Borderline Emotions: An Analyze of Personality Disorder

Are people with Borderline Personality Disorder inherently bad or do we make them that way?

Persuasive Speech

As the human race grows and evolves, so do our sets of morals and what we perceive as good and bad. No matter what you believe, most can agree on a baseline of good and bad, or a line in the sand between them. Some people in this world are different. Some speak differently, act differently than your version of ‘right’ and ‘normal’, and then there are some who completely fall of these charts of normal. In some cases these people have a personality disorders. In some of these cases people suffer from Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD). Sufferers of Borderline Personality disorder are not inherently bad people. We mostly perceive this of them based on the lack of knowledge of personality disorders as a whole, and group them as one. When in reality, Borderline Personality disorder is one of many and could possible lead to disorders, such as Antisocial Personality Disorder or Histrionic Personality Disorder,  in which people become more violate, more antisocial if left untreated, but is not the main cause of “bad” people.

​

It is important to understand that all personality disorders are different. A person with BPD can develop a worse or more uncontrollable personality disorder if BPD goes unnoticed or untreated. An article on mental health and personality disorders states, “many authorities believe there is a link between childhood sexual abuse and the development of borderline personality disorder or ...harsh, inconsistent punishment in childhood and the development of antisocial personality disorder” (“Mental disorder”). BPD can lead to other personality disorders but is not inherently the cause of them. For example, if left untreated or unnoticed, BPD can slowly evolve into another personality disorder called Histrionic Personality Disorder. This disorder is classified as “overly dramatic and intensely expressive, egocentric, highly reactive, and excitable. The characteristic behaviour seems to have the purpose of calling attention to oneself” (“Mental disorder”). Histrionic Personality Disorder is one of the more severe disorders seen among psychopaths and other criminals.

​

Another disorder seen among these groups is Antisocial Personality Disorder. The Article on Mental Disorders defines it as “personal history of chronic and continuous antisocial behaviour... involves violating the rights of others...associated with actions such as persistent criminality, sexual promiscuity or aggressive sexual behaviour, and drug use” (Mental disorder”). Antisocial Personality Disorder is also a disorder that can develop after BPD, and is often what is seen among Psychopaths and other criminals. People with Borderline Personality disorder do not fall under the categories of psychopaths or sociopaths unless they are also diagnosed with a more severe Personality Disorder. While it is possible for someone with BPD to commit crimes, just as it is for everyone, they are not psychopaths.

​

This idea of “moral” and “immoral” is blurry as every person, place, and culture has a different idea of morals. One of the reasons why people with Personality disorders and BPD are misunderstood as being immoral is because they don’t fit into our personal set of morals. It is like how some may consider the death penalty as justice and others say it is unnecessary or wrong. Alexander Chapman and Kim Gratz state in their book “many symptoms of BPD hit a nerve for people in our society. Some of the behaviors that go along with BPD may be shocking and difficult to understand” (Chapman and Gratz 28). We base much of our morals on what we want ideally rather than what is true. Just like how humans ideally will not steal from another but if given the opportunity and knowing they will not be caught, many people would. This leads to an idea by Benjamin Voyer and Tor Tarantola. This idea is defining people as consequentialists and deontologists. “Consequentialists moral theories hold that the rightness or wrongness of an action is determined only by its (actual or expected) consequences” (Voyer and Tarantola  9). An example of a Consequentialists is someone who would not steal if they were to get caught, but if they knew they would not be caught they may proceed in the act. “Some deontologists hold that intentions matter for the moral evaluation of an action as well, others argue that certain side constraints (such as individual rights) on the maximization of the good” (Voyer and Tarantola  9). Deontologists are those who believe and hold their morals no matter the situation. All people hold different set of morals. So based on someone’s personal set of morals they believe that is the right from wrong, but in reality another person can view it differently. People’s morals play into why many believe people with BPD are bad.

​

We assume someone with a personality disorder, whether BPD or another, are likely to be criminals or are more prone to evil than others. In many cases, yes, people with personality disorders are more prone to violence. In a study conducted by Sophie Davison and Aleksander Janca “they found that conduct disorder scores were significantly related to all offence categories and adult antisocial personality disorder scores were associated with most offences.” (Davison and Janca 2). We make these assumptions based on past events, such as many people with Personality Disorders doing bad things, and how they are portrayed in the media. We put people with personality disorders into the categories of psychopaths and sociopaths because of the the traits associated. However, many do not know the clear difference between a psychopathic traits and sociopathic traits. Clarence Rivers defines the definition between the two “Psychopaths are those people who are said to be born with  genetic anomalies or maldeveloped parts of their central nervous system.” This is defining psychopaths as merely extreme cases of personality disorders. “Sociopaths are people who have normal biological makeup but still exhibit psychopathic/antisocial behavior patterns.” (Rivers 76). Sociopaths are people who had experienced past trauma and without being given any help or ways to recovery. Psychopaths and Sociopaths are different disorders. They are not interchangeable phrases and people with BPD may not fall into these categories.

​

As stated before, Borderline Personality Disorder is not the same as other disorders or psychopath and sociopaths. Many with BPD suffer from another personality disorder. “Most people with BPD have at least one other psychiatric disorder, and some may have several disorders” (Chapman and Gratz 78). This is not saying that people with BPD do not commit criminal acts; they are simply just not the ones usually associated with personality disorders or other severe disorders. “whereas the psychopath suffer from emotional poverty, a person with BPD does things impulsively precisely because he or she is extremely emotionally sensitive to the stimulus and people around him or her.” Many sufferers of BPD act impulsively which can lead to a different kind of crime. “People who commit crimes of passion and revenge may be suffering from BPD , but are not considered psychopaths” (Rivers 55). Sufferers of BPD are impulsive, but mainly because they are sensitive to emotions. However, many do not act irrational and still have the ability to understand and thoughtfully think through his or her actions. While some criminals may have BPD, it is not the cause of their psychopathic tendencies, and some do commit crimes but not as heinous or what we make it out to be in media.

​

We put a lot of emphasis on what psychopaths and sociopaths are without truly understanding what they are. We throw all people with Personality Disorders into those categories because people do not understand what either are. People with BPD are not what we call psychopathic or sociopathic. We only consider them bad people based on lack of knowledge on the Disorder. The public usually group all Personality Disorders together as one Disorder when in reality they are all different and can not be interchangeable. If someone has BPD they are not a psychopath like how the media portrays. They are simply people who are different from others. Their differences can lead to severe personality disorders if left untreated. They have a different brain. If people want to help prevent them from going down the wrong path society needs to put more work into helping them understand themselves, and understanding the disorder.