What is Splitting with Borderline Personality Disorder?

This video describes “splitting” in the context of borderline personality disorder. When we talk about the concept of splitting and borderline personality disorder, it's important to recognize that splitting is a nonspecific term. Splitting is either a cognitive distortion or a psychodynamic defense mechanism, depending on how you conceptualize it, but either way the concept of splitting is related to dichotomous thinking. Splitting not the same thing as the symptom criterion in borderline personality disorder that refers to unstable and intense relationships. These types of relationships are an example of splitting, but we can also see other types of splitting behaviors with borderline personality disorder. I'm going to be talking about splitting as it refers to that symptom criterion: a pattern of unstable and intense relationships characterized by alternating between extremes of idealization and devaluation. I'm going to refer to this idealization devaluation cycle as the love-hate cycle. There are some characteristics that are specific to this particular symptom criterion or characteristic that we oftentimes see in conjunction with the symptom criterion. With this love-hate cycle, we oftentimes see that it's related to just one person at a time, and often a new relationship. Another characteristic of this love-hate cycle is that it can continue even when the relationship is over. Even though we think of this love-hate cycle as an example of splitting, sometimes we see ambivalence with this particular symptom criterion, so it's really focusing more on the unstable an intense relationship component and we don't always see the extremes of idealization and devaluation clearly defined. This is particularly the case in the devaluation phase of this cycle. Another characteristic specifically of the devaluation phase and the idealization/devaluation cycle is that it tends to be triggered by a fear of abandonment. The devaluation phase tends to co-occur with a lot of the other symptoms.

Видео What is Splitting with Borderline Personality Disorder? канала Dr. Todd Grande