longer duration. In a positive sense, people with BPD can be very loving, happy and

Due to the elastic nature of personality in children, it is rarely diagnosed then, although symptoms may be present. Symptoms that may foreshadow development of BPD in adulthood include body-image issues, extreme sensitivity to rejection, behavioral problems, non-suicidal self-injury, attempts to find exclusive relationships, and severe shame. (Linehan, 1993)
Levy et al (2005) relate that a large number of people with borderline personality disorder have a co-morbid mood disorder such as major depressive disorder or bipolar disorder. The symptoms of both are very similar which makes diagnosing difficult and complicates treatment. It is suggested that mood be stabilized with medications before diagnosis of BPD due to these similarities and the transient quality of the symptoms in a manic episode. Duration of effect is often the only

Other antipsychotics have been proved to be less effective or harmful. Mood stabilizers such as valproate may reduce depression and anger, lamotrigine may reduce impulsivity and anger; and topiramate may reduce impulsivity, anxiety, and anger. Benzodiazepines have been proven to be counter-productive. Only amitriptyline has been shown to be consistently effective as an