Borderline Personality Disorder (cont.)

The presence of BPD can often worsen the course of another mental condition with which it occurs. For example, it tends to change the symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder and to worsen depression.

Individuals with BPD are at risk for self-mutilation, as well as for attempting or completing suicide. While cutting and other forms of self-harm, as well as suicidal behaviors seem to be associated with alleviating negative feelings, it is thought that self-mutilating behaviors are more an expression of anger, punishing oneself, distracting oneself, and eliciting more normal feelings. In contrast, suicide attempts are thought to be more often associated with feeling survivors will be better off for their death. People who engage in self-mutilation are more likely to commit suicide compared to those who do not self-mutilate.

Although most individuals with a mental disorder do not engage in violent behavior, those who suffer from BPD have a somewhat increased risk for such behaviors. That risk is also increased for individuals who suffer from antisocial personality disorder, have previous history of violent behavior, frequent use of sedative medications, or experience several changes in their psychiatric medications in general.

Complications of BPD also often involve families of the person with the disorder. For example, a parent with BPD is vulnerable to having depressive symptoms in their children.

As with any illness, an appropriate question about BPD is if it is curable. While improvement in any personality disorder is not synonymous with being cured, the symptoms of BPD do tend to diminish with time. How well or poorly people with BPD progress over time seems to be influenced by how severe the disorder is at the time that treatment starts, the state of the individual's current personal relationships, whether or not the sufferer has a history of being abused as a child, as well as whether or not the person receives appropriate treatment. Simultaneously suffering from depression, other emotional problems, or a low level of conscientiousness have been found to be associated with a greater likelihood of symptoms of BPD returning (relapse). Conversely, having steady employment or school status once symptoms of BPD subside (remit) tends to protect BPD sufferers from experiencing a future relapse.

Source: MedicineNet.com
http://www.medicinenet.com/borderline_personality_disorder/article.htm