SAD BUT TRUE –
July 10, 2023 – The diagnosis of borderline personality disorder is a contested construct that many researchers and clinicians believe should be eliminated from the DSM and ICD. The vast majority of people diagnosed with BPD are women who have experienced significant trauma, most commonly sexual assault, and the diagnosis has been accused of “blaming the victim” for their response to abuse or at least medicalizing the result of trauma. Both clinicians and the general publicmay use the diagnosis to dismiss and invalidate the person’s experiences, leading to poorer quality medical and psychiatric care.
Although BPD is controversial, in this study, it serves as a useful proxy for people who are at increased risk of suicide. In this study, a third of the participants (32.4%) had attempted in the past. Suicide attempts, self-harm behaviors, and death by suicide are all considered common features of the BPD diagnosis. Thus, researchers are concerned with finding a solution to reduce this risk.
Although the researchers note that psychotherapy, such as dialectical behavior therapy, is considered effective for preventing suicide, they add that almost everyone with a BPD diagnosis is prescribed psychiatric drugs in addition to (or instead of) therapy. In the current study, 81.5% were taking antidepressants, while others were on antipsychotics (41.1%), mood stabilizers (31.7%), benzodiazepines (56%), and stimulants (24.4%). Many patients were prescribed multiple drug classes.
