Possible causes of Borderline Personality Disorder

The causes of Borderline Personality Disorder are still not well understood, and, as in most mental disorders, it is likely that a number of factors are involved in its development. Some experts claim that early childhood traumatic experiences may cause the hippocampus, a part of the limbic area of the brain which is involved in learning and memory, to atrophy. 

Since the cause of BPD is still under investigation, there's no known way to prevent it.

Other possible causes include:

Genetics
Some studies of twins and families suggest that personality disorders may be inherited and that genetics could play a major role.

Environmental factors
Many people with borderline personality disorder have a history of childhood abuse, neglect and separation from caregivers or loved ones.

Brain abnormalities

Research has shown that there are some changes in certain areas of the brain involved in emotion regulation, impulsivity and aggression in patients with BPD. 

Risk factors for developing BPD

There are some factors related to personality development which can increase the risk of developing borderline personality disorder.

They include:

• Hereditary predisposition.
• Childhood abuse.
• Neglect.

What exactly is Emotional Dysregulation?

Emotional Dysregulation is one of the common symptoms of Borderline Personality Disorder. It is a term used in the mental health community to describe an individual that does not respond to a person, place, thing, or event in a manner that would generally be considered within the normal range of emotions. It could also be a part of Complex Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.

Diagnostic criteria

Personality disorders are diagnosed based on signs and symptoms and a thorough psychological evaluation. Differentiate diagnosis between BPD and other personality disorders can be extremely difficult. It considers symptoms that fall under four main groups:

Affect

• chronic/major depression
• helplessness
• hopelessness
• worthlessness
• guilt
• anger 
• anxiety
• loneliness
• boredom
• emptiness

Cognition

• odd thinking
• unusual perceptions
• non-delusional paranoia
• quasipsychosis

Impulse action patterns

• substance abuse/dependence
• sexual deviance
• manipulative suicide gestures
• other impulsive behaviors

Interpersonal relationships

• intolerance of aloneness
• abandonment, engulfment, annihilation fears
• counter-dependency
• stormy relationships
• manipulativeness
• dependency
• devaluation
• masochism/sadism
• demandingness
• entitlement

A commonly used mnemonic to remember the features of the borderline personality disorder is PRAISE:

• P - paranoid ideas
• R - relationship instability
• A - angry outbursts, affective instability, abandonment fears
• I - impulsive behavior, identity disturbance
• S - suicidal behavior
• E - emptiness