Research On Borderline And Mental Distress Disorders

This research focuses on Borderline Personality Disorder and Major Depressive Disorder, their diagnostic features, cultural and gender factors, treatment methods, and paradigms. It reviews the case of Diana Miller and the correlation of these factors to the success of her treatment.

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Running Header: Research On Borderline And Mental Distress Disorders
TYPES OF DEPRESSION
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Research On Borderline And Mental Distress Disorders
ABSTRACT
Borderline personality disorder is a condition in which a person’s mental health is
affected to an extent that it causes them to feel and think differently about themselves and others
whereas major depressive disorder or clinical depression, is a condition that affects the mood,
behavior, sleep and diet of the person suffering from it. This research is basically about a girl by
the name Diana Miller who happens to suffer from the above disorder to the extent that she
attempts suicide. It reviews the diagnostic features used, cultural factors, and treatment methods
necessary to administer treatment to her and the correlation of the above named factors to the
success of her treatment.
Diagnostic Features
To successfully diagnose depression and personality disorders, there are various
procedures used. They could range from interviews, psychological evaluation, to medical history
review. In Diana Miller’s case, her various actions and behavior such as being irritable most of
the day, being restless, and loss of interest in most of her daily activities, are proof that she was
being affected by the above named disorders, (Cuijpers 2016). She fills up her lost space and
lack of friends by engaging in fast crowds and drug abuse so as to feel loved and have a sense of
belonging. It is also possible that the death of her younger sister causes her to experience post
traumatic stress which greatly affects her. Disco Di’s constant drug abuse and wild behavior is
indication of low self esteem resulting to her viewing life as worthless hence suicidal thoughts
and attempts on her life, (Infurna et al 2016). This leads to the agreement that the diagnosis made
by the psychiatrist about her mental and personality conditions are true and that Diana severely
suffers from both borderline personality and major depressive disorders. These two disorders
could coexist according to a research done by scholars, thus they both present themselves in a
similar way in Diana Miller’s life as maniac events. It also leads to the belief that she suffers
from addiction to various drugs such as alcohol and valium. It could also be possible that she
suffers from sexual abuse, which happens mostly when she is drunk and while partying, hence
overshadowing her conscience and mentality about men leading to the phrase,” looking for a
perfect man” since all her encounters with men have been disappointing, (Joshi et al 2016).
Marginal identity issue is a condition in which a man's psychological wellness is influenced to a
degree that it makes them feel and contemplate themselves as well as other people while

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Research On Borderline And Mental Distress Disorders
significant depressive issue or clinical sadness, is a condition that influences the state of mind,
conduct, rest and diet of the individual experiencing it. This examination is essentially about a
young lady by the name Diana Miller who happens to experience the ill effects of the above
confusion to the degree that she endeavors suicide. It surveys the analytic highlights utilized,
social elements, and treatment techniques important to regulate treatment to her and the
connection of the above named elements to the achievement of her treatment.
Cultural And Gender Factors
Cultural factors could range from cultural beliefs and traditions to cultural practices and
they differ from one community, country, ethnicity, and nationality to another. Gender factors
on the other hand are simply the factors that affect a particular gender and they differ in both
males and females. Diana’s diagnosis is greatly affected by the above named factors. Being born
in Toronto by a mother who is of Ecuadorian origin and a father who is of Kenyan origin, there
is a huge clash in the cultural and social setting of her life. The environment she is raised in is
highly westernized, (Antypa et al 2016). This therefore brings up the effect of the environment to
her initial condition.
According to a research done by Pike, Hoek, and Dunne in 2014, the western culture and
environment could result to complications such as lifestyle diseases and eating disorders such as
binge eating which strongly depicts itself in Diana, when she engages in binge eating. Females or
ladies in general usually crave for attention. Diana lacks this attention since she has no female
friends. To fill up her lack of friends and an awesome social life she engages in desperate moves
such as engaging in wild crowds to capture their attention. Her craving for excitement leads to
her having engagements with random men and when she refuses their sexual advances she puts
out into the streets hence the cause of her first suicidal attempt when she is seventeen years of
age, (Koyanagi, Oh, Stickley, Haro & DeVylder 2016). This is a clear indication of major
depressive disorder. The social environment also shapes the diagnosis of Diana. Social
environment means the social surrounding of a person in terms of friends, family and relatives.
Diana had no female friends and the only sister she had died when she was only twelve
years old. Being in her adolescent period, Disco Di’s social environment requires her to be close
to friends and family and lack of friends to support her during her grieving times greatly affected

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Research On Borderline And Mental Distress Disorders
her social life. According to a review article, some family members may cause distress to a
person suffering from OCD symptoms, (Daoud et al 2016). Diana’s parents were overly involved
in trying to treat their child through intensive twice weekly psychotherapy in which she had no
lots of interest. She had a feeling that the attention being given to her was little hence craved for
100% of their attention which she did not get thus led to worsening of her mental distress
condition.
Treatment methods and paradigms
To treat Disco Di’s borderline personality disorder, both psychotherapy and
pharmaceutical therapy should be used. Therapy such as behavioral, mentalization, transference,
and finally schema focused therapy should be greatly integrated during her treatment for
borderline personality disorder. Emphasis should be put on dialectical behavior therapy since it is
known to reduce depression, hopelessness, anger and also substance dependence which is a
common phenomena in Disco Di’s case. Medications such as clomipramine should be used to
treat Diana Miller and should be recommended by a psychiatrist or a physician from a certified
institution which is in accordance with the medication laws, (Wen, Chan, Tan & Tan 2016).
Paradigms
The best paradigm to examine Disco Di’s behavior is the diathesis stress paradigm. This
paradigm states that people have different ways of developing a disorder especially when faced
with psychological or socio-cultural stress and it happens in a biological diathesis. Borderline
personality disorder develops due to interpersonal experiences caused by various environmental
and biological factors. Also Disco Di’s suicidal behavior is caused by a psychological stressor
such as the death of her younger sister and happens when she is at a susceptible age of twelve.
According to an article by, depression and suicidal thoughts are developed by psychological
stressors such as death, (Segal, Williams & Teasdale 2018). This proves to be true in Disco Di’s
case. Finally the behavioral inhibition may be another diathesis which may lead to depression
and anxiety an positively correlates and affects both adolescents and children therefore makes BI
a possible diathesis for anxiety which strongly applies to Disco Di’s case since she experience
stressful events in her life.

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Research On Borderline And Mental Distress Disorders
Conclusion
In conclusion, it is evident that Disco Di suffers from the above named disorders and that
treatment is possible. It also calls for more research and enlightenment to the general public and
various professions to take part in treatment and diagnosis of persons affected by the above
named disorder. Diana had no female friends and the only sister she had died when she was only
twelve years old. Being in her adolescent period, Disco Di’s social environment requires her to
be close to friends and family and lack of friends to support her during her grieving times greatly
affected her social life.
References
Infurna, M. R., Reichl, C., Parzer, P., Schimmenti, A., Bifulco, A., & Kaess, M. (2016).
Associations between depression and specific childhood experiences of abuse and
neglect: a meta-analysis. Journal of affective disorders, 190, 47-55.
Joshi, S., Mooney, S. J., Kennedy, G. J., Benjamin, E. O., Ompad, D., Rundle, A. G., ... & Cerdá,
M. (2016). Beyond METs: types of physical activity and depression among older
adults. Age and ageing, 45(1), 103-109.
Antypa, N., Vogelzangs, N., Meesters, Y., Schoevers, R., Joy,K & Penninx, B. W. (2016).
Chronotype associations with depression and anxiety disorders in a large cohort
study. Depression and anxiety, 33(1), 75-83.
Koyanagi, A., Oh, H., Stickley, A., Haro, J. M., & DeVylder, J. (2016). Risk and functional
significance of psychotic experiences among individuals with depression in 44 low-and
middle-income countries. Psychological medicine, 46(12), 2655-2665.
Daoud, N., Haque, N., Gao, M., Nisenbaum, R., Muntaner, C., & O’Campo, P. (2016).
Neighborhood settings, types of social capital and depression among immigrants in
Toronto. Social psychiatry and psychiatric epidemiology, 51(4), 529-538.

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Research On Borderline And Mental Distress Disorders
Wen, M. C., Chan, L. L., Tan, L. C. S., & Tan, E. K. (2016). Depression, anxiety, and apathy in
Parkinson's disease: insights from neuroimaging studies. European journal of
neurology, 23(6), 1001-1019.
Segal, Z. V., Williams, M., & Teasdale, J. D. (2018). Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy for
depression. Guilford Publications.
Cuijpers, P. (2016). Are all psychotherapies equally effective in the treatment of adult
depression? The lack of statistical power of comparative outcome studies. Evidence-
based mental health, ebmental-2016.