CHRISTIAN SINGLE’S GUIDE TO PERSONALITY DISORDERS
WHICH CAUSE DEPRESSION FOR BOTH THE PERPETRATOR AND THEIR VICTIMS
Chapter 25 Warning- A Christian Single’s Dating Disaster:
Narcissism And Other Personality Disorders
Serotonin, norepinephrine and acetylcholine are among the chemical
messengers in these circuits that play a role in the regulation of
emotions, including sadness, anger, anxiety, and irritability. Drugs
that enhance brain serotonin function may improve emotional symptoms
in BPD. Likewise, mood-stabilizing drugs that are known to enhance the
activity of GABA, the brain's major inhibitory neurotransmitter, may
help people who experience BPD-like mood swings. Such brain-based
vulnerabilities can be managed with help from behavioral interventions
and medications, much like people manage susceptibility to diabetes or
high blood pressure.
Future Progress
Studies that translate basic findings about the neural basis of
temperament, mood regulation, and cognition into clinically relevant
insights�which bear directly on BPD�represent a growing area
of NIMH-supported research. Research is also underway to test the
efficacy of combining medications with behavioral treatments like DBT,
and gauging the effect of childhood abuse and other stress in BPD on
brain hormones. Data from the first prospective, longitudinal study of
BPD, which began in the early 1990s, is expected to reveal how
treatment affects the course of the illness. It will also pinpoint
specific environmental factors and personality traits that predict a
more favorable outcome. The Institute is also collaborating with a
private foundation to help attract new researchers to develop a better
understanding and better treatment for BPD.
References
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7Siever LJ, Koenigsberg HW. The frustrating no-mans-land of
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8Zanarini MC, Frankenburg. Pathways to the development of
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10Davidson RJ, Jackson DC, Kalin NH. Emotion, plasticity, context
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11Davidson RJ, Putnam KM, Larson CL. Dysfunction in the neural
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All material in this fact sheet is in the public domain and may be
copied or reproduced without permission from the Institute. Citation
of the source is appreciated.
NIH Publication No. 01-4928
Our thanks to the N.I.M.H. for this up to date report.
