Borderline Personality Disorder

For anyone interested in Borderline Personality Disorder, a disorder that is not unusual in adopted children who have been institutionalized for their earliest developmental years, there are many new resources. I was told years ago when my daughter was diagnosed that the only treatment was a lifetime of therapy. While that has not totally changed, there are more therapists who have the awareness of his disorder and newer modalities to deal with it. I don't doubt that the high volume of US adoptions from countries in the Eastern Bloc have unfortunately given doctors more incidents of this disorder but have also raised the awareness of the diagnosis. No therapy guarantees a cure, but continued therapy can help the patient understand their own illness and learn to accept it and then live with it in a healthier manner.

Here is a good description of the symptoms from the Mayo Clinic.

"Borderline personality disorder affects how you feel about yourself, how you relate to others and how you behave.
When you have borderline personality disorder, you often have an insecure sense of who you are. That is, your self-image or sense of self often rapidly changes. You may view yourself as evil or bad, and sometimes may feel as if you don't exist at all. An unstable self-image often leads to frequent changes in jobs, friendships, goals and values.
Your relationships are usually in turmoil. You often experience a love-hate relationship with others. You may idealize someone one moment and then abruptly and dramatically shift to fury and hate over perceived slights or even minor misunderstandings. This is because people with the disorder often have difficulty accepting gray areas — things seem to be either black or white.
Borderline personality disorder symptoms may include:

• Impulsive and risky behavior, such as risky driving, unsafe sex, gambling sprees or illegal drug use
• Strong emotions that wax and wane frequently
• Intense but short episodes of anxiety or depression
• Inappropriate anger, sometimes escalating into physical confrontations
• Difficulty controlling emotions or impulses
• Suicidal behavior
• Fear of being alone

When to see a doctor
People with borderline personality disorder often feel misunderstood, alone, empty and hopeless. They're typically full of self-hate and self-loathing. They may be fully aware that their behavior is destructive, but feel unable to change it. Poor impulse control may lead to problems with gambling, driving or even the law. They may find that many areas of their lives are affected, including social relationships, work or school"

A older book that is also useful this one.

I hope this will help someone out there who either identifies with these symptoms or someone who has a family member who exhibits these symptoms and more. There is help.