Borderline Personality Disorder Analysis

Borderline personality disorder (BPD) is a mental illness characterised by unstable interpersonal relationships, self-image and emotions, as well as impulsivity (American Psychiatric Association, 2013). In order to be diagnosed, an individual must fit at least 5 of the 9 criteria detailed in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders fifth edition (DSM-5). I fit most of these criteria. At the end of 2014 I was officially diagnosed, after dealing with crazy, erratic emotions and a constant feeling of emptiness and loneliness throughout my entire adolescence and early adulthood. Although I had previously been diagnosed with several other illnesses, none fit quite as well as borderline personality disorder. The joy I felt after …show more content…
The DSM-IV-TR (2000) suggests that there is a 3:1 female to male gender ratio and the DSM-5 (2013) suggests that around 75% of those diagnosed with BPD are women. However, a study completed in 2008 on more than 34,600 adults in the United States of America found that the prevalence of the disorder is relatively equal between males and females (Grant et al., 2008). I feel that while knowledge of gender prevalence has importance in gaining a better understanding of the disorder, the results have created this idea among the masses that only women are diagnosed with the illness. Men are left undiagnosed or untreated in the dust, feeling all the more lonely, abandoned and empty. One has to wonder, why do these gender biases exist? Is it sociocultural? Biological? Gender stereotypes seem to have come into play in a place where they are not warranted, the psychological health of an individual should not be a gender debate. From my own readings when trying to find out about the disorder, it seemed that people believe it’s a disorder mostly found in women not because of the statistics like those I presented you with, but because women are considered to be highly emotional beings, irrational, and more dependent on others in interpersonal relationships. Men, on the other hand, are rational, logical and independent. Seeing a psychological disorder through dualistic …show more content…
I’ve been told time and time again that people with BPD are hard to love. I’ve been told time and time again that people with BPD should not have friends or a partner. I’ve been told that I should spend my life alone because being friends with me would be punishment, and loving me would be torture. This was one of the most hurtful things I’ve ever heard about the disorder, and one of the most hurtful things somebody has ever said to me. However, I have a partner who I’ve been with for (only) 1.5 years, and I have friends that have been there alongside me for many years, through my best and worst periods with this disorder. And yet this is believed to be unachievable for those affected by BPD. A quick Google search found thousands of results detailing the horrible cons of an interpersonal relationship with somebody with BPD. Here’s a taste off of one of the websites: ‘A borderline disordered individual is like a computer virus that starts out as benign or innocuous, and then damages your entire system. Internet worms can show up in a harmless email, but when you open it, you're infected. This malicious virus screws with your PC's functions and programs, to where you can barely navigate -- and ultimately crashes your hard drive. This is literally what happens to your mind, body and spirit when you've had exposure to the Borderline's toxicity for any length of time;