MHM Magazine

Linda is a 50-year-old female diagnosed with bipolar mood disorder with psychotic episodes. She’s had numerous admissions over the last 16 years. She worked at the SAPS and was medically boarded after a severe accident. Her mother died in a car accident when Linda was two years old; her brother also died in the accident. She was raised by her father (who was a paedophile) and grandmother, who blamed her for her mother’s and brother’s deaths. Her grandmother was extremely physically abusive; she once broke Linda’s arm (and removed the plaster because it would be an embarrassment to her). Linda was also sexually abused by two family members over a period of at least ten years. When she was 17, Linda attemped to take her life by suicide. At this stage, her father had remarried, and his second wife had three children of her own. Linda was the scapegoat for everything that went wrong in the house, although everyone was aware of her father’s relationships with underage boys. She developed symptoms of dissociation and was in two serious car accidents, which she admits she might have caused. During the first accident, she sustained a head injury and developed epilepsy. After the second accident, she was hospitalised for six months with multiple fractures and had her first psychotic episode. From here on, she was admitted every year with mania (sometimes By Dr Melané van Zyl Psychiatrist, private practice Mediclinic Sandton, Bryanston, Gauteng melane@drmelanevanzyl.com ADDRESSING THE NEEDS OF PATIENTS WITH BPD (BORDERLINE PERSONALITY DISORDER) AND CHILDHOOD TRAUMA MHM | 2025 | Volume 12 | Issue 3 | Addressing the needs of patients with BPD (borderline personality disorder) and childhood trauma MHM Issue 3 | 2025 | MENTAL HEALTH MATTERS | 11 MHM