Splitting Crack

[Vicki]

Splittingalso called binary thinking, black-and-white thinking, all-or-nothing thinking, or thinking in extremes) is the failure in a person's thinking to bring together the dichotomy of both perceived positive and negative qualities of something into a cohesive, realistic whole. It is a common defense mechanism[1] wherein the individual tends to think in extremes (e.g., an individual's actions and motivations are all good or all bad with no middle ground). This kind of dichotomous interpretation is contrasted by an acknowledgement of certain nuances known as "shades of gray".[2]

Splitting was first described by Ronald Fairbairn in his formulation of object relations theory in 1952; it begins as the inability of the infant to combine the fulfilling aspects of the parents (the good object) and their unresponsive aspects (the unsatisfying object) into the same individuals, instead seeing the good and bad as separate. In psychoanalytic theory this functions as a defense mechanism.

Splitting was also described by Hyppolyte Taine in 1878 who described splitting as a splitting of the ego. He described this as the existence of two thoughts, wills, distinct actions simultaneously within an individual who is aware of one mind without the awareness of the other.[3]

The individual will perceive something that contradicts with their image of themselves or a person close to them which is often a something understood to be a slight, a perceived attempt to isolate or abandon them, or even a feeling of unwanted attraction. Psychoanalysis theories propose the idea that idealization and devaluation means there is polarization in not only an individual's self model, but their perceived view of others. [4]

The individual will feel challenged by this discomfort as it relates to their self perception and will form a narrative to explain and externalize the perceived discomfort, making it wholly the fault of another.

Proneness to rejection hypersensitivity; problems in establishing and maintaining consistent and appropriate levels of trust in interpersonal relationships; frequent misinterpretation of social signals contribute greatly to a subject with Borderline Personality Disorder's ability to find supporting "evidence" for their devaluation process. [7] This can be exacerbated in times of professional or personal stress as stress induced paranoia is a recognized diagnostic feature of Borderline Personality Disorder.[8] Splitting can also result in dispositional and situational attributes of others actions. This means that both a liked person's good behavior and an unliked person's bad behavior are both dispositional attributes; however, a good person's bad behavior would be situational and attributed to symptoms like stress or intoxication.[4]

The individual will then devalue the person that they once idealised. Often then the splitting process becomes behavioural and the subject will often abruptly lash out or cut contact with the person that they devalued causing a great deal of inner group conflict and distress. In order to prevent perceived judgement from others, the subject will often engage in a stage of justification of their actions by convincing those around them of the validity of their claims that the devalued party is entirely bad and that they are purely a victim.[9]

With people with Cluster-B personality disorders, this often involves the embellishment or invention of grievances that garner an emotional response from those around them that they feel matches their own distress at the situation.[10] The more valuable the social bond they are trying to preserve or the higher their general need for social acceptance, the higher the probability that they engage in psychologically abusive behaviour. [11] This can cause intense psychological distress in the person they are devaluing and can be met by legal challenges of abuse or slander.

The New England Personality Disorder Association recommends always involving the wider group in the discussion of issues, not responding to or ignoring threats or accusations (even if untrue) in the moment then discussing the episode in an open and realistic manner when the subject has calmed, and never protecting the subject from social or legal consequences of their actions.[12]

Certain difficulties arise from validating emotions and not endorsing the behaviour of splitting as the loved one of the person with Borderline Personality Disorder risks becoming both complicit in problematic behaviours and reinforcing them.

Although Borderline Personality Disorder was thought to be untreatable in the past, many new forms of therapy have been studied, practiced, and have been shown to help in the management and treatment of this disorder.

Dialectal Behavioral Therapy is the most known treatment for those with BPD who did not strive in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. This type of therapy proposes that those with BPD can more effectively manage their interactions with others by acquiring skills that better help them deal with stress, regulate emotions, and have quality relationships. This therapy includes one weekly hour of individual therapy, a two hour group training session, communication outside of sessions, and a consultation team created for the therapist.

Mentalization- Based Treatment is a therapy that proposes that symptoms in individuals with BPD form when the patient stops mentalizing, meaning they stop rationally thinking about the emotions in their own minds and others minds. This leads individuals to disconnect from reality and operate from the certainty they feel about other's motives. MBT strengthens an individual's capability to operate under attachment stress. Therapists encourage patients to dig into their emotional and unrealistic thoughts and actions in a more grounded and open mindset and thought process. MBT encourages individuals to think in a hyperactive state of mind within themselves instead of the internalized insights that they create of the world. This therapy includes 50 weekly minutes of individual therapy, 75 minutes of in group therapy, and a team meeting reflecting over how team members are doing with their mentalization.

Transference- Focused Psychotherapy is a therapy that focuses on the interpersonal dynamics of the lives of individuals and what happens during their emotional states. Their interpersonal dynamic is brought out during therapy and later studied to resolve what the good and bad splits may affect an individuals personal lives. This mechanism helps individuals reach a more balanced way of thinking about themselves and about others. Transference therapy involves two therapy sessions each week without the presence of group therapy.

Schema-Focused Therapy is a type of cognitive therapy that focuses on structural changes that may occur in an individuals life. This involves two weekly therapy sessions in which the therapist administers behavioral, experimental, and cognitive practices that focus on the individuals everyday life and activities that occur within it including any past traumatic experiences that may have occurred. This therapy works by changing the individuals way of negative thinking and believing into a healthier more functional way of thinking.

Splitting creates instability in relationships because one person can be viewed as either personified virtue or personified vice at different times, depending on whether they gratify the subject's needs or frustrate them. This, along with similar oscillations in the experience and appraisal of the self, leads to chaotic and unstable relationship patterns, identity diffusion, and mood swings.[14] The therapeutic process can be greatly impeded by these oscillations because the therapist too can come to be seen as all good or all bad. To attempt to overcome the negative effects on treatment outcomes, constant interpretations by the therapist are needed.[15]

Splitting contributes to unstable relationships and intense emotional experiences. Splitting is common during adolescence, but is regarded as transient. Splitting has been noted especially with persons diagnosed with borderline personality disorder.[16][17] Treatment strategies have been developed for individuals and groups based on dialectical behavior therapy, and for couples.[18] There are also self-help books on related topics such as mindfulness and emotional regulation that claim to be helpful for individuals who struggle with the consequences of splitting.[19][20] The fear of incurring the social consequences of splitting has been theorised to lead people with Borderline Personality Disorder to avoid social or romantic relationships with those they perceive to be critical and/or prone to assertive or aggressive behaviour and conversely seek out individuals they perceive to be passive.[21]

Splitting is a relatively common defense mechanism for people with borderline personality disorder.[17] One of the DSM IV-TR criteria for this disorder is a description of splitting: "a pattern of unstable and intense interpersonal relationships characterized by alternating between extremes of idealization and devaluation".[23][24] In psychoanalytic theory, people with borderline personality disorder are not able to integrate the good and bad images of both self and others, resulting in a bad representation which dominates the good representation.[25]

People with Borderline Personality Disorder are especially prone to splitting causing the breakdown of social relationships as they often seek to positions of control in social situations, are hypersensitive to criticism, are prone to paranoia, and have an intense need for social acceptance. Additionally their often "domineering, intrusive, and vindictive styles of relating to others correlated with perpetrating psychological aggression," thus reducing their ability to resolve conflicts amicably. [26]

In CBT (cognitive behavioral therapy), the instability that characterizes BPD is seen to come from patterns of thoughts, feelings, and memories that are maladaptive. The back and forth splitting of idealization and devaluation is unique feature of BPD and may cause individuals to believe that they will be abused if they put trust in someone which can cause individuals to create a simplistic view of how other people think and act. It is also seen as an over simplistic way that individuals with BPD interpret the motives that others may have when it comes to themselves and their well-being.[27]

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