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Background: Borderline personality disorder (BPD) is associated with a high risk of suicide. Limited information is available on the individual factors underlying suicidal behaviors, especially suicide attempts (SAs), in Iranian patients with BPD. Objectives: This study aimed to analyze the individual factors underlying suicidal behaviors in patients with BPD. Methods: This was a qualitative descriptive study that was conducted from May 2020 to February 2021 in Tehran and Karaj, Iran, on 23 participants, including 14 patients with BPD and seven mental health professionals, as well as two members of their families. The research environment included psychiatric inpatient wards, psychiatric emergencies, and psychiatric clinics. Participants were selected through purposive sampling. Data were collected using semi-structured interviews and were analyzed using conventional content analysis. Results: Data analysis revealed five main themes and 15 sub-themes related to the individual factors underlying the identification and prediction of the risk for suicidal behaviors and SAs. The extracted themes included “psychological pain and loneliness”, “defects in the distinction and integration of emotions”, “unconventional behavior and emotion”, “pervasive incompatibility”, and “breakdown of the self-integrity”. Conclusions: The BPD is a complex and challenging disorder in which patients with BPD usually tend to engage in suicidal behaviors, and with the emergence of individual factors underlying the occurrence of such behaviors, appropriate preventive measures and interventions can be taken to reduce suicide-related behaviors such as suicidal thoughts and planning, as well as SAs.

Background: Around 50%-60% of patients with multiple sclerosis suffer from different levels of anxiety and depression. Patients with multiple sclerosis, due to their unique conditions, have limitations on using medications and psychotherapies to manage their depression and anxiety. Objectives: The aim of this study was to assess the effects of a spirituality education program on the anxiety and depression of patients with multiple sclerosis. Methods: A pretest-posttest two-group randomized-controlled trial was conducted in 2018 on a convenience sample of 64 patients with multiple sclerosis. Patients were randomly allocated to an experimental group and a control group. In the experimental group, patients received spirituality education in eight 90-min weekly sessions. The Beck Depression and the Anxiety Inventory were used for data collection. For data analysis, we used frequency distribution tables, repeated measures ANOVA (RM-ANOVA), and independent t-test. Results: The post-test mean scores of depression and anxiety were significantly lower in the experimental group than in the control group (P < 0.05). Moreover, the results of the RM-ANOVA test illustrated that in the experimental group, the depression score significantly decreased from 22.86 ± 3.86 at baseline to 14.27 ± 4.62 after the intervention (P < 0.001). Additionally, the anxiety score in this group significantly decreased from 20.82 ± 4.26 at baseline to 13.55 ± 4.74 after the intervention (P < 0.001). Conclusions: The findings show that spirituality education is effective in reducing the symptoms of depression and anxiety among patients with multiple sclerosis.

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