Description:

How the emotional instability of borderline personality disorder is reflected in maladaptive daydreaming - and why daydreaming can mean both escape and danger.

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Teaser (Lead)

Extreme emotions, impulsive behaviour and the constant fear of abandonment: For people with borderline personality disorder, maladaptive daydreaming often becomes an emotional safe space. But this supposed safe space can become an additional trap. This article examines the intricate relationship between the two phenomena.

Borderline personality disorder and maladaptive daydreaming: between protection and self-endangerment

First, read the detailed main article, Maladaptive daydreaming - understanding, treating and overcoming it

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The overview "Maladaptive daydreaming - causes, symptoms and help". This topic article examines the special relationship between borderline personality disorder and maladaptive daydreaming.

1. The emotional function: daydreaming as a survival strategy

Borderline personality disorder (BPD) and maladaptive daydreaming (MD) are particularly closely linked, with a co-morbidity rate of 30-50%. Daydreams fulfil specific functions in emotional survival:

Emotion regulation:

• Acute reduction of tension during emotional flooding

• Substitute for self-harming behaviour through distraction

• Containment¹ of overwhelming feelings through narrative structuring

Relationship regulation:

• Rehearsal of relationship scenarios

• Compensation for loneliness and fear of abandonment

• Idealising fantasies as protection from disappointment

2. characteristic daydream patterns in BPD

Identity-related daydreams:

• Fantasies of a stable, idealised identity

• Changing daydream identities corresponding to identity diffusion

• Search for coherence and self-worth through fantasy

Relationship-related daydreams:

• Extensive fantasies about ideal relationships

• Repeated acting out of conflict situations

• Compensation for real interpersonal difficulties

Affect-regulating daydreams:

• Calming, repetitive fantasies during states of tension

• Dramatic, emotional scenarios for emotional release

• Switching between different emotional daydream worlds

3. ambivalence: protective space and danger at the same time

Positive functions:

• Coping with states of tension

• Bridging crises

• Exploration of parts of identity

• Preparation for social situations

Negative consequences:

• Reinforcement of the escape from reality

• Neglect of real relationships

• Reinforcement of identity diffusion

• Impairment of the ability to regulate emotions

4 Diagnostic features: Differentiation and correlations

Similarities with BPD symptoms:

• Impulsivity in daydream behaviour

• Affect instability in daydream content

• Intense, unstable relationships with daydream characters

• Chronic feelings of emptiness between daydream phases

Differentiating features:

• Conscious controllability of daydreams (in contrast to dissociative episodes)

• Lack of productive psychotic symptoms

• Maintained reality testing outside of daydreams

5. Treatment: Integration instead of elimination

Therapeutic approaches for comorbid BPD and MD:

• Dialectical behavioural therapy (DBT): Skills training for emotion regulation

• Mentalisation-based treatment (MBT): promotion of self-reflection

• Transference-focussed psychotherapy (TFP): working with relationship patterns

Specific MD interventions:

• Functional analysis of daydreams in the BPD context

• Recognising the containment function of daydreams

• Gradual integration of daydream resources into reality

• Developing alternative coping strategies

6. case study: Lena's emotional rollercoaster

Initial situation:

• Lena (29) with borderline personality disorder

• Daydreams about ideal relationships for 4-5 hours a day

• Strong alternation between idealising and destructive fantasies

• Frequent states of tension that are regulated by daydreams

Therapeutic approach:

1. DBT skills training for emotion regulation

2. Mentalisation support in group therapy

3. Functional analysis of daydreams

4. Step-by-step transfer of daydream resources

Result after 10 months:

• Stress levels reduced by 70

• Daydreaming time reduced to 1-2 hours a day

• Improved real relationship formation

• Reduced impulsivity in daydreaming behaviour

FAQ

Can maladaptive daydreaming in BPD be dangerous?

Yes, if it becomes the only coping strategy and the real areas of life are neglected.

Should daydreaming in BPD be stopped altogether?

No, but rather understand the function and integrate it into the treatment.

Can daydreaming in BPD also be used therapeutically?

Yes, as a way of accessing unconscious conflicts and as a resource for identity work.

How does MD in BPD differ from other disorders?

Through the violently fluctuating feelings, blurred ego boundaries, and black-and-white relationship dynamics in the daydreams.

Where can I find specialised help?

You can find therapists with expertise in borderline personality disorder and schema therapy, DBT or MBT training in online databases or from your health insurance provider.

Footnote:

¹ Containment: Psychological term for the ability to hold, structure and integrate overwhelming feelings and impulses instead of acting on them impulsively.