Psychology Today recently ran a fascinating article about Jodi Arias, now on trial for the murder of her ex-boyfriend. The author attempts to compare Arias' behavior to symptoms of Borderline Personality Disorder, in an attempt to 'diagnose' her.
As many of us know, once a person has had a personal relationship with a Borderline (or an alcoholic or a drug addict, for that matter), they can spot one a mile away.
Click below to read the article. What's your verdict?
Hi Lynn,
It's been a couple of years since going through a divorce from my Borderline Personality Disordered ex-wife. I agree with the diagnosis in this article about Jodi Arias.
I've also read that Arias was very adament about becoming Mormon like Travis Alexander. My ex-wife very much wanted to be Catholic like I was. She was adamant about converting so I would be happy.
Jodii apparently got into witchcraft towards the end...as did my ex-wife. She told me that Tarot Cards predicted a major rift in our future and would cast spells on jewelry and give them to our friends (who found it very odd).
Before Jodi went to to jail, she asked if she could pretty up a bit...I'd say that's Borderline to a tee...
In the "normal" years, my ex could go to the gas station in pajamas and a pony-tail. In the end, ahe couldn't leave the house without make-up, and tight clothes.
I'm speaking from personal experience, but the signs for a diagnosis for Borderline Personality Disorder (severe) are all apparent in this article that you have shared. The symptoms are all there.
Towards the end of my relationship with my ex . . .probably about when the "devaluing" started . . . she told me she was really enjoying writing to herself and had written a few short stories. I asked her to tell me about them. She said,"Oh, the first one is great. It's about a wife who is tired of her husband . . .so she posions him."
I'll say that I'm glad what happened to Travis Aleander didn't happen to me. However, it seems to me that in most 'normal' relationships with a Borderline, it seems that it's the emotional harm that the VICTIMS of Borderlines have to recover from, rather than the physical harm.
This is all a part of my past now . . .but Lynn, you were a tremendous help to me. I hope that someone else can get validation if they are in the same situation that I was in a few years ago.
Mental illness seems to be a growing trend. I think we need education, like you have been providing, so keep up the good work.
Posted by: MG | April 03, 2013 at 09:37 PM
I'd say Jodi Arias is Narcissistic Borderline Personality Disordered. She split her ex-boyfriend as Satan, had a psychotic break, then disassociated ... severely ... and covered her actions up later with heaping doses of denial and false memories.
This is what I'm personally afraid of. Someone who until now has "just" hit you with shoes -- or something, **snapping** after an apparently wonderful time (they had **just** made love 10 minutes before she attacked him and he was in the shower...).
But this time, instead of using fists or shoes ... it was a knife.
It's the primary reason I never allowed a gun in my house during my own experiences with a Borderline woman. I figured the chances of it getting used against me in a psychotic episode were *far* stronger than it being used rightfully...and I had a fear that her false memories would say she shot *me* in self-defense.
And let's face it, the only reason Jodi Arias wasn't believed by the criminal justice system was because she was *so* sloppy.
Posted by: Zack Schmidt | April 05, 2013 at 05:06 AM
Wow, Zack. Sounds like you dodged the bullet . . . literally.
Makes me wonder how many other people are struggling to understand and cope with people who suddeny disassociate, become people they usually aren't, then go back to their normal personality.
Living with an unrecovering person suffering from Borderline Personality Disorder can be scary . . . and fatal.
Posted by: Lynn Melville, author, Boomerang Love | April 05, 2013 at 06:35 PM
Amazing, MG. You experienced some of the same behavior with your Borderline ex-wife as Jodi Arias exhibited.
The efforts to change their behavior to be like you and Arias' ex-boyfriend soothed their fear of abandonment. And the witchcraft gave them something (sort of) concrete to hang on to, as their internal emotions began to take over again.
I'm so glad you escaped. Now if there were just some way that we could heal these suffering Borderlines . . . .
Posted by: Lynn Melville, author, Boomerang Love | April 05, 2013 at 07:22 PM