Many studies have focused on investigating the physiological characteristics and the neurobiology of borderline patients in attempt to relate these symptoms with the purely psychological characteristics. A study with 30 young women with Borderline personality disorder that used structural magnetic resonance imaging (3D-MRI) showed that the borderline patients had significantly smaller hippocampus (-17%) and...
Many studies have investigated the childhood experiences of patients with BPD and have revealed that physical and sexual abuse, early separation, inconsistent treatment of a caretaker, and neglect are all part of the etiology of BPD. A study of Mary C. Zanarini and others was determined to investigate pathological childhood experience in patients with...
Borderline Personality Disorder is identified in Cluster B of Axis II of the Multiaxial system. As all personality disorders, it is characterized as a pervasive and inflexible pattern of inner experiences and behavior that cause distress and certain impairment in a person’s life (DSM-IV-R). Being a mental illness, BPD implies instability in moods, self-image,...
The effect of child abuse on the brain and the impact of stress hormones on emotional and cognitive development Maltreatment, no matter whether it is abuse, neglect, abandonment or witnessing violent acts, can lead to enduring negative changes in the still developing brain of a child. Each time there is some sort of trauma,...
Is it really true that our past is so powerful that it can control our future? It has been the chief task for many psychologists and people in the helping professions to identify different environmental factors and their positive or negative impact on human development. Different developmental theories emphasize the huge importance of early...
Mothers who endanger the health and well being of their children are considered deviant, possibly, in almost all cultures in the world. Certainly, this is a sensitive and loaded topic that normally provokes strong societal response. The labeling of a deviant mother often involves the legislative system, child services and other governmental organizations. Beyond...
Because I am a woman, I must make unusual efforts to succeed. If I fail, no one will say, “She doesn’t have what it takes.” They will say, “Women don’t have what it takes”. Clare Boothe Luce While we boast to be a highly civilized society that cherishes human rights and equality, I wonder...
Demanding attention appears to be a strong drive for human beings. We need attention and we need to feel we are the subjects of interest, at least now and then. This drive manifests itself early in life, when attracting attention is among the things infants probably do best. Just a loud cry and we...
In order to understand the meaning and worth of money, or the economic crisis we are facing, one does not have to be an economist, but a philosopher. Thinking about and researching the worth of money, lead me to reading an excerpt from Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand. More specifically, it was Francisco d’Anconia’s...
“The only reason a great many American families don’t own an elephant is that they have never been offered an elephant for a dollar down and easy weekly payments.” ~Mad Magazine Mocking the reality of modern American society, Mad Magazine points out our fixation with installments and our ridiculous obsession with consumerism. We seem...
