People who suffer from Borderline Personality Disorder experience feelings of emptiness and often are involved in a series of unstable relationships. Additionally they tend to have an irrational fear of abandonment.
Unfortunately, the diagnosis has been misused, and has become more of a judgmental label than a useful entity. The condition it was created to describe refers to people who live on the watershed (the border line) between highly adapted and overwhelmingly devastated emotional states.
Symptoms of Borderline Personality Disorder
Patients tend to have unstable moods and tumultuous interpersonal relationships: attitudes towards others can shift quickly between positive and negative feelings. Sudden and extreme changes in the perception of self-worth generate a state of emptiness and a sense of “not belonging,” thus people tend to feel isolated and lonely. They can succumb to self-injurious gestures and make ill-advised choices with destructive consequences. This condition often includes elements of depression, bipolar illness and anxiety. Although these symptoms can be overwhelming, with proper treatment patients can do remarkably well.
Treatment for Borderline Personality Disorder
The mainstay of treatment is intensive therapy with medications as needed. This has to be a carefully crafted approach, which prioritizes safety and stability for the patient. Please call Dr. Bonner for a consultation at (650) 323-1851 or by email.