Difference Between PTSD Reactions and Borderline Personality Disorder
By: Christine Hammond LMHC The first couple of therapy sessions with Trina were rollercoaster rides. One second she was excited about a new job and all of the possibilities it presented. The next she was anxious and overwhelmed from being a caretaker to her mother. Then she was nervous and depressed over the thought that her long-time partner might leave her. Despite several attempts to help her regulate the extremes of her emotional responses, she continued to experience intense reactions. The initial thought of the therapist was that she had Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD). But after further assessment, Trina was missing some necessary ingredients. She did not have an intense fear of abandonment as demonstrated by her ten years of living without a partner. She also had no history of suicidality or self-harming behaviors. And while she did occasionally overindulge with alcoholic beverages, this behavior was not nor had never been done at addictive levels.