Transtorno de personalidade borderline: perspectiva da automutilação em adolescentes

Abstract

The Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) consists of a condition whose main manifestations are instability patterns and dysfunctions on emotional, behavioral, cognitive and interpersonal domains. These symptoms are accentuated around the age of 14 to 17 years old which, concomitantly, corresponds to the period of adolescence in which the young person experiences significant changes in his identity consolidation (in the consolidation of his identity), influenced by their family and social relationships. In this context, due to the pressure experienced by the individual, it is common the self-mutilation practice has a way to relieve psychological suffering and internal conflicts, this practice being a common behavioral symptom in patients with BPD. To conduct this narrative literature review, searches are were performed in the electronic databases US National Library of Medicine (PubMed), Biblioteca Virtual em Saúde (BVS) and Scientific Electronic Library Online (Scielo), using Boolean combinations with the descriptors “adolescent”, “Borderline Personality Disorder” and “self-mutilation”. Thus, in 718 articles were retrieved in English and Portuguese, from 2008 to 2019, which 29 were elected. In addition, consultations were made to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual for Mental Disorders (DSM-5). In the Borderline Personality Disorder the individuals have greater difficulty in understanding and dealing with the emotions experienced, which, when associated with the troubled period of adolescence, negatively favor the psychological development of children and youth. Consequently, these patients develop in their personality striking traits, such as impulsivity, affective instability, feelings of emptiness, situations of intense anger and dissociative symptoms, which can often manifest in self-destructive behaviors in an attempt to heal their distress. In this context, self-mutilation appears as a way of redirecting feelings and relieving anxieties, being more frequent among adolescents that suffer from Borderline Personality Disorder (95.2%), in which 65.4% practiced more than 25 times and 53.9% more 50 times during their lives. It was concluded with this study that adolescence presents itself as a significant aggravating factor of the manifestations of Borderline Personality Disorder, especially when elucidated by others family and social contexts, that are more striking in this age group. Thus, it is essential that the disease is diagnosed early and that professionals are qualified to deal with the subjective issues of the context of these adolescents, and, thus, intervene effectively so that the Borderline Personality Disorder does not imply on having permanent consequences for the patient.