Borderline Personality Disorder
Excerpt from Girl, Interrupted, pp. 147-48, which has been taken from the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorder, 3d edition, revised, pp. 346-47
You probably understood that things in bold are applying or were applying to me.
I kinda wonder if I should worry about that or if... I don't know...
There's some other things I wanna type out that book.
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An essential feature of this disorder is a pervasive pattern of instability of self-image, interpersonal relationships, ans mood, beginning in early adulthood and present in a variety of contexts.
A marked and persistent identity disturbance is almost invariably present. This is often pervasive, and is manifested by uncertainty about several life issues, such as self-image, sexual orientation, long-term goals or career choice, types of friends or lovers to have, and which values to adopt. The person often experiences this instability of self-image as chronic feelings of emptiness and boredom.
Interpersonal relationships are usually unstable and intense, and may be characterized by alternation of the extremes of overidealization and devaluation. These people have difficulty tolerating being alone, and wil make frantic efforts to avoid real or imagined abandonment.
Affective instability is common. This may be evidenced by marked mood shift from baseline mood to depression, irritability, or anxiety, usually lasting a few hours or, only rarely, more than a few days, In addition, these people often have inappropriately intense anger with frequent displays of temper or recurrent physical fights. They tend to be impulsive, particularly in activities that are potentially self damaging, such as shopping sprees, psychoactive substabce abuse, reckless driving, casual sex, shoplifting, and binge eating.
Recurrent suicidal threats, gestures, or behiavor and other self-mutilating behavior (e.g, wrist-scratching) are common in the more severe forms of the disorder. This behavior may serve to manipulate others, may be result of intense anger, or may counteract feelings of "numbness" and depersonalization that arise during periods of extreme stress.
You probably understood that things in bold are applying or were applying to me.
I kinda wonder if I should worry about that or if... I don't know...
There's some other things I wanna type out that book.
