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The overlap between complex posttraumatic stress disorder and borderline personality disorder

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  13 August 2021

C. Álvarez García*
Affiliation:
Psychiatry, Hospital Universitario Príncipe de Asturias, Alcalá de Henares, Spain
L. Nocete Navarro
Affiliation:
Psychiatry, Hospital Universitario Príncipe de Asturias, Alcalá de Henares, Spain
M.D.C. Molina Lietor
Affiliation:
Psiquiatría, Hospital Universitario Príncipe de Asturias, Alcalá de Henares, Spain
I. Cuevas Iñiguez
Affiliation:
Psiquiatría, Hospital Universitario Príncipe de Asturias, Alcalá de Henares, Spain
A. Sanz Giancola
Affiliation:
Psiquiatría, Hospital Universitario Príncipe de Asturias, Alcalá de Henares, Spain
*
*Corresponding author.

Abstract

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Introduction

Research has shown the relationship between borderline personality disorder (BPD) and complex posttraumatic stress disorder (cPTSD), pointing out the overlapping nature and expression of both conditions. In order to understand their differences and similarities, we present a case of a 22-years-old patient with a history of repeated sexual trauma throughout all her adolescence, whose diagnose was changed from BPD to cPTSD after she was admitted in an acute inpatient mental health unit.

Objectives

To gather the similarities between borderline personality disorder and complex posttraumatic stress disorder.

Methods

A narrative review of the literature through the presentation of a case. Articles were chosen based on its clinical relevance.

Results

cPTSD merges the clinical features and symptoms of PTSD with affect dysregulation, negative self-perception, unstable relationships and somatization, also present in BPD. Furthermore, BPD is known to frequently have a traumatic etiology.

Conclusions

It is not always simple to draw a clear line between cPTSD and BPD conditions. However, each diagnosis may have a different impact on patient understanding and treatment.

Disclosure

No significant relationships.

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Abstract
Creative Commons
Creative Common License - CCCreative Common License - BY
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution licence (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2021. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of the European Psychiatric Association
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