Is suicidality an outcome or a cause of extreme relationship-seeking in borderline personality disorder?

Abstract

Previous theory proposes that humans perceive ordinary objects and experiences as beautiful, which motivates the pursuit of life. This quality is crucial among organisms that are cognitively capable of understanding that they can end their own suffering through self-killing (i.e., suicide). This paper argues that borderline personality disorder (BPD) is characterized by an inability to find beauty in ordinary experiences, which results in increased susceptibility to suicide. Accordingly, individuals with BPD pursue meaningful relationships to supplement this deficiency. Thus, those with BPD are hypothesized to have increased emotional sensitivity to interpersonal contexts, but muted emotional responses to ordinary experiences that elicit awe or happiness in others (e.g., pictures of landscapes, poetry about nature, etc.). Suicidality in individuals with BPD is often precipitated by fear of separation or rejection. At first glance this may appear as a bargaining tactic, designed to rekindle a dying relationship. Alternatively, this paper suggests that a predisposition to suicide is causal of extreme relationship-seeking behaviour in BPD. Additionally, this theory suggests that those with BPD who do not meet the interpersonal criteria for the disorder may be at a heightened risk of suicidality, because they have fewer objects to derive beauty from.