Borderline Personality Disorder
(BPD) affects between six and ten million people (or 2% of the population) 75% to 90% of whom are women. In most cases Borderline Personality Disorder follows a trauma or abuse.
Symptoms of Borderline
Personality Disorder Include:
- Impulsive behavior (for example; spending sprees, sexual impulsivity, drug and alcohol abuse, reckless
driving)
- Unstable interpersonal relationships
- Deep fear of abandonment
- Black and white or all or nothing thinking
- Frequent boredom
- Chronic emptiness
- Poor self image
Great strides
in the treatment of BPD have been made since 1989 when Prozac and others selective reuptake inhibitor antidepressants (SSRIs)
were shown to relieve symptoms of BPD in some patients. In 1991 Marsha Linehan
developed a new therapeutic approach called Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) specifically for patients suffering from Borderline
Personality Disorder. DBT specializes in helping a person regain control of their
lives through self knowledge, emotion regulation and cognitive restructuring and has been shown to be extremely affective.
