BORDERLINE PERSONALITY DISORDER Copyright 1999 John M Rathbun MD DEFINITION - a pervasive pattern of instability of interpersonal relationships, self-image, and affect, and marked impulsiveness, beginning by early adulthood and present in a variety of contexts HISTORY: * this diagnosis has been used over the past 30 years to label patients who get therapists upset. * BPD has become the most diagnosed and researched personality disorder. EPIDEMIOLOGY: * two or three per cent of the general population are affected * most …
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…need benzodiazepines for anxiety, restlessness, and sleeplessness. Care must be taken in prescribing these drugs, because borderline patients are more likely than others to overuse or misuse them. Borderline patients whose moods swing rapidly from depression or rage to elation may be helped by the addition of a mood stabilizer such as lithium, valproate, or carbamazepine. Very low doses of neuroleptics (anti-psychotic drugs) may reduce distortions of reality and communications. (Sept. 96, Harvard Mental Health Letter)