-
Biology of Borderline Personality Disorder
Can BPD be inherited? Here’s an article on the biological aspects of BPD. Genetic studies of monozygotic and dizygotic twins suggest that there may be genetic factors for these dimensions of emotional reactivity and impulsive aggression, while there does not appear to be a heritability for BPD as a category. Family members of BPD patients are more likely to demonstrate affective instability or impulsivity, although not necessarily both. Impulsivity and aggression seem to be heritable in studies of normal twins as well. It is noteworthy that in the studies of prolactin responses to fenfluramine, blunted prolactin response to fenfluramine in a patient is a better predictor of impulsivity and aggression…
-
DSM-IV Criteria
Although this site is not an introduction to Borderline Personality Disorder, and I am not a doctor or therapist, I thought it might be helpful to look at the DSM-IV diagnosis criteria. If you have 5 of these 9, you are considered a borderline: A pervasive pattern of instability of interpersonal relationships, self-image, and affects, and marked impulsivity beginning by early adulthood and present in a variety of contexts, as indicated by five (or more) of the following: 1. frantic efforts to avoid real or imagined abandonment. Note: Do not include suicidal or self-mutilating behavior covered in Criterion 5. 2. a pattern of unstable and intense interpersonal relationships characterized by…
-
The Paradox of BPD
Article on the paradox at the center of Borderline Personality Disorder: It is the acceptance of the paradoxical irony that is the very nature of Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) that is at the epicenter of recovery. Paradox exists within the center of contradiction. The apparent contradiction for those with BPD is found in the reality that what is understood and perceived borderline reality is not in essence real in the here and now. Rather, what is perceived and/or experienced in distorted ways now is really the dissociative re-experiencing of past traumatic events. In the active throes of BPD, borderlines, more often than not, are unaware of this. The inability to…