BPD and Memory Loss

Is there a connection between #MemoryLoss and #BorderlinePersonalityDisorder?

While patients with BPD showed regular results when tested in verbal and nonverbal ways, a significant amount of them reported problems with memory in their everyday lives.

#BPD is clinically characterized by emotionally unstable and impulsive cognitive behavior, and current theories emphasize the disruptive potential of negative emotion on cognition.

(cognition - the mental action or process of acquiring knowledge and understanding through thought, experience, and the senses.)

A recent study found that the verbal memory of patients with BPD was normal when no distractions or neutral distractions were presented. However, their performance was impaired when negative distractions were introduced.

Pre-clinical investigation showed patients with BPD displayed enhanced retrograde and anterograde #amnesia when presented with negative stimuli. Positive stimuli, however, caused no negative effects. These results suggest the potential of emotion-induced cognitive dysfunction in individuals with #BPD.

One cognitive domain where interference with emotion can be characterized is episodic or autobiographical memory. Autobiographical being, a high-valued memory containing knowledge about the self. Episodic being conscious recollections of personal experiences including details like when and where they happened.

Studies have also revealed amygdala–hippocampal interactions during emotional episodic memory encoding, with hippocampal circuits being modulated by amygdala input.

(The amygdala is specialized for input and processing of emotion, while the hippocampus is essential for declarative or episodic memory.)

Currently, experiments are being conducted focusing on emotion-induced amnesia and hypermnesia as a potential cognitive index of hyperarousal-dyscontrol syndrome in BPD.

Hyperarousal is one of the main symptoms of #PTSD. It occurs when a person’s body suddenly kicks into high alert as a result of thinking about past trauma. Even if real danger is not present, their body acts as if it is, causing lasting stress.

Lack of emotional equilibrium is a common symptom of many psychiatric conditions, especially #BorderlinePersonalityDisorder. Stemming from this, another common symptom is dissociation, which includes symptoms of memory loss for periods of time, detachment from the self, depersonalization, derealization, distorted perceptions, and a blurred sense of identity.

Personally, I feel like it's also just hard to remember things clearly when you're rarely living in the present moment. Due to the distraction of overwhelming thoughts and emotions, those with BPD endure most of the time.

Conclusion:

Borderline Personality Disorder is, at its root, ill-formed thought patterns. When you have emotional reactions the way individuals with BPD do, they are so overwhelming that you naturally attempt to safeguard yourself from it. Recalling past negative experiences isn't pleasant for anyone, particularly those with BPD. So, in response to this, the subconscious mind attempts to block out negative memories rather than relive them later. This overtime turns into a malfunction in one's memory encoding when negative emotions are present.

Thank you for sharing your time with me..

I hope you have a WONDERFUL day!

-Borderline Brooke