Mental health articles

Disorganised attachment Unresolved trauma in a parent with personality disorder directly influences the relationship with the infant and produces attachment disorganisation (Fonagy et al., 1995). When the parent is unempathic, inconsistently responsive and confusing or frightening, infants are unable to organise a strategy to deal with the parent’s behaviour (Solomon & George, 1999). The pattern […]

Maladaptive coping mechanisms Individuals with personality disorder have limited ways of managing anxiety and feelings and may use inappropriate and self-defeating coping strategies, such as blaming others or ‘acting out’—that is, acting impulsively without thinking. These mechanisms are often ways of denying, or of getting rid of, intolerable feelings. In some very disturbed individuals self-harm […]

Disturbed interpersonal behaviour Attachment behaviours are disturbed in individuals with severe borderline personality disorder, who find it difficult to maintain an appropriate distance in relationships. They may wish that a relationship can meet all their needs and be overly close, or may alternate this desire with feeling abandoned and rejecting contact. Relationships are often unstable […]

Disturbed self-experiences Individuals with borderline personality disorder are often lacking a firm centre of identity and may appear fragmented or lacking in coherence. They may find it hard to describe their inner experiences and lack a vocabulary for talking about emotional issues. They may experience anxiety, intolerance of being alone and fear of abandonment. They […]

borderline personality disor The diagnosis of borderline personality disorder refers to a severe disturbance of personality function with a range of identifiable features, rather than a description of a person with challenging behaviours. Borderline personality disorder is characterised by disturbed attachment relationships, impulsivity, poor anger control, mood instability and self-defeating behaviours that impair social functioning […]