Abstract
M.Cur. (Psychiatric Mental Health Nursing)
Few studies have been done on life stories of women living with borderline
personality disorders in South Africa. It was therefore considered to find out
how women diagnosed with borderline personality disorder would tell their life
story. For the researcher working in a psychotherapy ward, where women are
mostly diagnosed with borderline personality disorder, and the care of these
women is of vital importance, as mental health care providers understand
them less.
The research aimed to explore and describe the life stories of women living
with borderline personality disorder and to formulate guidelines for psychiatric
nurse practitioners to facilitate the mental health of women living with
borderline personality disorder.
A qualitative, explorative, descriptive and contextual study design was used.
Data were collected through semi-structured interviews focusing on the
question “Tell me your life story,” Tesch’s method was used for data analysis
and an external coder was utilised. Eight participants were interviewed.
In the findings it is evident through the life stories of women living with
borderline personality disorder that there are childhood experiences of living
within an unsafe space related to unhealthy family dynamics, boundary
violations and educational challenges. They experienced chronic feelings of
emptiness in the relationship they also presented with a pattern of unstable
interpersonal relationships and compromised mental health, which was
evident through early onset of mental problems, emotional upheaval, looking
for emotional escape and having different trigger factors. Lastly all these
women yearned for facilitated mental health.