Anyone have any experience with BPD types? We believe someone at our chapel has it. Trying to figure out if there's anything we can do. She is a wife and mother and we believe she is causing considerable distress for everyone in her life.
If it genuinely is BPD, there*s not much that can be done other than to use careful incentives to try to manage the behavior situationally. (All of of this has Catholic caveats noted below.) The reason is that in so-called "Cluster B" type disorders (such as narcissistic, histrionic, and antisocial PDs), the person truly believes "This is who I am" insofar as what others consider disruptive, the person considers as integral to his or her personality and self-definition. At the same time, members of the family or workplace or chapel or other social group find themselves constantly having to respond to and adapt to this person's unreasonable demands and disordered assumptions.
The key feature of BPD is a lack of personal boundaries; these can manifest as fragility and/or volatility, sometimes with threats of self-harm. Thus everyone else will need to be very focused and sensitive in each interaction with her. Don't take it personally, but try to guide her toward milder behaviors that she seems to agree with, if only for the moment. Above all, de-escalate and stay non-threatening.
Catholic caveats: This advice assumes some amount of manipulation by those dealong with her; please speak to a traditional priest who knows the situation well for guidance on how to be both honest and charitable towards what is best for everyone. Secondly, these diagnoses and categorizations are ultimately modernist and naturalistic, and thus they overlook or deny the undeniable spiritual element as well as the workings of God's grace. For this as well, please consult a traditional priest who knows her and the family well.
(Last tangential caveat since someone's likely to bring it up: Yes, Ripperger wrote a heavy tome on mental health. It looks substantive and "Thomistic" for what that"s worth, but I'd steer clear of it for reasons discussed elsewhere with regard to his influence upon tradtional Catholics in general.)
Topic: Borderline Personality (Read 720 times)