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According to the latest estimate, five million Americans fit the profile of the borderline personality disorder. One moment calm and engaging, the next raging and impulsive, guilty and self-mutilationg. Borderlines puzzle those around them, straining relationships to the breaking point. Many psychiatrists define B.P.D.'s as a problem with who you are. It is one of the most complicated forms of mental illnesses. They tend to have many problems in thier relationships. They get invloved with other people quickly, but things also get wierd quickly. They're impulsive in a number of ways, many are related to suicide attempts. These attempts usually occur because of a problem in a relationship. People who are most likely to be able to borderline patients are those with extremely high I.Q.'s or other positive personality traits, and mothers with many children. B.P.D. is characterized by stable and persistant ways of behavior and thought. Most psychiatrists say that borderlines are the neediest people in the world, but alienate everyone they seek love from. Borderline Personality Disorder is caused by some defect in early attatchment that leads to the person searching for some type of protective relationship which makes up for what they unfairly didn't get in their childhood. It's a desperate search for someone who will take care of them. Most patients can function well as long as they have someone they feel will be there to care for them and believe in them. If the patient feels any sourt of betryal from thier specia lperson, they wll become abusive, obsessive,and in some cases, maybe even stalk the person. Sometimes a person with the disease will even become self-destuctive b/c they will want care ir protection from others. This is how they prevent people from leaving them. Borderline patients do learn from experience. By the time they are 30 years old, they will be able to build relationships or they will try to avoid getting too involved with others, so they turn to churches, self-help groups, or employment situations. Then they become more comfortable with their feelings, and they are less likely to feel they are bad people. Many borderlines will go to therapy because they attempt suicide or have suicidal feelings. Therapists are cautios to treat people with the disorder b/c they are concerned about their own personal life and think that the patient may intrude and disrupt them. Some patients have been known to park on thier therapists lawn, wanting to go on vacation with them, and be extemely jealous of thier children. Sometimes, therapists can diagnose a borderline personality in 10 minutes. This is possible b/c they don't have very good boundaries and will give you deep information in minutes. Attempted suicide is usually the most characteristic symptom of the disorder. Drugs don't help boderline patients b/c usually from many years of treatment, many people are back to square one. Believe it or not, time is considered one of the best treatments b/c it wears the pathology down. The 5 most Diagnostic Criteria for Borderline Personality Disorder: Making efforts to aviod real or imagined abandonment. Persistently unstable self-image ar sense of self. Feelings of emptiness. Stress-related paranoya and shyness. Thoughts of suicide and suicidal attempts.

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