ABnormal

1076 Words3 Pages

DSM Diagnosis and Symptoms I believe Terry, a 19-year-old African American college freshman, has a borderline personality disorder (BPD). Terry has exhibited multiple symptoms that point towards her having a BPD. I have examined the information given about Terry and used it to best fit what her potentially diagnosis could be. Terry has reported to have intense negative feelings about being alone and worries that her friends will abandon her. Terry appears to display “frantic efforts to avoid real or imagined abandonment”, which individuals with a BPD have a tendency to do. (DSM-5; 2013, pg. 663) Terry also has a history of dysfunctional interpersonal relationships that can be seen in her family’s history and current intimate relationship. Her parents are divorced because of the abuse going on in the home towards Terry and her mother. As well as having a boyfriend who is emotionally abusive towards her. The DSM-5 characterized “a pattern of unstable and intense interpersonal relationships” is another sign of a BPD. (DSM-5; 2013, pg. 663) Terry has shown signs of impulsive behavior, which can be seen by her history of self-mutilation and frequent suicidal behavior, which is another symptom of a BPD. (DSM-5; 2013, pg. 663) Sometimes Terry would go to therapy saying that she was not experiencing any difficulties one day and then come to therapy in great distress displaying suicidal ideation. This shows emotional instability and this is another way Terry expresses a BPD. (DSM-5; 2013, pg.663) Terry believes that her mother and brother are the cause of her problems. She also idolizes her therapist and hears sounds and music that others cannot hear. This shows how Terry displays signs of paranoia and dissociative symptoms. (DSM-5; 2... ... middle of paper ... ...s to others. This can help with her suicidal tendencies and her dysfunctional relationships. Other Information That Would Be Helpful Other information that would be helpful is how long have her symptoms been present. This would help because we can determine if it really is a personality disorder or just something that Terry is going through. It would also be helpful to find out how she views herself because we do not know if she has low self-esteem or not. This would also be another symptom of borderline personality but we do not know if it is an issue for Terry or not. It would also be helpful to know if her mother or father had a personality disorder. This would help determine if there are genetic factors that contribute to Terry’s BPD. It would also be helpful to know what other risky behavior she might participate in. This would help make the diagnosis clearer.

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