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What are the Symptoms of Borderline Personality Disorder in Women?
Borderline personality disorder is a disorder in which a person cannot properly regulate her emotions. More women are reported to have it than men. The disorder can cause a woman to lose a sense of who she is and can result in an inability to maintain stable relationships. Some of the other symptoms of borderline personality disorder in women are mood swings, self-destructive behaviors, and extreme behaviors. Sufferers of this disorder may also change their mind about decisions such as careers, sexual orientation, and how they feel about a particular person.
A woman with borderline personality disorder may not know who she is. This lack of self-identity has nothing to do with amnesia, but rather has to do with a woman not having a clear sense of her personality, likes, and dislikes. This may be one characteristic of borderline personality disorder in women. A woman with the disorder may also have an inability to keep stable relationships. The disorder may also lead a woman to engage in activities such as manipulation, selfishness, and abuse that may damage her relationships.
Symptoms of borderline personality disorder in women may also include splitting. A woman with the disorder often only sees a person as all good or all bad. The result is that a woman may intensely adore a person one moment, and loathe him the next. Symptoms of the disorder may also include inappropriate anger or temper tantrums. A woman may also try to harm herself or may act suicidal.
Engaging in risky or extreme behaviors are also symptoms of borderline personality disorder in women. In addition, a woman with the disorder may participate in binge eating and shopping sprees she can’t afford. She may also engage in risky sex behaviors. Other symptoms of borderline personality disorder in women include intense moods that can last several days, feeling empty or isolated, and substance abuse. A woman may also have a fear of abandonment, regardless of if the threat is real or not.
Though it is not known what causes borderline personality disorder in women, there are some treatment options. Therapy can often help a woman with this disorder. There are also different drugs and mood stabilizers that can be taken. Any other conditions, such as drug and alcohol abuse, should also be dealt with. With treatment, it is possible for a woman to live a normal life and enjoy stable relationships.
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![Women with borderline personality disorder may experience wild mood swings and impulsive, risky behavior.]()
By: ivolodinaWomen with borderline personality disorder may experience wild mood swings and impulsive, risky behavior. -
![Women with a borderline personality disorder may over emphasize their physical appearance.]()
By: HaywireMediaWomen with a borderline personality disorder may over emphasize their physical appearance. -
![Inappropriate anger or temper tantrums may be symptomatic of a woman with borderline personality disorder.]()
By: Johan LarsonInappropriate anger or temper tantrums may be symptomatic of a woman with borderline personality disorder. -
![Substance abuse may be a symptom of borderline personality disorder in women.]()
By: arska nSubstance abuse may be a symptom of borderline personality disorder in women. -
![Self-destructive behaviors are common in women with borderline personality disorder.]()
By: Eric SimardSelf-destructive behaviors are common in women with borderline personality disorder. -
![Women who have borderline personality disorder tend to be combative.]()
By: jbrandtWomen who have borderline personality disorder tend to be combative.
Discussion Comments
I have always heard that most psychologists feel that borderline personality disorder is either genetic or triggered by a serious, traumatic event, like repeated sexual abuse. The lack of a sense of personal identity makes sense in that light, since many people who have had severe trauma report a sense of being dissociated or separated from themselves.
I think my maternal grandmother probably had this. She was very difficult to deal with and saw everything in stark black and white. There were no shades of gray. She eventually committed suicide while in a bleak depressive phase. However, in the mid-60s, you didn’t talk about these issues, and mental health care was nowhere near the standard it is today – which is saying something.
My sister knows this woman who has borderline personality disorder, and this description fits her right down the line. She was originally diagnosed as bipolar, but she doesn't have the depressive mood swings.
She went back to the mental hospital a few times and finally got the borderline diagnosis. She's impossible to deal with when she gets off her medication. She tells these fantastic lies about people, harasses them on the phone and does other things that have pretty much isolated her from having too many friends. People get tired of dealing with her extreme instability.
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