Borderline Personality Disorder Essay -- Psychology

Literature Review Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) can be described in simple terms as a condition in which sufferers experience long periods of emotional instability and troubled feelings about themselves and other people. These troubled feelings allow individuals to take impulsive measures and have trouble in their relationships (Bouchard, Sabourin, Lussier & Villeneuve, 2009). BPD basically comprises of unusual intensities of instability in mood and irrational thinking also referred to as splitting. Splitting in BPD involves a switch between negative perception of others and idealization (Sperry, 2003). This usually occurs along with irregular mood swings and can negatively impact on the existing relationships such as family, co-workers and friends (Abela, Skitch, Auerbach & Adams, 2005). This disorder manifests itself in a number of ways. Persons suffering from this disorder may demonstrate episodes of intense hatred and dislike and idealization in addition to chaotic personal and interperson al relationships (Bouchard, Sabourin, Lussier & Villeneuve, 2009). Sufferers may also be supportive of others and nurture them well hoping that these people will always be there for them and will satisfy all their demands. These people may also demonstrate unstable self-image, inappropriate behavior, and lack of self identity (Sperry, 2003). The sense of self of a person is usually totally impacted on. The psychological disturbance associated with this disorder, especially the one involving the sense of self of a person, may result in long episodes of dissociation (Ebner-Priemer et al. 2009). In the past, BPD was believed to be a set of symptoms between problems associated with mood and schizophrenia. These symptoms were believed... ...resulting in fear and arousal (Schmahl, Berne, Krause, Kleindienst, Valerius, Vermetten & Bohus, 2009). The work of dampening this arousal is carried out by the pre-frontal region of the brain. Brain imaging has revealed that personal differences in the capacity to activate areas of the prefrontal cerebral cortex, which is believed to activate inhibitory responses, predict the capacity to repress negative feelings (Williams Sidis, Gordon & Meares, 2006). Acetylcholine and norepinephrine in addition to serotonin are the main neurotransmitters in the circuit involved in the regulation of emotions. Imbalance of these neurotransmitters in conjunction with increased GABA activity is believed to have the capacity to result in intense mood swings similar to those of borderline personality disorder (Schmahl, Berne, Krause, Kleindienst, Valerius, Vermetten & Bohus, 2009).