Is Borderline Personality Disorder (Bpd): More Common in Females?

Is Borderline Personality Disorder (Bpd): More Common in Females?

What is Personality Disorder?

A personality disorder is defined as a long-lasting pattern of thinking, feeling, and behavior that differs from cultural norms and creates distress or functional difficulties. 1 Usually starting in adolescence or young adulthood, the pattern of experiences and behavior leads to unhappiness or functional difficulties. Personality disorders are enduring, they may last a lifetime if untreated, by therapies by Top Clinical Psychologist. Seeking consultation from the best Counsellor near me at TalktoAngel for personality disorder issues.

What is a borderline personality disorder?

It’s a personality disorder defined by a lengthy record of volatility in mood, interpersonal relations, and self-image that's also severe enough to produce substantial distress or impede functioning in society and work in DSM-IV-TR and DSM-5.

Self-harming behavior (e.g., gambling, overeating, substance abuse); intense but unstable relationships; uncontrollable temper outbursts; lack of certainty regarding self-image, gender, goals, and loyalties; shifting moods; self-defeating behavior (e.g., fights, suicidal gestures, or self-mutilation); chronic feelings of emptiness and boredom are among the manifestations of this disorder.

These symptoms typically appear in adolescence or teen and the early twenties. However, some individuals may experience beginning after the age of 30 and behavioral precursors are visible in certain youngsters.

What causes Borderline Personality Disorder?

Borderline personality disorder (BPD) has no single etiology and is most likely caused by a mix of circumstances. Genes inherited through your parents might make you more prone to developing BPD. According to one study, if one identical twin had BPD, the second identical twin had a 2-in-3 risk of having BPD as well.

However, these findings must be interpreted with caution, as there is no proof of a gene for BPD.

The issue with brain chemistry-

Many people with BPD are known to have problems with their brain's neurotransmitters, particularly serotonin.

Neurotransmitters are "messenger molecules" that your brain uses to communicate between brain cells. Serotonin imbalances have also been connected to depression, aggressiveness, and difficulties controlling harmful inclinations.

Brain development difficulty-

MRI was utilized by researchers to analyze the brains of people with BPD.

The scans found that three areas of the brain in many people with BPD were either smaller than anticipated or had atypical amounts of activity. These were the components:

The amygdala - regulates emotions, particularly those that are "negative," such as fear, aggressiveness, and anxiety.

The hippocampus aids in behavior regulation, self-control, and the orbitofrontal cortex, aids in decision-making and planning.

Problems with these areas of the brain may lead to BPD symptoms.

Your early life influences the development of various areas of the brain. These regions of your brain are also in charge of emotional regulation, which may explain some of the difficulties people with BPD face in close relationships.

Environmental aspects

A variety of environmental factors appear to be prevalent among people with BPD. These are some examples:

Being a victim of emotional, physical, or sexual abuse as a child
Being subjected to long-term fear or distress as a child.
Being brought up with another member of the family who has major mental health illnesses, like bipolar disorder or a problem with alcohol or drugs, being neglected by one or both parents

The relationship a person has with their family and parents has a significant impact on how they see the world as well as what they believe about other people.

Unresolved childhood or teen fear, rage, and sadness can result in a number of warped adult thinking patterns, including:

idealizing others,
expecting someone else to be your parents,
expecting others to bully you,
acting as if others are grownups and you are not

Are females more diagnosed with Borderline Personality Disorder than males?

According to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV), women account for approximately 75% of those diagnosed with Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD). There are numerous hypotheses as to why this is the case.

Some psychiatrists describe this trend as hereditary or hormonal factors, linking BPD in women to severe premenstrual syndrome. Others attribute BPD to childhood incest, various forms of sexual abuse, or Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Other traumas, such as a traumatic separation as a result of a parent's death, rejection, or abandonment, could be the cause. According to Dr. (Prof) R K Suri, Top Clinical Psychologist, “that woman are simply identified with BPD more frequently, but symptoms in men go unreported, undiagnosed, or are misdiagnosed for something else”.

The sexual abuse theory garners the most attention. According to a study published in the American Journal of Psychiatry, women who experienced sexual abuse as children had considerably greater incidences of Borderline Personality Disorder and PTSD. According to the study, incestuous abuse occurs around ten times more frequently in women than in men, and approximately 75 % of women with BPD have been abused physically or sexually.

Such early maltreatment creates a sense of victimization in many women, making it difficult for them to trust males. It can also cause an obsessive obsession with sexuality and a distorted self-image, both of which are signs of BPD in women.

Other explanations about why BPD affects women more than men include the following:

Borderline Women are more likely to suffer from Borderline Personality Disorder because they are socialized as being more dependent on others (a characteristic of BPD) and are more sensitive to rejection.

Women diagnosed with BPD by mental health experts and therapists may be biased. According to studies, doctors seem to be more likely to diagnose BPD in women than men, even when patient characteristics differ simply in gender.

Men are less likely than women to seek psychiatric care; hence they are less inclined to be diagnosed.

Men may undergo treatment for alcoholism or substance misuse, while women are more likely to receive BPD treatment. Consult the best Psychologist near me at TalktoAngel for BPD treatment.

Men with BPD are more likely to land in jail, but women with BPD are more inclined to end up in treatment centers and the mental health system.

If you consider that you or your need and dear is having symptoms of borderline personality disorder, you may consult with Best Clinical Psychologist in India, at the multiplication clinic Psychowellness Center, at Dwarka, Jankpuri, Gurgaon, Vasant Vihar, Faridabad, and Delhi NCR.

Contributed by: Dr (Prof) R K Suri & Ms. Varshini Nayyar