Have you met that person or have that friend that goes from zero to one hundred within a minute? They can go from being happy to sad to happy to angry and then back. Most people will call the person a “drama queen”. Although, there may be some people in this category that may actually deserve this nickname. Some people may meet the criteria for borderline personality disorder. This is an actual mental illness that affects the way an individual thinks and feels about themselves and others, which affects the functioning of their daily life. These individuals may have unstable relationships, emotional and behavioral management difficulties, and self-image problems. These individuals need to be assessed by a mental health practitioner who will then make the diagnosis and create an appropriate plan of care (Mayo Clinic, 2019).
Some symptoms of borderline personality disorder include:
- Fear of abandonment: These individuals do not like to be rejected or separated and would go to extreme measures to prevent these.
- Unstable Relationships: Due to their fluctuation in mood, they can go from loving you to hating you within a few minutes.
- Paranoia: These are often stress-related and may lead to loss of contact with reality which can last for hours.
- Impulsive behaviors: They may gamble, drive recklessly, have unsafe sex, go on spending sprees, drug use, binge eating, self-sabotaging, quitting jobs, ending a good relationship.
- Suicidality: These are often in response to the fear of or being separated or rejected.
- Feelings of emptiness
- Inappropriate and intense anger: these individuals may frequently lose their tempers, get into fights and are often sarcastic or bitter (NIH, 2019).
Reference:
Mayo Clinic. (2019). Borderline Personality Disorder. Retrieved from https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/borderline-personality-disorder/symptoms-causes/syc-20370237
National Institute of Mental Health (NIH). (2019). Borderline Personality Disorder. Retrieved from https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/borderline-personality-disorder/index.shtml