Borderline Personality Disorder Causes, Symptoms and Treatments

Borderline Personality Disorder Causes, Symptoms and Treatments Borderline Personality Disorder can be a traumatic experience not only for the patient but also for his relatives and loved ones. A person suffering from Borderline Disorder considers each and every of his actions as perfect and appropriate. However, these actions can cause havoc in his life without him even understanding what is really happening.He seems that all of his behaviors and feelings are justified. But such behaviors and feelings actually create a lot of problems for him in the long run.Borderline personality disorder is one of the most prevalent personality disorders in the world. According to an estimate, 1-4% of total world population has borderline personality disorder. Similarly, women are more prone to the disorder as compared to men. As a matter of fact, out of 100 patients of borderline personality disorder, 75 are women.Symptoms actually start to appear during late childhood or early adolescence. Furthermore, any kind of personality disorder including borderline di sorder can range from mild to severe. The good news is that most of the patients fully recover after the diagnosis and effective treatment. WHAT IS BORDERLINE PERSONALITY DISORDER?In the days gone by, experts believed that the person suffering from borderline personality disorder is literally at the border between two mental conditions.Neurosis: A mental condition in which a person can differentiate between the reality and imagination despite being mentally distressed.Psychosis: A condition in which a mentally distressed person cannot differentiate between the reality and imagination. Such a person may also experience delusions such as strong belief in something that cannot really happen or is totally implausible.However, this is the most inaccurate description of the disorder according to modern medical science. The borderline disorder is a disorder of interpersonal functions (how one interacts with others and his environment) and mood. A patient of borderline disorder behaves impu lsively, reacts extremely or inappropriately to certain situations and usually has unstable relationships in addition to showing many other symptoms.Suffering from the disorder happens to be a painful circle marked with reckless behaviors, emotional volatility and the tendency of getting irritated by pretty small things. It is pertinent to note that many people struggling with borderline disorder will attempt suicide or at least try to self-harm.   In fact, almost 80% of patients do attempt suicide out of which 10% eventually succeed in killing themselves.In simple terms, borderline personality disorder is a type of emotional disorder which makes it difficult for you to think and feel properly about yourself and others.COMMON MYTHS ASSOCIATED WITH BORDERLINE PERSONALITY DISORDER Before we talk about the causes and treatments of the disorder, it is imperative to debunk some of the most common myths associated with it.People Do it for AttentionThis is a common myth about borderline pe rsonality disorder especially when the patients show suicidal behaviors. You need to keep in mind that patients often try to communicate their feelings through self-injury even if they are not trying to commit suicide. Therefore, you need to consider their behavior as legitimate and valid. Most often, they don’t do it for attention.It is a Variation of Bipolar DisorderIt is not a variation of bipolar disorder but a completely different disorder altogether. They are two distinct illnesses despite the fact they have similar symptoms and treatments.It is UntreatableBorderline personality disorder is treatable. In fact, most patients fully recover and return to normal life after timely diagnosis and effective treatment.Only Women Suffer from BPDIt is a fact that women are more commonly diagnosed with BPD but men do suffer from the disorder as well.Only Bad People Suffer from BPDThis is one of the most common and popular myths about the borderline personality disorder. In fact, they ar e not bat but are simply patients of a disorder that totally ruins their life and makes it difficult for them to recognize what is right and what is wrong. As discussed above, they return to normal life after necessary treatment.All Patients are Victims of Child AbuseChild abuse can lead to the development of BPD in adolescence. However, it is totally wrong to say that all victims of BPD experience child abuse early in their life. There are many causes of BPD and child abuse is only one of them.SYMPTOMS OF BORDERLINE PERSONALITY DISORDER A patient of borderline personality disorder can display a myriad of symptoms.In fact, the disorder can manifest in many different ways. According to mental health professionals, all the symptoms of the disorder generally fall into nine major categories which are explained as under.Impulsive and Destructive BehaviorsPatients of BPD have the tendency to behave impulsively. You may engage in many different types of self-destructive and harmful activit ies especially if you are upset or angry. Some of the activities you can indulge in include shop lifting, reckless driving, unprotected or dangerous sex, binge eating, and spending money mindlessly and drug overdose etc. These risky behaviors may seem totally appropriate at the moment but will actually create a lot of problems for you and those you love.Self-HarmIf you have borderline personality disorder, you can exhibit many dangerous symptoms as well. You can attempt suicide or try to harm yourself at any time. Similarly, you keep thinking about suicide and even make suicidal threats and gestures, keeping people around you on their toes. On the other hand, you can do many other things such as burning and cutting to self-harm yourself when you are not actually thinking about committing suicide.Fear of AbandonmentPeople suffering from this particular personality disorder often fear that their loved ones will abandon them. You become horribly terrified even when someone goes out for a weekend or returns home late from work. Such innocuous things are enough to fill you heart with intense fear. You may try desperately to keep those you love close to you at any cost. You may even resort to begging, tracking their movements, jealousy, fighting or even forcefully preventing them from leaving the house. Unfortunately, you actually drive others away instead of bringing them closer by displaying such behaviors.Unstable or Unclear Self-ImageYou normally have unclear or distorted self-image when you are suffering from borderline disorder. You even start looking yourself as evil or. You may even go to the extent of hating yourself. Sometimes, you do feel good about yourself but such occurrences are few and far between. You don’t have any idea of what your life goals are or who you are in the first place. As a result, you don’t normally hold to anything including your lovers, jobs, homes, friends, goals, values and even your religion and sexual identity for long.Unsta ble RelationshipsPeople having BPD usually don’t have happy relations. Mostly, their relationships are short-lived and intense. Such people consider every new person they meet as their messiah and fall in love with him almost instantly, only to be disappointed later on. There are only two extremes of your relationships. They are either horrible or perfect without anything in between. Your rapid swings between hate and anger as well as idealization and devaluation can also land an emotional blow to members of your family, friends and everyone else you truly love.Extreme Emotional SwingsUnstable emotions and frequent mood swings are an indispensible part of borderline personality disorder. You frequently move between the state of happiness and the state of despondence. You can go to an emotional tailspin due to little things other people simply do not pay any attention to. In BPD, mood swings are typically intense but pass relatively quickly as compared to that of bipolar disorder o r depression. They normally last from few minutes to few hours.Explosive AngerBorderline personality disorder can also instill explosive anger in your personality. In fact, short temper and explosive anger are two of the biggest symptoms of the disorder. You may also find it really difficult to control or stop yourself when you are really angry. Subsequently, anger totally consumes you and you start yelling, throwing things and indulge in complete madness without any fear of the consequences.Chronic Feelings of EmptinessPatients of borderline personality disorder have a chronic feeling of emptiness. Some of them even claim that they have a deep void or hole somewhere inside them. In most extreme cases, you start considering yourself as “nobody.” You try to get rid of this uncomfortable feeling by resorting to sex, food and drugs. However, the feeling prevails and nothing seems to alleviate the intense pain.You do not Recognize RealtyYou can also struggle with paranoia if you hav e borderline personality disorder. You start getting suspicious about other people’s routine activities as well as their “hidden motives.” You may even fail to differentiate between imagination and reality when you are too stressed, the phenomenon commonly known as Dissociation. You also feel spaced out, foggy and you think that you are outside your body.Many normal people also exhibit any or all of the above mentioned symptoms due to different reasons. However, a patient of borderline personality disorder experiences them regularly during his adulthood before seeking treatment.CAUSES OF BORDERLINE PERSONALITY DISORDER     Most mental experts believe that there are more than one causes of borderline personality disorder. In fact, the disorder is the result of combination of different factors such as genetic factors, environmental factors, neurotransmitters and neurobiology. Following lines explain these factors one by one.NeurotransmittersA normal adult has a certain level of neurotransmitter, a substance called serotonin, in his brain. On the other hand, there is reduced amount of serotonin in the brain of a BPD patient or he fails to respond to serotonin correctly. It has also been scientifically proved that inability to control self-destructive behaviors, aggression and depression are directly associated with the low levels of serotonin in the brain.It is worth mentioning that low levels of other two important neurotransmitters, called noradrenaline and dopamine, can result in emotional instability and thus, also supposedly cause borderline personality disorder.NeurobiologyMental experts have spent years and years on studying brains of people suffering from borderline personality disorder with the help of MRI scans. These scans produce extremely detailed images of body interior through radio waves and strong magnetic fields.Some of the MRI scans revealed that unusual activity in three different parts of brain can lead to development of the disorder. S imilarly, these same parts are smaller in size in people having BPD as compared to that of normal people. These parts are as under.The Amygdala: The amygdala is responsible for regulating emotions including anxiety, aggression, fear and all other negative emotions.The Hippocampus: The hippocampus is responsible for regulating self-control and related behaviors.The orbitofrontal Cortex: The orbitofrontal cortex plays an important role in decision making and planning.You are very likely to show the symptoms of borderline personality disorder if one or all of these parts of brain malfunction.Your early upbringing has a lot to do with the proper or improper development of these parts of brain. They also regulate your mood which precisely explains why people having borderline disorder struggle to form long lasting relationships.Genetic FactorsGenetic problems may also lead to the development of borderline personality disorder in individuals. Studies being done on twins present the strong est evidence that genetics can actually cause borderline disorder. One of the studies reveals that there are two in three chances that an identical twin will develop the disease if the other twin already has the disorder.However, there has been no conclusive evidence that humans have a gene for disorder. People do inherit certain personality traits such as the tendency to be emotionally unstable or aggressive from their parents.However, it does not mean that they are going to develop borderline personality disorder as well. Similarly, identical twins share many environmental factors because they grow up in the same family environment and household. That is why they display similar character traits and behaviors.Environmental FactorsPeople suffering from borderline personality disorder share a lot of environmental factors such as:They can be victims of sexual, emotional or physical abuse.They experienced distress or chronic fear when they were children.One or both parents neglected t hem when they needed them the most.They grow up with another member of the family with serious mental condition such as severe drug abuse, depression or bipolar disorder.Different people see the world and interact with other people differently depending upon the nature of their relationship with their parents and rest of the family. You can develop variety of distorted thinking patterns in adulthood due to chronic distress, anger and unresolved fear from your childhood.Some of these behaviors include behaving as a child even in the adulthood, expecting others to bully you or act as a parent to you and idealizing others etc.TREATMENTS OF BORDERLINE PERSONALITY DISORDER There are different types of treatments for borderline personality disorder depending upon how serious your condition is. Following lines explains some of the most popular treatments for BPD.Care Program Approach (CPA)You will become a part of treatment method commonly known as Care Program Approach if the symptoms are moderate to severe. The CPA ensures that you do get the right treatment for your condition. There are actually four stages of CPA which are as under.Experts will assess you condition and social needs.The second stage is to create a care plan incorporating your social needs and the treatments for your condition.Thirdly, you will be assigned a care coordinator. He is usually a nurse or social worker. It is actually he who introduces you to other members of the community.Finally, experts regularly review your progress and make necessary changes to your care plan if required.PsychotherapyDifferent types of psychological therapies also help in treatment of borderline personality disorder. You need to keep in mind that all types of psychotherapies take some time (normally 12-18 months) to improve your condition and help you better understand who you are and how to see the world and behave with people.Your psychotherapist will listen to all of your problems and issues and subsequently, su ggest ways to improve your attitude and behavior. In some cases, he will advise practical solutions to your problems as well.The main aim of psychotherapy is to help patients regain control of their thinking, feelings and thoughts. Keep in mind that you should get such treatment only from a trained professional such as psychotherapist, psychiatrist or other mental health professionals with years of experience.Depending upon your condition, your doctor can recommend any of the following types of psychotherapies.Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT).  This type of therapy helps you get rid of negative perceptions you might have about yourself as well as all types of negative thoughts and emotions, unhealthy beliefs and self-destructive behaviors. You learn healthy ways to respond to the feelings of suicide, anxiety, insecurity and aggression.Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT).  Dialectal behavioral therapy has especially been designed to treat only borderline personality disorder. DBT treats the disorder by doing two things. Firstly, it instills a belief in you that all your emotions are real and valid, a process commonly known as Validation. Secondly, experts teach you the ways about how to be open to opinions and ideas that contradict yours, the process called as Dialectics. The therapists will normally try to bring positive change to your personality and behavior by trying both of these methods.Mentalization Based Therapy (MBT).  Mentalization based therapy is another type of psychotherapy to treat borderline personality disorder. The concept behind the therapy is very simple that is people having BPD cannot “mentalize” properly due to their reduced mental capacity. The therapist will encourage you to examine your own beliefs and thoughts. Subsequently, you will assess whether they are based on realty and are really useful or not.Another aspect of MBT is to recognize other people’s thought, beliefs, wishes, emotions and needs as well. You also need to re member that you may not correctly interpret their mental states. Finally, you must recognize how your actions can impact other people’s lives. If you manage to do all this properly, you will eventually get rid of borderline personality disorder forever.MedicationYou need to remember that medication does not fully cure borderline personality disorder. Medicines only alleviate the pain and relieve symptoms for a short period of time. In fact, you need to take medicines for co-occurring problems such as anxiety and depression.Your therapist may decide if you need medication in addition to psychotherapy after assessing your condition. For example, they may prescribe any or all of the following medicines.antipsychotics to treat aggressive symptomsantidepressants to treat depressionantianxiety medications to treat anxietyHospitalizationYour therapist can also recommend you to enter a hospital for treatment if your condition is severe and shows no signs of improvement. You can also go to hospital for suicidal thoughts and behaviors as well as after attempts to commit suicide or harm yourself or others.IMPLICATIONS OF BORDERLINE PERSONALITY DISORDERBorderline personality disorder can affect your life in many different ways. There are many implications of the disease which can transform your life into a nightmare.Apart from showing standard symptoms of the disease, you can also develop related disorders such as depression, anxiety, eating disorders, bipolar disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder and substance abuse etc. In addition, borderline disorder also considerably increases the risk of the following.Not completing your educationMultiple legal issues such as serving jail timeSexually transmitted infectionsProblems at office or workRelationship problemsUnplanned pregnanciesBe a part of abusive relationship where you become either an abused or abuserIncreased chances of self-injury and suicideGetting into accidents of different typesGetting into physical fights. Indulging in violent crimes or becoming a victim of oneCONCLUSIONSuffering from borderline personality disorder is a horrible experience. It not only makes life difficult for the patient but for his family and friends as well. Therefore, you and your family need to seek help as soon as you are diagnosed with BPD. Prolonged undetected illness can cause multiple problems for you including attempts to self-harm and suicide.You also need to involve your family once your diagnosis is confirmed because your condition directly affects their lives. By telling them what you are going through, you will actually make your treatment more effective because they will be in better position to identify behaviors that indicate you are in a crisis and desperately need help.No matter whatever you do, just keep in mind that BPD is fully treatable. You only have to find the right psychotherapist and take all his advises. Only then you will be able to return to normal and happy life.

Borderline Personality Disorder Causes, Symptoms and Treatments

Borderline Personality Disorder Causes, Symptoms and Treatments Borderline Personality Disorder can be a traumatic experience not only for the patient but also for his relatives and loved ones. A person suffering from Borderline Disorder considers each and every of his actions as perfect and appropriate. However, these actions can cause havoc in his life without him even understanding what is really happening.He seems that all of his behaviors and feelings are justified. But such behaviors and feelings actually create a lot of problems for him in the long run.Borderline personality disorder is one of the most prevalent personality disorders in the world. According to an estimate, 1-4% of total world population has borderline personality disorder. Similarly, women are more prone to the disorder as compared to men. As a matter of fact, out of 100 patients of borderline personality disorder, 75 are women.Symptoms actually start to appear during late childhood or early adolescence. Furthermore, any kind of personality disorder including borderline di sorder can range from mild to severe. The good news is that most of the patients fully recover after the diagnosis and effective treatment. WHAT IS BORDERLINE PERSONALITY DISORDER?In the days gone by, experts believed that the person suffering from borderline personality disorder is literally at the border between two mental conditions.Neurosis: A mental condition in which a person can differentiate between the reality and imagination despite being mentally distressed.Psychosis: A condition in which a mentally distressed person cannot differentiate between the reality and imagination. Such a person may also experience delusions such as strong belief in something that cannot really happen or is totally implausible.However, this is the most inaccurate description of the disorder according to modern medical science. The borderline disorder is a disorder of interpersonal functions (how one interacts with others and his environment) and mood. A patient of borderline disorder behaves impu lsively, reacts extremely or inappropriately to certain situations and usually has unstable relationships in addition to showing many other symptoms.Suffering from the disorder happens to be a painful circle marked with reckless behaviors, emotional volatility and the tendency of getting irritated by pretty small things. It is pertinent to note that many people struggling with borderline disorder will attempt suicide or at least try to self-harm.   In fact, almost 80% of patients do attempt suicide out of which 10% eventually succeed in killing themselves.In simple terms, borderline personality disorder is a type of emotional disorder which makes it difficult for you to think and feel properly about yourself and others.COMMON MYTHS ASSOCIATED WITH BORDERLINE PERSONALITY DISORDER Before we talk about the causes and treatments of the disorder, it is imperative to debunk some of the most common myths associated with it.People Do it for AttentionThis is a common myth about borderline pe rsonality disorder especially when the patients show suicidal behaviors. You need to keep in mind that patients often try to communicate their feelings through self-injury even if they are not trying to commit suicide. Therefore, you need to consider their behavior as legitimate and valid. Most often, they don’t do it for attention.It is a Variation of Bipolar DisorderIt is not a variation of bipolar disorder but a completely different disorder altogether. They are two distinct illnesses despite the fact they have similar symptoms and treatments.It is UntreatableBorderline personality disorder is treatable. In fact, most patients fully recover and return to normal life after timely diagnosis and effective treatment.Only Women Suffer from BPDIt is a fact that women are more commonly diagnosed with BPD but men do suffer from the disorder as well.Only Bad People Suffer from BPDThis is one of the most common and popular myths about the borderline personality disorder. In fact, they ar e not bat but are simply patients of a disorder that totally ruins their life and makes it difficult for them to recognize what is right and what is wrong. As discussed above, they return to normal life after necessary treatment.All Patients are Victims of Child AbuseChild abuse can lead to the development of BPD in adolescence. However, it is totally wrong to say that all victims of BPD experience child abuse early in their life. There are many causes of BPD and child abuse is only one of them.SYMPTOMS OF BORDERLINE PERSONALITY DISORDER A patient of borderline personality disorder can display a myriad of symptoms.In fact, the disorder can manifest in many different ways. According to mental health professionals, all the symptoms of the disorder generally fall into nine major categories which are explained as under.Impulsive and Destructive BehaviorsPatients of BPD have the tendency to behave impulsively. You may engage in many different types of self-destructive and harmful activit ies especially if you are upset or angry. Some of the activities you can indulge in include shop lifting, reckless driving, unprotected or dangerous sex, binge eating, and spending money mindlessly and drug overdose etc. These risky behaviors may seem totally appropriate at the moment but will actually create a lot of problems for you and those you love.Self-HarmIf you have borderline personality disorder, you can exhibit many dangerous symptoms as well. You can attempt suicide or try to harm yourself at any time. Similarly, you keep thinking about suicide and even make suicidal threats and gestures, keeping people around you on their toes. On the other hand, you can do many other things such as burning and cutting to self-harm yourself when you are not actually thinking about committing suicide.Fear of AbandonmentPeople suffering from this particular personality disorder often fear that their loved ones will abandon them. You become horribly terrified even when someone goes out for a weekend or returns home late from work. Such innocuous things are enough to fill you heart with intense fear. You may try desperately to keep those you love close to you at any cost. You may even resort to begging, tracking their movements, jealousy, fighting or even forcefully preventing them from leaving the house. Unfortunately, you actually drive others away instead of bringing them closer by displaying such behaviors.Unstable or Unclear Self-ImageYou normally have unclear or distorted self-image when you are suffering from borderline disorder. You even start looking yourself as evil or. You may even go to the extent of hating yourself. Sometimes, you do feel good about yourself but such occurrences are few and far between. You don’t have any idea of what your life goals are or who you are in the first place. As a result, you don’t normally hold to anything including your lovers, jobs, homes, friends, goals, values and even your religion and sexual identity for long.Unsta ble RelationshipsPeople having BPD usually don’t have happy relations. Mostly, their relationships are short-lived and intense. Such people consider every new person they meet as their messiah and fall in love with him almost instantly, only to be disappointed later on. There are only two extremes of your relationships. They are either horrible or perfect without anything in between. Your rapid swings between hate and anger as well as idealization and devaluation can also land an emotional blow to members of your family, friends and everyone else you truly love.Extreme Emotional SwingsUnstable emotions and frequent mood swings are an indispensible part of borderline personality disorder. You frequently move between the state of happiness and the state of despondence. You can go to an emotional tailspin due to little things other people simply do not pay any attention to. In BPD, mood swings are typically intense but pass relatively quickly as compared to that of bipolar disorder o r depression. They normally last from few minutes to few hours.Explosive AngerBorderline personality disorder can also instill explosive anger in your personality. In fact, short temper and explosive anger are two of the biggest symptoms of the disorder. You may also find it really difficult to control or stop yourself when you are really angry. Subsequently, anger totally consumes you and you start yelling, throwing things and indulge in complete madness without any fear of the consequences.Chronic Feelings of EmptinessPatients of borderline personality disorder have a chronic feeling of emptiness. Some of them even claim that they have a deep void or hole somewhere inside them. In most extreme cases, you start considering yourself as “nobody.” You try to get rid of this uncomfortable feeling by resorting to sex, food and drugs. However, the feeling prevails and nothing seems to alleviate the intense pain.You do not Recognize RealtyYou can also struggle with paranoia if you hav e borderline personality disorder. You start getting suspicious about other people’s routine activities as well as their “hidden motives.” You may even fail to differentiate between imagination and reality when you are too stressed, the phenomenon commonly known as Dissociation. You also feel spaced out, foggy and you think that you are outside your body.Many normal people also exhibit any or all of the above mentioned symptoms due to different reasons. However, a patient of borderline personality disorder experiences them regularly during his adulthood before seeking treatment.CAUSES OF BORDERLINE PERSONALITY DISORDER     Most mental experts believe that there are more than one causes of borderline personality disorder. In fact, the disorder is the result of combination of different factors such as genetic factors, environmental factors, neurotransmitters and neurobiology. Following lines explain these factors one by one.NeurotransmittersA normal adult has a certain level of neurotransmitter, a substance called serotonin, in his brain. On the other hand, there is reduced amount of serotonin in the brain of a BPD patient or he fails to respond to serotonin correctly. It has also been scientifically proved that inability to control self-destructive behaviors, aggression and depression are directly associated with the low levels of serotonin in the brain.It is worth mentioning that low levels of other two important neurotransmitters, called noradrenaline and dopamine, can result in emotional instability and thus, also supposedly cause borderline personality disorder.NeurobiologyMental experts have spent years and years on studying brains of people suffering from borderline personality disorder with the help of MRI scans. These scans produce extremely detailed images of body interior through radio waves and strong magnetic fields.Some of the MRI scans revealed that unusual activity in three different parts of brain can lead to development of the disorder. S imilarly, these same parts are smaller in size in people having BPD as compared to that of normal people. These parts are as under.The Amygdala: The amygdala is responsible for regulating emotions including anxiety, aggression, fear and all other negative emotions.The Hippocampus: The hippocampus is responsible for regulating self-control and related behaviors.The orbitofrontal Cortex: The orbitofrontal cortex plays an important role in decision making and planning.You are very likely to show the symptoms of borderline personality disorder if one or all of these parts of brain malfunction.Your early upbringing has a lot to do with the proper or improper development of these parts of brain. They also regulate your mood which precisely explains why people having borderline disorder struggle to form long lasting relationships.Genetic FactorsGenetic problems may also lead to the development of borderline personality disorder in individuals. Studies being done on twins present the strong est evidence that genetics can actually cause borderline disorder. One of the studies reveals that there are two in three chances that an identical twin will develop the disease if the other twin already has the disorder.However, there has been no conclusive evidence that humans have a gene for disorder. People do inherit certain personality traits such as the tendency to be emotionally unstable or aggressive from their parents.However, it does not mean that they are going to develop borderline personality disorder as well. Similarly, identical twins share many environmental factors because they grow up in the same family environment and household. That is why they display similar character traits and behaviors.Environmental FactorsPeople suffering from borderline personality disorder share a lot of environmental factors such as:They can be victims of sexual, emotional or physical abuse.They experienced distress or chronic fear when they were children.One or both parents neglected t hem when they needed them the most.They grow up with another member of the family with serious mental condition such as severe drug abuse, depression or bipolar disorder.Different people see the world and interact with other people differently depending upon the nature of their relationship with their parents and rest of the family. You can develop variety of distorted thinking patterns in adulthood due to chronic distress, anger and unresolved fear from your childhood.Some of these behaviors include behaving as a child even in the adulthood, expecting others to bully you or act as a parent to you and idealizing others etc.TREATMENTS OF BORDERLINE PERSONALITY DISORDER There are different types of treatments for borderline personality disorder depending upon how serious your condition is. Following lines explains some of the most popular treatments for BPD.Care Program Approach (CPA)You will become a part of treatment method commonly known as Care Program Approach if the symptoms are moderate to severe. The CPA ensures that you do get the right treatment for your condition. There are actually four stages of CPA which are as under.Experts will assess you condition and social needs.The second stage is to create a care plan incorporating your social needs and the treatments for your condition.Thirdly, you will be assigned a care coordinator. He is usually a nurse or social worker. It is actually he who introduces you to other members of the community.Finally, experts regularly review your progress and make necessary changes to your care plan if required.PsychotherapyDifferent types of psychological therapies also help in treatment of borderline personality disorder. You need to keep in mind that all types of psychotherapies take some time (normally 12-18 months) to improve your condition and help you better understand who you are and how to see the world and behave with people.Your psychotherapist will listen to all of your problems and issues and subsequently, su ggest ways to improve your attitude and behavior. In some cases, he will advise practical solutions to your problems as well.The main aim of psychotherapy is to help patients regain control of their thinking, feelings and thoughts. Keep in mind that you should get such treatment only from a trained professional such as psychotherapist, psychiatrist or other mental health professionals with years of experience.Depending upon your condition, your doctor can recommend any of the following types of psychotherapies.Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT).  This type of therapy helps you get rid of negative perceptions you might have about yourself as well as all types of negative thoughts and emotions, unhealthy beliefs and self-destructive behaviors. You learn healthy ways to respond to the feelings of suicide, anxiety, insecurity and aggression.Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT).  Dialectal behavioral therapy has especially been designed to treat only borderline personality disorder. DBT treats the disorder by doing two things. Firstly, it instills a belief in you that all your emotions are real and valid, a process commonly known as Validation. Secondly, experts teach you the ways about how to be open to opinions and ideas that contradict yours, the process called as Dialectics. The therapists will normally try to bring positive change to your personality and behavior by trying both of these methods.Mentalization Based Therapy (MBT).  Mentalization based therapy is another type of psychotherapy to treat borderline personality disorder. The concept behind the therapy is very simple that is people having BPD cannot “mentalize” properly due to their reduced mental capacity. The therapist will encourage you to examine your own beliefs and thoughts. Subsequently, you will assess whether they are based on realty and are really useful or not.Another aspect of MBT is to recognize other people’s thought, beliefs, wishes, emotions and needs as well. You also need to re member that you may not correctly interpret their mental states. Finally, you must recognize how your actions can impact other people’s lives. If you manage to do all this properly, you will eventually get rid of borderline personality disorder forever.MedicationYou need to remember that medication does not fully cure borderline personality disorder. Medicines only alleviate the pain and relieve symptoms for a short period of time. In fact, you need to take medicines for co-occurring problems such as anxiety and depression.Your therapist may decide if you need medication in addition to psychotherapy after assessing your condition. For example, they may prescribe any or all of the following medicines.antipsychotics to treat aggressive symptomsantidepressants to treat depressionantianxiety medications to treat anxietyHospitalizationYour therapist can also recommend you to enter a hospital for treatment if your condition is severe and shows no signs of improvement. You can also go to hospital for suicidal thoughts and behaviors as well as after attempts to commit suicide or harm yourself or others.IMPLICATIONS OF BORDERLINE PERSONALITY DISORDERBorderline personality disorder can affect your life in many different ways. There are many implications of the disease which can transform your life into a nightmare.Apart from showing standard symptoms of the disease, you can also develop related disorders such as depression, anxiety, eating disorders, bipolar disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder and substance abuse etc. In addition, borderline disorder also considerably increases the risk of the following.Not completing your educationMultiple legal issues such as serving jail timeSexually transmitted infectionsProblems at office or workRelationship problemsUnplanned pregnanciesBe a part of abusive relationship where you become either an abused or abuserIncreased chances of self-injury and suicideGetting into accidents of different typesGetting into physical fights. Indulging in violent crimes or becoming a victim of oneCONCLUSIONSuffering from borderline personality disorder is a horrible experience. It not only makes life difficult for the patient but for his family and friends as well. Therefore, you and your family need to seek help as soon as you are diagnosed with BPD. Prolonged undetected illness can cause multiple problems for you including attempts to self-harm and suicide.You also need to involve your family once your diagnosis is confirmed because your condition directly affects their lives. By telling them what you are going through, you will actually make your treatment more effective because they will be in better position to identify behaviors that indicate you are in a crisis and desperately need help.No matter whatever you do, just keep in mind that BPD is fully treatable. You only have to find the right psychotherapist and take all his advises. Only then you will be able to return to normal and happy life.

Socrates Essay - 601 Words

Philosophy in ancient Greece was merely a type of argument, until a pioneer named Socrates showed the world a new way of thinking. Socrates was born in 469 BC in Athens (where he lived all his life) as the son of Sophroniscus, a stonemason, and Phaenarete. In his life, Socrates changed common philosophy, which was a study of why the way things are, into a consideration of the virtue and health of the human soul. Rather than writing books and recording his thoughts himself, he orally passed on his thoughts to many young people of his time, one of which is Plato. Socrates felt so strongly bout his beliefs, that he lived by them, and in doing so, became the first martyr in history to die for philosophical beliefs. By teaching Plato†¦show more content†¦It was his belief that self-conscious philosophy with correct morals would produce worthy results. Socrates influenced Western thought through his unique method of thinking. Socrates introduced a concern for detailed method in thought, and added an interest of logic in argument. Socrates stressed that if man could retain knowledge than he should be able to give definitions and details. These details should be used in argument as a reason for many thoughts. Socrates also believed in a unity of virtues, and that they all lead to knowledge. In his arguments Socrates always insisted on a definition that universally covers its subject. This insight showed reason in thinking, not just arguing without proof. This was the greatest importance for the subsequent development of philosophy, because it led to the concept of a quot;Universal.quot; This universal was defined by Socrates as quot;a general quality that may be present in many individually existing thingsquot;(Americana, 439). Another important belief of Socrates, was his implicit assumption that any person to whom he talks, has within them the resources to answer questions correctly. And therefore Socrates believed that he could teach by merely asking the right questions. Schools following the quot;Socrates Eraquot; were based on this idea of learning through questioning. These characteristic thoughts of his, were Socrates most significant influences on philosophy. Socrates had thoughtsShow MoreRelatedSocrates : The Suicide Of Socrates1405 Words   |  6 PagesSocrates was born in 470 BCE in Athens, Greece. His father was Sophroniscus, a sculptor and stone mason from Athens and his mother was a midwife by the name of Phaenarete (30 Interesting Socrates Facts 2014). Socrates original profession was masonry and sculpting, before becoming a philosopher. On a day in 399 BC, Socrates ( roughly 71 years at the time) went to trial.Now why would anyone want to send an old man to court? Three answer is that Socrates was accused of refusing to recognize theRead MoreSocrates And The Apology Of Socrates1322 Words   |  6 Pages Socrates is quite the unique individual compared to most, if not all, other Greeks at that time. In the Apology, Socrates gives an analogy of himself being a gadfly and that his gadfly like actions are favorable for Athens and that the actions are goods he is providing. From his service he claims to live a more private life than a public life when discussing virtue. This paper is going to discuss Socrates and his analogy of a gadfly, approach to others about virtue, his conduct effect on democracyRead MoreSocrates As A Martyr And Socrates927 Words   |  4 PagesIn philosophy class this semester we spoke a lot about Socrates and his trial. We were required to read the dialogue ‘Apology’ by Plato. The à ¢â‚¬ËœApology’ Dialogue is what Plato recorded during the speech Socrates gave to the court defending himself against the charges of corrupting the young, and by not believing in the gods in whom the city believes† these two were the main charges, but underneath that there were also other significant charges such as being considered an antidemocratic or pro-SpartanRead MoreSocrates : The Problem With Socrates908 Words   |  4 PagesThe Problem With Socrates: The problem with Socrates concerns the problem with the role of value and reason. Nietzsche believes that the bulk of philosophers claim that life is a corrupt grievance for mankind. Nietzsche reasoned that these life deniers were decadents of Hellenism, as a symptom of some underlying melancholy. For someone to paint life in such a negative light they must have suffered a great deal through the course of their own life. Furthermore, these no-sayers agreed in various physiologicalRead MoreSocrates Worldview Of Socrates1855 Words   |  8 PagesPart 1: Socrates’ Worldview Socrates is a widely renowned teacher, who has taught and demonstrated a variety of lessons that regard how he views the world. Socrates has described his view on morality, purpose, death, and the ultimate. He has spoken about these views through multiple texts including The Last Days of Socrates and they have been interpreted through the text Socrates by George Rudebusch. Through these worldviews, Socrates has given people the opportunity to expand their wisdom andRead MoreSocrates1461 Words   |  6 PagesSocrates was one of the greatest Greek philosophers. His work was not to propose any specific knowledge or policy: it was to show how argument, debate, and discussion could help men to understand difficult issues. Most of the issues he dealt with were only political on the surface. Underneath, they were moral questions about how life should be lived. Such is the influence of Socrates that philosophers before him are called the Presocratic philosophers. Socrates made enemies, three of whom broughtRead MoreSocrates1099 Words   |  5 PagesSocrates the Greek Philosopher December 14, 2014 PHI/105 In the beautiful city of Athens, Greece, there was a philosopher Socrates, and his Socratic method, was laid on the groundwork for the Western systems of logic and philosophy. Socrates did believe that he didnt know anything, and It was because of this that the Oracle told Socrates that he was wise and that he should seek out the wise men to hear what they had to say. So Socrates began to travel to different parts of Greece to questionRead MoreSocrates659 Words   |  3 PagesSocrates Socrates was accused of many things in the Athens market. Socrates was accused of being a man who makes the worse argument into the stronger argument. A man who knows about the heavens and earth and therefore any one who believe this must not believe in the gods. Socrates was accused of being an atheist. Most of the people that followed him around his quest were inquisitive. Where as most adults would walk by Socrates with his â€Å"annoying question† the youth stopped to see what heRead MoreSocrates : A Man By The Name Of Socrates963 Words   |  4 PagesIn 469 B.C. a man by the name of Socrates was born. Socrates was a very wise man that cared about doing the right thing. He believed that the best ways to develop ideas was in the give and take of conversation, and that the best way to educate people was to ask them a series of questions leading in a particular direction (now named â€Å"Socrates method). Socrates had been quick to identify the drawbacks of democracy, and he had also been the teacher of two men who in different ways harmed Athens: AlcibiadesRead MoreSocrates s Views On Socrates1314 Words   |  6 PagesSocrates could undeniably be described as one of the most influential philosophers and greatest thinker of his time. His views can be interpreted many different ways, but most would agree that he sought out wisdom and truth for the betterment of himself and his community. Though Socrates was one of the most intelligent men of his time, he was very foolish to never write his own book. For this reason, after his passing, one of his students, Plato, began to write a book about his teachings and ideas

Learn to Use the French Verb Vivre (to Live)

Good Night, And Good Luck - 1678 Words

The film â€Å"Good Night, and Good Luck† portrays and exemplifies the story between Senator Joseph McCarthy and the CBS news reporter Edward R. Murrow. Within this movie, it reveals and demonstrates the governmental issues, in the actions of Senator Joseph McCarthy. It also shows the effects his actions and decisions had on society and the film focuses on would be firstly, the role and power media plays within politics, beliefs, communism, and the government. It also shows the way government often takes advantage of their power and they use that power to control humanistic liberties. Within the actions of senator Joseph McCarthy, it is tremendously obvious that McCarthy’s indifference and disregards for civilian’s civil rights and treats†¦show more content†¦Due to this specific part of freedom, people were not supposed to be treated any differently by the government for their political belief, but senator Joseph McCarthy did not respect the individual liberty which was given to each person. McCarthy decided that since he had more power being senator of Wisconsin, it meant he had the power to take away the liberty of a man and divert a man’s beliefs by disrespecting and treating them differently due to their political stance. One of the examples of Senator McCarthy taking advantage of his governmental power over communist citizens would be, the act which Joseph McCarthy took against Milo Radanovich. Milo Radulovich was a man who was a lieutenant within the United States air force. Milo was a man with a communist stance and belief, but Senator McCarthy discharged Milo from the air force. The senator used the excuse stating that because of Milo being a communist within the United States Air Force, Milo was a security risk to the government and could no longer serve in the Air Force. Joseph McCarthy stated that Milo was a security threat to the government, but McCarthy did not have any form of viable proof to show to support his accusation. This accusation and action show that McCarthy was taking advantage of the power he held within the government and using it to disrespect a man and discharge him from his career. The Senator did all of thisShow MoreRelatedEssay on Good Night and Good Luck858 Words   |  4 PagesIn Good Night and Good Luck, director George Clooney follows the conflict between outspoken television journalist Edward R. Murrow and anti-communist Senator Joseph McCarthy during the hard times of the Red Scare. Murrow uses his television show to expose McCarthy’s fallacious arguments, while providing his own opinion on the matter. He begins by defending former Air Force pilot Milo Radulovich as not being the Communist agent McCarthy charges him to be. Due to his radical messages against McCarthyRead MoreGood Night And Good Luck : A Cultural Impact1503 Words   |  7 PagesGood Night and Good Luck: A Cultural Impact In the world of Good Night and Good Luck broadcast journalism was in it’s infancy, television had seeped into the homes and lives of the public, and Americans lived in fear of an invasion of the red. This isn’t too different from our world today: instant-access journalism is on the rise, the internet has captured our lives, and Americans live in fear of an invasion of foreigners. George Clooney’s film has a remarkable timelessness to it, which goes farRead MoreFilm Review: Good Night, and Good Luck1957 Words   |  8 PagesFilm Review: Good Night, and Good Luck By Nina Karimi â€Å"Good Night, and Good Luck† is not your typical Hollywood film full of conventional action, cliff hangers, and romance. It is however a masterpiece of its time, about an era that many Americans try to forget. George Clooney, an esteemed American Actor and director of this film tried to capture a period of time known as the McCarthy Era where the â€Å"red scare† or fear of communism allowed the Senator from Wisconsin to try and convictRead MoreArthur Millers Good Night, And Good Luck1855 Words   |  8 PagesA term coined in the 1950s, McCarthyism is the general act of making accusations of treason or subversion without proper regard for evidence. Both Arthur Miller’s The Crucible and George Clooney’s Good Night, and Good Luck explore the theme of McCarthyism through numerous ways using conventions of their text types: respectively a play and a film. Each through characterisation and symbolism, as well as individually through the plays title a nd narrative style, and the films editing, camera techniquesRead MoreGood Night, and Good Luck Movie Review1234 Words   |  5 PagesTitle of film: Good Night, and Good Luck Director: George Clooney Production Company: Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. Year film was released: 2005 Running time of film: 93 Minutes Abstract: The thought of Communism, in the early 1950’s, created a large span of paranoia in the United States. However, some individuals were more verbal with these fears, such as Senator Joseph McCarthy of Wisconsin. However, since Communism was such a heated issue of the time, CBS reporter EdwardRead MoreGood Night And Good Luck And Badlands Compare And Contrast970 Words   |  4 Pages Good Night and Good Luck, and Badlands are two very unique movies. Both poses very interesting narratives, with underlying messages and symbolism. But, what makes them stand out the most, is their artistic and technically driven visuals. One is full of beautiful and romanticized colors. The other uses black and white to portray depth and struggle. Two vastly different approaches, but equally powerful in their own ways. Good Night and Good Luck and Badlands, both use their visual ascetics to motivateRead MoreHistorical Accuracy Of The Film Good Night, And Good Luck2340 Words   |  10 PagesHistorica l Accuracy of the film Good Night, and Good Luck Ed Murrow is one of the most well known and respected American television journalists of all time, and a source of inspiration for many. He is portrayed in George Clooney’s, Good Night, and Good Luck, as the anchor to the news show, See it Now, specifically surrounding the episodes focused on McCarthyism. These episodes were aired in the early 1950’s in the midst of the cold war and an era of intense anti-communist sentiment in America. McCarthyismRead MoreSimilarities Between Good Night And Good Luck In The Crucible1072 Words   |  5 Pagesinjustice of the Joseph McCarthy trials in the 1950’s. The injustices created by these trails creates many different conflicts, both internal and external between many different characters. A similar motif is expressed in George Clooney’s Good Night and Good Luck. Arthur Miller uses many different characters to show the chaos the trails created, by relating it to the story of the Salem Witch Trials. The characters of John Proctor and Reverend Hale both resemble different ways of dealing with internalRead MoreHistorical Accuracy of the Film Good Night Good Luck Essay781 Words   |  4 PagesThe Movie â€Å"good night good luck† is incredibly historically accurate. The Movie uses authentic clips that show McCarthy and many speeches Murrow used. World War ended in 1945 leaving a broken Europe and a communist block behind. The United States quickly receded back to the red scare that had existed before WWII. The United States quickly set an anti-communist stance and prepared for a war against the communists. While the war never came some enterprising individuals placed themselves in powerfulRead MoreThe Crucible vs from Good Night and Good Luck1774 Words   |  8 Pagesblacks. The situation regarded both aspects of Reconstruction. Therefore, it is reasonable to conclude that this time period should not be labeled as a â€Å"failure† or a â€Å"success† bec ause these are just arbitrary terms to define whether the conflict was good or bad which is solely a matter of opinion. Some of the intentions of Reconstruction were fulfilled, while other conditions of the Union remained the same. Many aspects of Reconstruction contributed to the success of the United States, but leaning

European Union Bringing Peace To Europe free essay sample

The history of Europe was the history of war. The wars bore the modern nations of Europe such as England, France, Germany, Russia, and Italy. Afterwards, they developed their own cultures, which are nationalities, languages, traditions and histories. Due to this characteristic mixed with these various cultures and its nation-centred international politics system of Europe, there rarely was period that ceased from wars in Europe. Furthermore, two world wars in XX century caused the collapse of all Europe’s peace and prosperity and Europe, as a result, was no longer the centre of the world. The world power was already moved on the U. S. A and the U. S. S. R. For this reason, people of Europe started to perceive the need of its combination and the European Union was made to restore political peace and economic prosperity of Europe (Nugent, 2006). At this point, it is needed to ask that the European Union has truly fetched peace and prosperity to Europe. It strongly appears to me that the European Union has contributed to political stability and economic growth to Europe. To demonstrate it, this essay will deal with the following aspects of the historical efforts and intergovernmental agreements which the European Union has made to contributed to political stability and economic growth of Europe in XX century. ?Main Body Above all, it is essential to define the mutual relation between political peace and economic prosperity. These two important factors which can decide the rise and fall of each country tend to move together. It means that it is hard to say that there is prosperity without peace or peace without prosperity. For a recent example, economic status of Ireland was almost the lowest in the European Union in the past but now is definitely regarded as a wealthy country in the European Union. This remarkable economic rise led to synchronize the decrease of al large number of armed conflicts in Northern Ireland, one of the most unstable areas in Northern Europe. In other words, this means that it is clear that political stability of a country was highly dependent on economic prosperity (Strong, 2006). Therefore, peace and prosperity are achieved separately rather simultaneously. Equally, it is needed to approach to political peace and economic prosperity of Europe in this way. Peace and prosperity of Europe through the European Union have not gained respectively but coincidently. The first significant movement that brought peace and prosperity to Europe was the treaty of ‘The European Coal and Steel Community’. After the Second World War, it was widely diffused to aim at ‘United Europe’ for its peace and prosperity seeing Europe impoverished by war. Robert Schuman, the French Foreign Minister at that time, suggested epoch-making idea about creation of the consolidated organisation that jointly supplies and controls strategically important resources such as coal and steel. This is called ‘The European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC)’ and it became the cornerstone of the European Union (http://europa. eu/ecsc/results/index_en. htm). It was obvious that this ECSC treaty brought rise of living standards to overall European society with high economic growth of each country, based on common market, common goal and common organisation. In addition, The ECSC provided with not only co-operation of the field of Coal and Steel but also political stability of Europe still surrounded with fear of war. It means that it became possible to check each other between nations of Europe by joint distribution and joint control of Coal and Steel, which is indispensible for war. The second important movement with respect to peace and prosperity of Europe is the Single European Act of 1986 (SEA). In the period of 1971-86, Europe was in heavy economic recession. This stagnation could be regarded as a result that EC members did not successfully cope three serious incidents such as ‘the collapse of the Bretton Woods system, the oil crisis, and the resulting bad economic results’ (Ciftci, 2005:476). Afterwards, in 1985-91, The European Union accomplished prompt growth in the process of economic integration of Europe. However, there was the budgetary crisis, which was an obstruction to progress economic integration of Europe. It was fortunately settled by Mitterrand’s consent in 1984 about sharing a great amount of the expenses with respective to the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) budget. Consequently, these successive events extended into the creation of the Single European Act of 1986 (ibid). Beyond all, the main issue of the SEA was the accomplishment of internal single market of Europe. The SEA became the opportunity to support institutionally development of the internal single market and deregulation. Through the SEA, the integration process of European community was changed qualitatively. Internal single market is qualitatively different concept from free trade zone between nations or geographical extends of trade. In other words, this internal single market means that each government should be pushed to adopt common standards such as technology, regulations, and norms and so on. It means that all European countries should be responsible for mutual economic benefits. More importantly, needless to say each government, European commission and supranational capitals, this progress was supported by public opinion and even many trade unions such as public consensus (Benink, 1992). It means that the SEA brought economic growth to Europe and, at the same time, drew a conclusion, national consensus which can be developed to political stability. As a consequence, it is seen that peace and prosperity of Europe were not achieved separately. They mostly come together. The third remarkable movement related with peace and prosperity of Europe is the Maastricht treaty of 1992. This treaty brought the most innovative outcome. The Economic and Monetary Union of 2000 was inaugurated. This was definitely the climax of exertion of European Community’s countries that had accelerated European monetary integration for around 30 years and also the turning point in history, which proceeded to new stage of European integration (Grieco, 1995). As a result of this treaty, European single currency, the Euro was launched in 1999. By launching the Euro, it was vanished to lose the benefits due to extreme fluctuations in the exchange rate and became clear to know prices of other countries’ merchandise. In addition, there was no longer exchange fee. These advantages of the Euro led to more active international trade between European nations and ultimately brought the economic prosperity of Europe. Moreover, in the Maastricht treaty, the Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) was launched. The CFSP included all areas related to joint security, joint defense and diplomacy of the European Union. Despite that militarily importance of the United States of America was relatively reduced by extinction of the USSR’s threat, it was still seen that European nations was dependent on the USA. This was mainly because the NATO, which still had important role in European security due to disability regarding dispute resolution of European nations, was practically moved by the USA. In this circumstance, a bond of sympathy that Europe needed its own military strength to cope jointly increasing international terrorism and geopolitical conflicts began to be naturally formed. Subsequently, the Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) was initiated according to the Maastricht treaty (Hurd, 1994). The purposes of the CFSP were ‘to safeguard the common values, fundamental interests and independence of the Union and to develop and consolidate democracy and the rule of law, and the respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms. ’ (Nugent, 2006:90). Hence, it can be told that the Maastricht treaty consequently begot peace and prosperity of Europe by pursuit of two objectives such as The Economic and Monetary Union and the Common Foreign and Security Policy. ?Conclusion To sum up, by examining three significant treaties in this essay, it becomes self-evident that the European Union has constantly pursued peace and prosperity of Europe by advancing the treaties and implementing them and they have finally built the new framework of peace and prosperity of Europe. Additionally, it is also crucial to comprehend that political peace and economic prosperity are concurrently fulfilled. It is true that the European Union has kept a large number of difficulties to stabilise national status for decades. Nevertheless, it is undoubtedly certain that the European Union will be a high-quality model of many areas where peace and prosperity need.

Joseph Conrad Essays - Joseph Conrad, Congo Free State,

Joseph Conrad In Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness, there is a great interpretation of the feelings of the characters and uncertainties of the Congo. Although Africa, nor the Congo are ever really referred to, the Thames river is mentioned as support. This intricate story reveals much symbolism due to Conrad's theme based on the lies and good and evil, which interact together in every man. Today, of course, the situation has changed. Most literate people know that by probing into the heart of the jungle Conrad was trying to convey an impression about the heart of man, and his tale is universally read as one of the first symbolic masterpieces of English prose (Graver,28). In any event, this story recognizes primarily on Marlow, its narrator, not about Kurtz or the brutality of Belgian officials. Conrad wrote a brief statement of how he felt the reader should interpret this work: "My task which I am trying to achieve is, by the power of the written word, to make you hear, to make you feel-it is above all, to make you see.(Conrad 1897) Knowing that Conrad was a novelist who lived in his work, writing about the experiences were as if he were writing about himself. "Every novel contains an element of autobiography-and this can hardly be denied, since the creator can only explain himself in his creations."(Kimbrough,158) The story is written as seen through Marlow's eyes. Marlow is a follower of the sea. His voyage up the Congo is his first experience in freshwater navigation. He is used as a tool, so to speak, in order for Conrad to enter the story and tell it out of his own philosophical mind. He longs to see Kurtz, in the hope's of appreciating all that Kurtz finds endearing in the African jungle. Marlow does not get the opportunity to see Kurtz until he is so disease-stricken he looks more like death than a person. There are no good looks or health. In the story Marlow remarks that Kurtz resembles "an animated image of death carved out of old ivory." Like Marlow, Kurtz is seen as an honorable man to many admirers; but he is also a thief, murderer, raider, persecutor, and above all he allows himself to be worshipped as a god. Both men had good intentions to seek, yet Kurtz seemed a "universally genius" lacking basic integrity or a sense of responsibility (Roberts,43). In the end they form one symbolic unity. Marlow and Kurtz are the light and dark selves of a single person. Meaning each one is what the other might have been. Every person Marlow meets on his venture contributes something to the plot as well as the overall symbolism of the story. Kurtz is the violent devil Marlow describes at the story's beginning. It was his ability to control men through fear and adoration that led Marlow to signify this. Throughout the story Conrad builds an unhealthy darkness that never allows the reader to forget the focus of the story. At every turn he sees evil lurking within the land. Every image reflects a dreary, blank one. The deadly Congo snakes to link itself with the sea and all other rivers of darkness and light, with the tributaries and source of man's being on earth (Dean,189). The setting of these adventurous and moral quests is the great jungle, in which most of the story takes place. As a symbol the forest encloses all, and in the heart of the African journey Marlow enters the dark cavern of his won heart. It even becomes an image of a vast catacomb of evil, in which Kurtz dies, but from which Marlow emerges spiritually reborn. The manager, in charge of three stations in the jungle, feels Kurtz poses a threat to his own position. Marlow sees how the manager is deliberately trying to delay any help or supplies to Kurtz. He hopes he will die of neglect. This is where the inciting moment of the story lies. Should the company in Belgium find out the truth a bout Kurtz's success in an ivory procurer, they would undoubtedly elevate him to the position of manager. The manager's insidious and pretending nature opposes all truth (Roberts,42). This story