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Mental Health Dictionary - Letter B

Uploaded 6/29/2023, approx. 3 minute read

Okay, so the letter after A happens to be B. It's a mental health dictionary, the letter B.

Now I've opened a new playlist on the channel, surprisingly called Mental Health Dictionary. I'm going to upload there, I'm going to add all the various letters, A, B, C, D.

You see, I know the alphabet, and when it's all done, I'm going to issue a single video compilation of all the letters so that you can download it and have your own personal Wackenin Mental Health Dictionary.

Okay, my name is Sam Vaknin, I'm the author of "Alignant Self-Love: Narcissism, Revisited." I'm a former visiting professor of psychology and currently on the faculty of SIAS, and straight to the letter B. That is, if I find it.

Okay, here we are. Blocking, halted, frequently interrupted speech to the point of incoherence indicates a parallel disruption of thought processes. The patient appears to try hard to remember what it was that he or she was saying or thinking as if they lost the thread of conversation.

And the big one, borderline personality disorder, also abbreviated as BPD, a controversial mental health diagnosis in the cluster B of personality disorders, the erratic, dramatic cluster.

Borderlines are characterized by stormy, short-lived and unstable relationships matched by wildly fluctuating labile self-image and emotional expression, unstable affect.

Some scholars suggest that BPD is merely Emotionally Disregulated Complex Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, Emotionally Disregulated Complex Trauma.

Borderlines are impulsive and reckless. Their sexual conduct is frequently unsafe. They binge eat, gamble, drive or shop carelessly and/or are substance abusers. There is recklessness present.

Borderlines also display self-destructive and self-defeating behaviors such as suicidal ideation, suicide attempts, gestures or threats and self-mutilation or self-injury.

The spectre of abandonment provokes anxiety in the borderline as do feelings of engulfment or enmeshment.

Borderlines make frantic and usually counterproductive efforts to preempt or prevent both conditions, abandonment and engulfment.

Codependent acts are followed by idealization and then by an abrupt devaluation of the borderline's partner and this is known as approachavoidancerepetitioncompulsion and splitting.

Borderlines have pronounced mood swings, shifting between dysphoria, sadness or depression and euphoria, manic self-confidence and paralyzing anxiety, irritability and then indifference.

Borderlines are often angry and violent, usually getting into physical fights. They throw temper tantrums and have frightening rage attacks.

Under stress, some borderlines become briefly psychotic or develop transient paranoid ideations and ideas of reference, the erroneous conviction that one is the focus of derision and malicious gossip.

Dissociative symptoms such as amnesia, derialization and depersonalization are common, losing stretches of time or objects and forgetting events or facts with emotional content.

Borderline Personality Organization Scale (BPO) a diagnostic test developed in 1985. It sorts the responses of respondents into 30 relevant scales. It indicates the existence of identity disturbance, primitive defenses and deficient reality testing and that is all for today in the letter B.

Looking forward to the letter C which follows even in my world the letter B.

To be or not to be, that is the C section.

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Signs of SWITCHING in Narcissists and Borderlines (Read PINNED comment)

Professor Sam Vaknin discusses the phenomenon of switching in dissociative identity disorder, borderline personality disorder, and narcissistic personality disorder. He explains that switching is a common regulatory mechanism in these disorders and is triggered by stress, anxiety, and environmental cues. Vaknin describes the signs of switching, including emotional dysregulation, changes in body posture, and dramatic shifts in identity and behavior. He also emphasizes the impact of switching on relationships and the need for partners to adapt to the changing identities of individuals with these disorders.


From Borderline to Psychopath to Narcissist: Abuse of Language and Self States

Sam Vaknin discusses the concept of personality disorders, particularly cluster B disorders, as facets of an underlying dissociative process. He suggests that these disorders may be self-states or alters of each other, all stemming from a common dissociation. Vaknin also explores the role of language and speech in these disorders, as well as the development of false selves and the transition between different personality disorders. He proposes that all known personality disorders, especially cluster B disorders, are forms of malignant self-love, and that ultimately there is only one cluster B personality disorder.


Shapeshifting Borderline, Morphing Narcissist Identity Disturbance

Professor Sam Vaknin discusses the concept of self-states in individuals with borderline personality disorder (BPD), noting that BPD individuals switch between different personalities and identities. He explains the three types of identity disturbance, which include cyclical, allotropic, and object-related identity disturbance. Patients with borderline personality disorder have disturbances in the structural level of selfhood, resulting in an incomplete sense of substance, substantiality, embodiment, and a feeling of having divorced their own body. Narcissistic pathology is a more egregious form of the borderline pathology, and both the borderline and their typically narcissistic partner try to appropriate the other person's identity as a sound and medicine to their own identity disturbance and knowing emptiness.


Borderline’s Life is Worth Living, Technicolor Adventure

Professor Sam Vaknin discusses the misconceptions and despair surrounding borderline personality disorder. He emphasizes the positive prognosis and effective treatment modalities for the disorder, such as dialectical behavior therapy. Vaknin highlights the creativity, intensity, and enlightenment that individuals with borderline personality disorder possess, and the potential for personal growth and evolution. He encourages those with the disorder not to give up, as their lives are worth living and can have a positive impact on the world.


6 Cluster B Personality Disorders Misconceptions (Conference Presentation)

Professor Sam Vaknin discusses six misconceptions about personality disorders in a YouTube video. He explains the differences between codependents and borderlines, the role of abuse in relationships, the distinction between mental illness and mental health, and the characteristics of approach avoidance repetition compulsion and intermittent reinforcement. Additionally, he delves into the emptiness at the core of borderline and narcissistic conditions and how it becomes a choice for individuals with these disorders.


Borderline Girl, Interrupted (Rebecca Ray's "Pure")

Professor Sam Vaknin discusses the book "A Certain Age" by Rebecca Ray, praising it as a masterpiece that provides insight into the formation of borderline personality disorder in adolescence. He reads excerpts from the book and comments on them, highlighting the pathogenesis of borderline personality disorder, precocious sexuality, dissociation, and the internal struggles of individuals with this disorder. He emphasizes the transactional mindset, external locus of control, and the use of fantasy as a defense mechanism. The discussion also touches on self-harming behaviors, lying, and the need for external validation in individuals with borderline personality disorder.


Shy/Quiet Borderline “Diagnosis”, Reality vs. Phantasy/Fantasy

Professor Sam Vaknin discusses the book "A Little Life" and emphasizes the importance of relying on scientific evidence rather than personal anecdotes. He rejects the proposed diagnosis of "shy or quiet borderline" and explains the differences between narcissistic and borderline fantasies. He also delves into the psychodynamics of narcissistic and borderline personality disorders, highlighting their distinct etiologies and behaviors.


Covert Borderline, Classic Borderline - Psychopaths?

Professor Sam Vaknin discusses the proposed new mental health diagnosis of covert borderline, which is more typical of men. He compares and contrasts the covert borderline with the classic or dysregulated borderline. Both types have mood lability and emotional dysregulation, but the classic borderline dissociates from emotions, while the covert borderline rationalizes emotions and becomes a primary psychopath. Many anti-racism activists are covert narcissists and covert borderlines who obtain indirect attention and self-gratification through their activism.


Covert Borderline: Narcissist or Psychopath (Primary, Secondary) ( Differential Diagnoses)

Professor Sam Vaknin discusses the concept of covert borderline personality disorder, a diagnosis he proposes based on extensive literature. He explains the differences between covert borderline, narcissism, and psychopathy, emphasizing the complex and overlapping nature of personality disorders. He also delves into repetition compulsion and the cognitive style of covert borderlines. Vaknin advocates for a unified approach to understanding and categorizing personality disorders.


Loving the Borderline in Her Fantasy

Professor Sam Vaknin discusses the love life, sexual fantasies, and relationships of borderline women, as well as the connection between borderline personality disorder and promiscuity. He delves into the origins and manifestations of the disorder, including its link to childhood trauma and heredity. Vaknin also explores the impact of these dynamics on relationships and the potential for resonance or exacerbation of pathologies in such pairings.

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