Borderline Personality Disorder

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Case Study of an Adult Suffering from Borderline Personality Disorder and Major Depression Case Study Nancy Goldstein is a 28 year old, Caucasian, female who has recently become single. She lives alone in a one-bedroom apartment with her two cats. She was recently let go from her long time job as a marketing consultant because she called out sick too many times and was not getting along with coworkers. Nancy explained that for the past few years she has been in and out of relationships. The relationship that just ended lasted for a year and was the longest she had ever been in. She reports that her partner felt smothered and was not willing to spend enough time with her. She recalls that one night he was late for dinner because of traffic…show more content…
Nancy has a constant fear of abandonment and being alone. After her last partner moved out, she would call him constantly. He eventually stopped taking her calls so she started sending him letters written in her own blood saying, “I love you. Please don’t leave me!” and “Why are you doing this to me?” She also has trouble making and keeping friends because they are unable to deal with her frequent mood swings and impulsive behaviors. Nancy desperately wants to fit in somewhere to the point where she will do drugs, drink, and change her physical appearance. Many times she experiences extreme bouts of anger to where she blacks out and is unable to remember the event. She has threatened bodily harm so that family, friends, and significant others will not leave her or end communication. Nancy lacks support from her immediate family. She admits that when she was a child she was raped by a family friend and was forced to keep it a secret. She has constant feelings of self-loathing and…show more content…
Nancy meets the criteria for borderline personality disorder. In the United States today, 1.6 percent of adults are affected by borderline personality disorder. Those diagnosed with borderline personality disorder are also more likely to have dual diagnosis with major depression. It was recently found that 80 percent of people with borderline personality disorder exhibit suicidal behaviors and 4 to 9 percent successfully commit a successful act of suicide. “It is hypothesized that individuals with BPD have heightened emotional response systems, which may be the result of biological vulnerabilities or arise from early childhood experiences such as traumas” (Feigenbaum, 2007, p. 52). Nancy also meets the criteria for diagnosis of major depression because she exhibits intense feelings of worthlessness, sadness, a lack of energy, and has self-injured multiple
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