the diagnosis given to Disco Di

The Diagnosis Given To Disco Di
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The Diagnosis Given To Disco Di
Introduction
Abnormal behavior has been defined and described in many studies as the persistent pattern of conduct that contradicts the popularly held beliefs. It is, therefore, a matter or rarity in the society. People with rare behavior as considered as having a personality disorder (Gawda & Czubak, 2017). This is a persistent pattern of behavior that is different from the expectations of individual’s culture. In this study, a case of Disco Di, and patient previously diagnosed with a personality condition is analyzed to build a solid understanding of abnormal behavior. Preliminary analysis before research agrees with the diagnosis of Borderline Personality Behavior (BPD) given to Disco Di in her last diagnosis based on her symptomatic behavior. The objective is to identify key traits of personality behavior useful in diagnosis and also those that can help differentiate one BPD from other personality disorders that tend to have overlapping signs. Finally, the study will use a theoretical framework to identify the best treatment for Disco Di’ disorder.
Diagnostic Features/Differential Diagnosis
The diagnosis of Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) was appropriate and effective in addressing Disco Di’s personality issues. The reason for this is that Disco Di exhibited traits such as suicidal attempts, self-harm, unstable relationship, difficulties at work and usually unstable image of self.

Another disorder Disco Di could be experiencing is Major dissociative disorder (MDD). Both BPD and MDD have overlapping traits (Brand & Lanius, 2014). In the case, Disco Di have attempted suicides and self-harm, failed to secure employment and struggled with extreme emotional swings from boredom to discontent.
However, strong consideration factors can help distinguish BPD from MDD in the differential diagnosis. These traits are impulsivity, a chronic feeling of emptiness, psychotic episodes and sometimes both repetitive and manipulative suicide attempts that are key in BPD cases (Brand, 2016). However, most patients with a history of more than one suicide attempts have been successfully diagnosed with BPD (Borda, 2016). Brand and Lanius (2014) confirm this and add that cases of BPD tend to be more than of dissociative disorders. In their study, 70 percent in a group of 33 patients were diagnosed with BPD and have exhibited such behaviors in their lives against 23 percent that were diagnosed with dissociative disorders (Brand & Lanius, 2014). In the case, and unlike the MDD, BPD is evident in her explosive anger incidences when she shares violent arguments with her parents, and unclear personal image as revealed by her unstable sexual behaviors. All these are effective traits that have clinical use when differentiating BPD from other disorders.
Cultural and Gender Factors
Cultural social and gender factors highly influence the manifestation of BPD at adolescent. For instance, findings from numerous studies investigating BPD point that childhood experiences together with bad parenting influence the manifestation of the disorder at puberty. Cattane, Rossi, Lanfredi, and Cattaneo (2017) reveal that although some biological forces can be responsible for BPD, traumatic incidences during one’s childhood propagated the onset of the disorder at adolescence. According to Delisle (2011), the reason for this linkage is that early development affects a wide range of cognitive processes and behaviors of a child.
Socially, parenting has a great influence on the possibility of the child’s experience with BPD. For example, those children who are raised by violent, alcoholic parents, or a single parent have a high probability of experiencing symptoms of BPD such as anxiety, anger, loneliness, dissatisfied, and even drug abuse at their young adult stage (Huang et al., 2014). Another factor that can be used in defining the prevalence of BPD is racial composition of a population. One study that establishes this finding is by Ascoli et al., (2011) that reveals that more than 63 percent of Caucasians suffer at least one personality disorder against 25 percent of non-Caucasians. Ascoli et al. (2011) state that both historical, social and environmental factors are responsible for this disparity. Silberschmidt et al. (2015) in their study state that factors such as poverty, homelessness, and unemployment that tend to distinguishes between the two groups influence the disparity.
Finally, researchers have unveiled the gender aspect of BPD supporting that females have high vulnerability than men regarding prevalence. These differences further extend to the way BPD symptoms manifest themselves between males and females. Females exhibit depression, anxiety, self-harm and unstable relationship more than men. On the other hand, men with BPD are more likely to show violent traits such as aggression and substance abuse than females. A study by Silberschmidt et al. (2015) confirms this as it notes that BPD in males tends to shift towards other personality disorders such as narcissism and antisocial.
Paradigm/Treatment Methods
Although there are different methods in which Disco Di’s disorder can be treated, Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT) is the most researched and, therefore, most developed. As a type of psychotherapy, it uses the cognitive behavioral approach towards management and correcting patients’ mood swings through invalidation process. This process has to be support oriented, cognitive-based and collaborative. Simply put, this is by identifying patient’s strengths and capitalizing on them to give them a positive feeling, identifying their thoughts, beliefs, and assumptions that act as challenges in life and finally building a collaborative relationship between the patient, family, and staff. Consequently, a patient with BPD develops a sense of mindfulness, tolerance to distress, interpersonal effectiveness and effective emotion regulation capability.
Paradigm
A 20th-century paradigm that best describes Disco Di’s abnormal behavior is Marsha M. Linehan’s biosocial model. According to Linehan’s theory, some people tend to experience things more intensely than others and, therefore, react more to events in childhood more than others (Gill & Warburton, 2014). It can be due to genetic influence or childhood experience thus making hem sensitive to emotions. And with the tendency of reacting differently from others, one can feel alienated, rejected, misunderstood, and even punished sometimes. For this reason, they need to learn to distrust their experience and to manage emotional experience. Consequently, such emotions can be activated, heightened and then slowed back. Linehan’s theory works to invalidate both childhood and emotional vulnerability (Gill & Warburton, 2014). This biosocial model inspired the Dialectical behavior therapy (BDT), which is a popular treatment of BPD.
Conclusion
Although Disco Di’s disorder can be identified as a major dissociative disorder, differential diagnosis traits such as multiple attempts of suicide, poor work relationship and work, aggression, anxiety and unstable moods indicate that is a borderline personality disorder. Further research established that BPD is a condition that is highly influenced by social, cultural and gender factors. For this reason, there seem to be some groups that are either more vulnerable to the disorder or symptoms than others. For example, Caucasians tend to be more vulnerable to BPD than non-Caucasians. In line with this, males have demonstrated aggression and violence as symptoms more than females. Despite these differences, both males and females tend to have the same troubling experience with the conditions. In addressing the disorder, this study found that Dialectical behavior therapy (BDT) is the most effective, apart from being popular. However, it acts as a psychotherapy approach that combines oriented inputs and collaboration for best results. Therefore, effective medication option that can help regulate a biological aspect of the conditions is necessary.
References
Ascoli, M., Lee, T., Warfa, N., Mairura, J., Persaud, A., & Bhui, K. (2011). Race, culture, ethnicity and personality disorder: Group Care if position paper (pp. 53-58). London: World Cultural Psychiatry Research Review.
Borda, J. P. (2016). Self over time: another difference between borderline personality disorder and bipolar disorder. Journal of Evaluation in Clinical Practice, 22(4), 603-607. doi:10.1111/jep.12550
Brand, B., & Lanius, R. (2014). Chronic complex dissociative disorders and borderline personality disorder: disorders of emotion dysregulation? Borderline Personality Disorder and Emotion Dysregulation, 1(1), 13. http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/2051-6673-1-13
Cattane, N., Rossi, R., Lanfredi, M., & Cattaneo, A. (2017). Borderline personality disorder and childhood trauma: exploring the affected biological systems and mechanisms. BMC Psychiatry, 171-14. Doi: 10.1186/s12888-017-1383-2
Delisle, G. (2011). Personality Pathology: Developmental Perspectives. London: Karnac Books.
Gawda, B., & Czubak, K. (2017). Prevalence of Personality Disorders in a General Population among Men and Women. Psychological Reports, 120(3), 503-519. Doi: 10.1177/0033294117692807
Gill, D., & Warburton, W. (2014). An Investigation of the Biosocial Model of Borderline Personality Disorder. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 70(9), 866-873. doi:10.1002/jclp.22074
Huang, J., Napolitano, L. A., Wu, J., Yang, Y., Xi, Y., Li, Y., & Li, K. (2014). Childhood experiences of parental rearing patterns reported by Chinese patients with borderline personality disorder. International Journal of Psychology, 49(1), 38-45. doi:10.1002/ijop.12007
Silberschmidt, A., Lee, S., Zanarini, M., & Schulz, S. C. (2015). Gender Differences in Borderline Personality Disorder: Results from a Multinational, Clinical Trial Sample. Journal of Personality Disorders, 29(6), 828-838. Doi: 10.1521/pedi_2014_28_175