Borderline Personality Disorder v.s. Attachment Disorder

[Guest guest]

Since my mom has BPD, I have done much research on the disorder, as well as

trying to understand my own ways of thinking and problems.

There are a few different attachment disorders (and usually this refers to

children), but the criteria listed for some of the attachment disorders and the

criteria listed for BPD is really close, if not the same... the difference, one

is a child, one is an adult. Even many of the probable causes of the disorders

are the same.

Does anyone know what the difference is? Or why is there a distinction? I have

come across some sites on Adult attachment disorders, but it is really limited

and I don't think it is an official diagnosis. Could BPD be just the adult

manifestation of an attachment disorder?

[Guest guest]

The American Psychiatric Association evolved its Diagnostic and Statistical

Manual to separate adult mental illnesses from childhood mental illnesses, I

think mainly in order to protect children as much as possible from being

labeled/stigmatized with conditions that are considered hopelessly unresponsive

to therapy or incurable, such as personality disorders or psychopathy.

So, for example, " conduct disorder " is the diagnosis for children who exhibit

the traits and behaviors associated with psychopathy, but the belief is that

with the right kind of intervention and therapy and nurturing environment a

child can leave behind or un-learn these fledgling antisocial behaviors and grow

up to become a mentally healthy adult.

I think that attachment disorders in infants and young children have to do

mainly with the lack of ability to trust or to experience intimacy or bonding

with a primary caregiver, and that does seem to be a component of what adults

with Cluster B disorders are experiencing.

But personality disorder includes additional dysfunctions alongside or instead

of an inability to trust or an inability to achieve and maintain intimacy,

including having difficulty with:

cognition (i.e., ways of perceiving and interpreting things, people, and events;

forming attitudes and images of self and others);

affectivity (range, intensity, and appropriateness of emotional arousal and

response);

control over impulses and gratification of needs;

manner of relating to others and of handling interpersonal situations.

*****

Me personally, I think that the whole area of *cognition*: the way the person

with a pd perceives reality, or misperceives reality (delusions and paranoia) is

a HUGEly important component of their dysfunction. (Well, at least it seemed to

be a huge component of my own nada's dysfunction. My Sister has recently

speculated that our nada might have had actual schizophrenia along with her

personality disorders.)

But I do agree that all these dysfunctional component behaviors and traits are

interrelated: they interact with and affect each other in negative ways. Such

as, I can see how an inability to trust (caused by infantile attachment

disorder) could lead to a tendency toward paranoia in adulthood, which could

then lead to projecting, black and white thinking, and other cognitive

distortions.

-Annie

>

> Since my mom has BPD, I have done much research on the disorder, as well as

trying to understand my own ways of thinking and problems.

>

> There are a few different attachment disorders (and usually this refers to

children), but the criteria listed for some of the attachment disorders and the

criteria listed for BPD is really close, if not the same... the difference, one

is a child, one is an adult. Even many of the probable causes of the disorders

are the same.

>

> Does anyone know what the difference is? Or why is there a distinction? I

have come across some sites on Adult attachment disorders, but it is really

limited and I don't think it is an official diagnosis. Could BPD be just the

adult manifestation of an attachment disorder?

>

[Guest guest]

Thanks! That helped me to understand the difference better.

> >

> > Since my mom has BPD, I have done much research on the disorder, as well as

trying to understand my own ways of thinking and problems.

> >

> > There are a few different attachment disorders (and usually this refers to

children), but the criteria listed for some of the attachment disorders and the

criteria listed for BPD is really close, if not the same... the difference, one

is a child, one is an adult. Even many of the probable causes of the disorders

are the same.

> >

> > Does anyone know what the difference is? Or why is there a distinction? I

have come across some sites on Adult attachment disorders, but it is really

limited and I don't think it is an official diagnosis. Could BPD be just the

adult manifestation of an attachment disorder?

> >

>