Please respond to 2 peers. At least one peer reviewed reference is required
Bernadine Clarke
Question 1: Do you have any experience with healthcare providers stigmatizing patients with personality disorders (specifically, borderline personality disorders) ?
I have not had any direct experience with healthcare providers stigmatizing patients with personality disorders. However, I have heard numerous stories from friends and family members who have had direct experience with this discrimination. One friend, in particular, has a borderline personality disorder, and she has told me how her mental health had been ignored by many of her doctors. She has been told that her symptoms are “all in her head” and that she is just seeking attention. The doctor also refused to prescribe her medication for her BPD because he didn’t believe it was a real disorder. This type of stigma is not only hurtful, but it can also be dangerous. When people with mental illness are not taken seriously by their healthcare providers, they are less likely to seek out the help that they need. This can lead to a decline in mental health and can even lead to suicide (Ring, Daniel, and Sharon, 2019). These stories are unfortunately all too common, highlighting the need for more education and awareness about personality disorders in the healthcare field.
Question 2. : Are personality disorders stigmatized by society? Why?
There is a generally negative attitude towards people with personality disorders, which can lead to social stigma and make it difficult for people suffering from these disorders to get the help they need. This is likely due to a lack of understanding about what personality disorders are and how they affect people’s lives. There is also a perception that people with personality disorders are dangerous or unpredictable, which can make others afraid or uncomfortable (Ring, Daniel, and Sharon, 2019). This stigma can also make it hard for people with personality disorders to maintain healthy relationships and to find and keep jobs.
Esinam Adotey
Do you have any experience with healthcare providers stigmatizing patients with personality disorders (specifically, borderline personality disorders)?I have had an experience with a healthcare provider stigmatizing a patient with a personality disorder. This experience was in an inpatient mental health unit. The health professional stigmatized the patient’s behavior who was diagnosis with Borderline personality disorder (BPD) as behavior that she could easily change. In this scenario, the patient had made multiple suicide attempt recently and her current suicide attempt was because a friend of hers told her to go ahead and kill herself since no one would care if she was alive. The healthcare provider also stigmatizes her behavior as attention-seeking to get attention from people.
Are personality disorders stigmatized by society? Why?Personality disorders are stigmatized by society by labeling the patient as manipulative, attention-seeking, and difficult to treat (SiteMGR et al.). The fact that unstable relationships are a defining characteristic of BPD makes problems worse because those with the disorder are especially vulnerable to its impacts. In addition, there is a tendency for providers to remove themselves from the clients in order to protect themselves from the unhealthy actions of the said client (SiteMGR et al.). This distance aggravates the client’s self-image issue, who has BPD (SiteMGR et al.). For BPD, however, premodified label constructions still exist. Even in specialized settings, it’s typical to hear individuals in a clinical practice referred to as “borderlines “(Masland & Null, 2022). It is implied that BPD may be stigmatized among mental health professionals by using phrases like “oh no, she’s a borderline,” “that’s really borderline,” or referral remarks like “serious borderline.” (Masland & Null, 2022).