In the field of behavioral health, there is a reason persons under the age of eighteen cannot be diagnosed with a personality disorder, (Axis II). The reason is, with intensive psychotherapy and familial support; young persons have been known to make significant changes to detrimental aspects of their characters, for the better.

Borderline personality disorder (BPD) can be characterized by rapid mood swings, chaotic relationships, and consistent impulsiveness.  Adults with borderline personality disorder usually presents with a low sense of self worth, anxiety and chronic depression. It is not uncommon for adults with BPD to make suicidal threats, a threat to be taken seriously since completed suicides occur in about ten percent of persons with BPD. Alongside with the threat of taking one’s life, the difficulty in having peaceful relationships with others is usually characterized by an inability to keep a job, failed intimate relationships and legal problems. Most people usually stereotype BPD to be mostly confined to the female population, but in truth just about an equal number of men have BPD. They usually go undiagnosed and most are in the prison system.

Teenagers who usually present with strong BPD traits, present with a poor sense of self worth, suicidal threats, self injurious behaviors (think cutting), as well as self reported feelings of emptiness. They also present as being easily irritated and routinely will have anger outbursts. Their close relationships with family and peers are usually characterized by drama, chaos and they are impulsive.

There are four ways parents with teens who display strong borderline traits can begin to help them towards the path of change, for the better. These methods are as follows:

One: It’s Okay to Make Mistakes

Given that most teens with strong BPD traits present with a low sense of self worth, a parent who’s overly critical will only make matters worse.  Parents should practice this: So long as your child has done nothing to hurt others or reflect a lack of empathy towards others, simply talk to them about the situation. A good example would be poor grades in school.

Two: Poor Anger Management

Fires don’t put out fires, responding to your teen’s anger outburst with an anger outburst of your own will only help them make the behavior more habitual. If your teen resorts to throwing a temper tantrum, let them. If it is over something you wouldn’t give to them for appropriate reasons, don’t give in. Remain calm and make sure they are safe, once they have calmed down, talk to them about the behavior and don’t be afraid to give consequences.  If they resort to breaking items that don’t belong to them, make efforts to ensure they replace such items, if they resort to threatening your safety, calmly inform them that if the threat is made again, that the authorities will be called in. If the threat is made again, follow through.

Three: Suicidal Ideation and Self Injurious Behaviors

Take all threats of ending one’s life seriously; this includes self injurious behaviors, such as self mutilation through cutting. While research studies suggest that cutting isn’t indicative of suicide, treat the situation as a suicidal threat. Rush your teen to the nearest emergency ward or psych ward and depending on the severity of their actions or threats you may also get them admitted over night for observations. At home take any and all items which can be used to hurt one’s self from their room, I have known parents who have taken off the doors to their teens’ room. Clearly your teen will not appreciate these gestures, but calmly explain to them that you love them so much and you are taking reasonable precautions to ensure their safety. At this point it is also wise to get your teen to see a therapist, with whom you can work with to develop a contract, where your teen commits to not making any attempts to hurt his or herself.  Overreaction is always the best form of action in suicidal ideation and attempts. It also helps you regain control in the relationship,  once your child learns that you are willing to go above and beyond, anytime they make threats to end their life, (instead of giving in) they will usually  cease the behavior. Overreaction has to be employed every time a suicidal threat or attempt is made.

Four: Build on the Relationship.

Focus more on the positives of your relationship with your teen, from improvement in behaviors, greetings in the morning, completion of household chores, and family outings. Make an authentic effort to seek out and highlight the positives in your teen and the positives in your relationship with your teen. This will help them build on their sense of self worth and confidence.

Ugo Uche MS., LPC

http://www.asktheinternettherapist.com/counseling-services.asp

The first time someone experiences an anxiety or panic attack they feel terrified and completely overwhelmed by the intensity of the physical and psychological symptoms. The most common assumption is that they are having a heart attack.

Symptoms:

• pounding heartbeat, heart palpitation with feeling of dread
• difficulty breathing, chest feeling tight, feeling you can’t get enough air
• chest pains and choking with feeling of distress
• light-headedness, dizziness or nausea
• trembling, sweating, shaking
• hot flashes or sudden chills
• tingling in fingers and toes or even other parts of the body
• nervousness, shaking and stress
• feeling detached from reality, derealisation
• almost paralysing terror
• fear and deep anxiety often without any known cause
• fear that you are going crazy or that you are about to die.

Causes

There is a variety of known causes of anxiety attacks. Most common are the loss of someone close either through death or separation and an ongoing stressful situation in the sufferer’s life which seems to have them trapped such as their job. Attacks can also be caused by other psychological problems such as Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and phobias. A number of sufferers have a dependency on drugs, alcohol or tobacco. It is unfortunately even possible for a sufferer to have inherited a predisposition to panic attacks.

Treatments

After their first attack a sufferer will more often than not go to the emergency room where they are told that they were not experiencing a heart attack but a panic attack. If their attacks continue they will usually then go to see their doctor.

The diagnosis will likely be Anxiety or Panic Disorder. The doctor will prescribe either or both medication and psychotherapy which is usually Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. It is claimed that best results are achieved if the patient takes an indefinite course of anti-depressant drugs and learns coping techniques through CBT. Sometimes Hypnotherapy is thought to be helpful.

And that is about as far as the medical establishment is able to help. The anxiety-ridden patient is left facing a possible lifetime’s course of medication with some coping techniques to get by with.

The symptoms of a panic attack arise suddenly. It is difficult to find any apparent cause for their appearance. If you want to cure panic attacks then it is an smart idea to recognize the disease. First of all let’s have a look on the symptoms of the disease:

1. Lots of people feel that there heart is pounding. Pounding heart beat is also known as palpitations.
2. Some people report chest pain during an anxiety attack.
3. Some patients feel gastrointestinal disturbance.
4. Dizziness, nausea and Light handedness can also be seen.
5. Difficulty in breathing which is also known as Dyspnoea.
6. Tingling or numbness in? hands and feet.
7. Dream like sensations which are also known as perceptual distortions.
8. Fear of losing control.

A panic attack can last for couple of minutes. They are almost always unexpected and unprovoked. Most of the times these attacks are disabling. The symptoms of a panic attack are very similar to heart attack. Sometimes a panic attack is associated with other disorders like Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, schizophrenia and drug abuse. Some people can have attacks during night. These type of attacks are known as nocturnal panic attacks. These attacks are not so common. But they are seen in the people suffering from day time attacks.

The problem of panic attacks is rising very fast. These attacks are serious health problem all over the world. There are many treatments which are being tried by the patients all over the world. The treatment of panic attacks differs from person to person.? The disease can be successfully treated by the combination of medications,psycho therapy and cognitive behavioral therapy. Nowadays? physicians are recommending alternative therapies for treating anxiety disorders. Some patients got excellent results after practicing Yoga and Relaxation therapy. So if you or your loved are having some of the above symptoms then I would recommend you to visit your physician today.