For example, a teen without borderline personality disorder may get mad, slam the door in your face, and seeth for an hour or so. A teen with the disorder may get mad, slam the door, and proceed to use drugs or alcohol to cope with the emotions. This is because teens with this disorder really struggle to work through these intense emotions, causing them to lash out in dangerous ways.
Identifying borderline personality disorder symptoms
For someone to be officially diagnosed with borderline personality disorder, they must show 5 out of the 9 criteria in the DSM-5. The symptoms vary, but usually last for more than a year, are unrelated to a separate psychiatric disorder, and include seriously poor regulation of behavior and mood.
Borderline personality disorder symptoms include:
- Distressed efforts to avoid real or imagined abandonment.
- Pattern of unstable, extreme interpersonal relationships defined by going between idealization and devaluation.
- Persistently unable to form a stable self-image or sense of self.
- Drastically impulsive in at least two possibly self-damaging areas (substance abuse, reckless driving, disordered eating, sex).
- Self-harming or suicidal behavior, gestures, or threats.
- Instability often brought on by reactivity of mood (ex. Intense episodic irritability or anxiety lasting a few hours or more than a few days).
- Recurring feelings of emptiness.
- Frequent intense, inappropriate anger or issues controlling temper.
- Severe dissociative symptoms or stress-related paranoia.
If you believe you’ve recognized borderline personality disorder symptoms in your child, it’s critical to reach out to a professional for further guidance.
ViewPoint is here for your family
ViewPoint Center is an assessment center for teens, ages 6 to 17. At ViewPoint Center, we provide treatment through superior assessment, diagnosis, treatment, and stabilization–all in a personalized environment for your child in crisis. We strive to provide the best help for troubled teens through the most efficient and effective methods available. Our goal is to help your child through this hard time.
Before ViewPoint, families are often frustrated and lost. Varying doctors and therapists with a range of advice, diagnoses, and plans leaves parents and children unsure of where to turn. At ViewPoint, we centralize all of the different diagnoses, and create a comprehensive report for you and your family to get back on track. Let us help you.
For more information about how we treat borderline personality disorder symptoms at ViewPoint Center, contact us today at 801-825-5222.
