Emotion Regulation, Physical Diseases, and Borderline Personality Disorders: Conceptual and Clinical Considerations

Frontiers in Psychology

Pietro Ramella¹  Cesare Maffei¹  Marco Cavicchioli¹  Michele Sanza²  Lavinia Barone³  Paola Pazzano⁴  Ilaria Riccardi⁵  Donatella Fiore⁵  Monica Marchini⁶ 

[1] Department of Psychology, University “Vita-Salute San Raffaele”, Milan, Italy;Unit of Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, San Raffaele-Turro Hospital, Milan, Italy;Italian Society for Dialectical Behavior Therapy, Milan, Italy;Italian Society for Dialectical Behavior Therapy, Milan, Italy;Department of Addictions ASL Romagna, Cesena, Italy;Italian Society for Dialectical Behavior Therapy, Milan, Italy;Department of Psychology, University of Pavia, Pavia, Italy;Italian Society for Dialectical Behavior Therapy, Milan, Italy;Ecopoiesis Centre of Cognitive Psychotherapy of Reggio Calabria, Reggio Calabria, Italy;Italian Society for Dialectical Behavior Therapy, Milan, Italy;Third Center of Cognitive Psychotherapy – Italian School of Clinical Cognitivism, Rome, Italy;Italian Society for Dialectical Behavior Therapy, Milan, Italy;Villa Azzurra – Psychiatric Specialist Clinic – Neomesia, Riolo Terme, Italy;

关键词: emotion regulation;    physical diseases;    borderline personality disorder;    dialectical behavior therapy;    maladaptive behaviors;   

DOI  :  10.3389/fpsyg.2021.567671

来源: Frontiers

【 摘 要 】

This perspective paper aims at discussing theoretical principles that could explain how emotion regulation and physical diseases mutually influence each other in the context of borderline personality disorder (BPD). Furthermore, this paper discusses the clinical implications of the functional relationships between emotion regulation, BPD and medical conditions considering dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) as a well-validated therapeutic intervention, which encompasses these issues. The inflexible use of maladaptive emotion regulation strategies (e.g., suppression, experiential avoidance, and rumination) might directly increase the probability of developing physical diseases through a physiological pathway, or indirectly through a behavioral pathway. Some metabolic and chronic medical conditions could significantly impact emotional functioning through biological alterations involved in emotion regulation. Several empirical studies have shown high co-occurrence rates between BPD and several chronic physical diseases, especially ones linked to emotion-based maladaptive behaviors. DBT addresses physical diseases reported by individuals with BPD reducing problematic behaviors functionally associated to emotion dysregulation and identifying physical health as a goal for Building a Life Worth Living.

【 授权许可】

CC BY