Borderline Personality Disorder, also known as a biosocial disorder, entails highly emotionally sensitive and reactive, feeling things more immediately and more intensely than others. It takes the person longer than usual to return to their emotional baseline after being triggered.
According to the Child Mind Institute, BPD develops in those who are confronted with an environment where they don’t feel validated. Kids develop BPD in most cases due to abusive parenting or neglect. But in some other cases, BPD can develop in children who are otherwise loved but their parents minimise their emotional reactions because they seem exaggerated or inappropriate.
According to MomJunction, these are the symptoms of BPD in children:
Intense emotions and mood swings
Binge eating
Substance abuse
Spending a lot of money
Trouble maintaining relationships
Rash driving
Risky sexual behaviour
Aggressive behaviour
A feeling of being left out
Low self-esteem
Sees people in black and white and doesn’t consider anything to be grey
Anger management issues
Violent tantrums
Suicidal thoughts
Diagnosis of BPD can only be done through a child psychologist, who will thoroughly analyse all symptoms and arrive at a diagnosis. To be diagnosed with BPD, the patient should exhibit at least 5 of the above-mentioned symptoms.
The treatment process of BPD can be troublesome as it is easy for the symptoms to return. The patients might also have a bad relationship with their doctors and counselors. However, even though the treatment is long, it helps reduce the symptoms significantly. The treatment involves these steps:
Counselling and therapy – A counsellor plays a pivotal role in treating children with BPD. The relationship between a counsellor and a child with BPD can see many ups and downs, especially when the counsellor asks the child to change their behaviour.
Medication – Anti-depressants, anti-anxiety medicines, mood stabilisers, and low-dose anti-psychotics in combination with therapy can improve a child’s mental health condition.
Healthy habits – Sufficient sleep, a balanced diet, exercising regularly and abstinence from substance abuse can help reduce anxiety and stress. Such lifestyle improvements reduce the intensity and frequency of symptoms.
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