PYC4802 - PSYCHOPATHOLOGY_ ASSIGNMENT 3 2021.

PYC4802 - PSYCHOPATHOLOGY_ Assessment 3 2021. PYC4802 PSYCHOPATHOLOGY. Personality disorders are difficult to diagnose exactly because they are centred around such a complex a concept as personality. Borderline Personality Disorder is no exception, instead, it is often misdiagnosed and so underdiagnosed in the global population. Borderline Personality Disorder has a very distinct symptomatology as well as aetiology from other personality disorders and from affective and neurological disorders. However, Borderline Personality Disorder resembles both affective and neurological disorders, hence the historic origin of the disorder’s name as indicative of it lying between these two spheres of psychopathological groupings. Because of the disorder’s complex presentation most patients initially come into treatment for acute symptoms or comorbidities which then often take precedence in diagnosis. The prevalence and intensity of comorbidities with Borderline Personality Disorder means that the disorder is often undiagnosed in preliminary diagnosis. As such, intensive scrutiny of symptoms and evaluation of the patient’s history is needed for an accurate diagnosis in order for a effective treatment plan to be developed. The difficulty of diagnosing Borderline Personality Disorder is exacerbated in adolescents. Borderline Personality Disorder has a developmental component and an adult diagnosis can hardly be made without evidence of behaviour patterns stemming from adolescence. But diagnosing the disorder in adolescence is challenging as normal adolescence is marked by a period of personality disturbance, during healthy personality development, which is a diagnostic criteria for Borderline Personality Disorder. DSM-5 Diagnostic criteria for Personality Disorders The DSM-5 stipulates nine traits of Borderline Personality Disorder where the presence of five are required for a diagnosis. According to the DSM-5, Borderline Personality Disorder is characterised by an impulsive behaviour pattern originating in adolescence together with unstable relationships, moods and an unsteady sense of identity, all of which are ubiquitous across situations and extreme in degree. The first of the traits where by such a behaviour pattern is characterised concerns a fear of abandonment which is a hallmark identifier of Borderline Personality Disorder. Accordingly, the patient distressingly seeks to avoid the feeling of being abandoned,