Men with Borderline Personality Disorder
The vast majority of men with this disorder have not been diagnosed as such. One reason why men are often misdiagnosed is because BPD typically manifests itself in different ways in men than it does in women.
Typical male borderlines display behaviours such as:-
- Aggressively thin-skinned, uncontrolled anger
- Controlling through criticism
- Irrational jealousy
- Possessive but detached
- Rejecting relationship
- Holding grudges
- Using sex to relieve insecurity
- Substance abuse
In the world of psychology men have long been short changed. For years, psychology has focused its attention on women and their relationships, as if the male didn’t matter. A lot attention has gone toward understanding and diagnosing emotionally unstable women.
Joseph Nowinski, Ph.D., Central Recovery Press, Las Vegas wrote:- ‘a man’s ability to recognize and cope with the bpd (which affects them in equal numbers as women) is distinctive. Because men want to “save face” and won’t seek help–even for simpler problems like anxiety and depression– few studies on them exist.’
Both men and women can express fear of abandonment as aggressive rage toward the “cause” of their distress. However, men’s level of violence is more lethal. A perceived betrayal or a real or imagined act of abandonment may trigger acting out activities such as kicking down a door, forcing sexual activity, blocking the partner’s escape, and threatening the partner with a weapon. Some are involved in controlling and stalking behaviour.
With the advent of Dialectic Behavioural Therapy (DBT) and other therapeutic modalities, it is becoming apparent that people with BPD can improve the quality of their lives with appropriate treatment. Progress is being made in de-stigmatizing the diagnosis of BPD in females.
Finally, we are taking the next step and doing the same for males.
Previous research showed that men were about 25% of BPD cases. Today, we know it is a remarkable 50/50 divide.
borderline personality disorder 