TRAUMA AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF BORDERLINE PERSONALITY-DISORDER

Prolonged and severe trauma, particularly trauma that occurs early in the life cycle, tends to result in a chronic inability to modulate emo tions. When this occurs, people can mobilize a range of behaviors that are best understood as attempts at self-soothing. The task of therapi sts and researchers alike is to understand which memories are related to which affects, to know when to explore feelings to allow conscious remembrance of past horrors, and to decide when to focus on mastery in the here and now.