Why We Need To Relabel BPD As What It Really Is
Borderline personality disorder is really a pattern of trauma responses
I have studied Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) for years. Two things that have always affected me are how subpar many treatments are for BPD and how backwards diagnostics are regarding this very confusing — and stigmatized — disorder.
BPD affects a person globally in many more ways than “just” their personality. If we’re looking at the old Global Assessment of Functioning (GAF scale, now changed to the WHODAS) to assess a person’s level of functioning, those with BPD typically have a significantly reduced score. On a scale of 0–100, with 100 being a perfect functioning level, the “average” person is roughly between 100–81 on any given day.
Scores this high suggest that any deficit in their functioning is often environmental and situational, such as heightened anxiety before an exam that returns to baseline functioning when the exam is over. On the flip-side, if we’re to assess someone with BPD based on the older GAF scores, their average functioning level typically vacillates between 60–20, depending on whether their life is “good” or whether they’re experiencing more severe symptoms of BPD, including suicidal ideation.
