Part1: Analyze the portrayal of BPD-related themes in the drama, focusing on the character of Saba Shafiq (played by Mahira Khan)
Intense and unstable relationships
People with BPD often have difficulty maintaining stable and healthy relationships. They may experience intense and sudden shifts in their feelings towards others, leading to idealization and devaluation of the same person. In the case of Saba, she sometimes has extreme emotions of love towards Irtaza but also gets angry when things don’t go her way. She also idealizes Irtaza by comparing him to the moon. In a scene when Irtaza is coming to their house, she keeps saying that I can see the moon. It was also seen when finally she got married to Irtaza, in the start she did not feel love for him, although that is what she always wanted.
Fear of abandonment
Individuals with BPD may have an intense fear of being abandoned or rejected by loved ones. When Irtaza decided to go to the USA, Saba’s reaction was very extreme and in front of everyone she said that he cannot go to the US and will stay with her forever. She also tries to manipulate him by asking him to stay in Pakistan.
Unstable self-image
People with BPD may struggle with a distorted or unstable sense of self. They may have difficulty understanding who they are, what they want, and what their values and beliefs are. Saba also shows this, when she is not sure, if she wants her sister to be happy with irtaza or not. One time she is content with the marriage of her sister and Irtaza but then she lashes out at the time of the wedding. So she is not sure what she wants.
Hallucinations
After her sister dies, she blames herself for the death of her sister. When she goes to her husband’s house she starts seeing Saman in the mirror, because she feels she has robbed her of this. So she starts experiencing some minor hallucinations that can occur in BPD according to DSM.
From Associated features:
Undermining Self
It is stated in DSM that individuals with borderline personality disorder may have a pattern of undermining themselves at the moment the goal is about to be realized. This associated feature is evident in Saba’s behavior where you can see that after the death of Saman she gets a chance to marry Irtaza, who is the love of her life. But she disagrees and now she wants to marry someone else.
Ideas of reference
Individuals with borderline personality disorder can also develop ideas of reference. Like when Saba is talking to a lady and she is saying that if you will wish the thing your heart wants it will come before you and then she ask her to close her eyes and Fuff on a rose pattel and when she opens her eyes, Irtaza is standing there by accident. But with Saba’s facial expression she looks happy that her wish came true. So she associates events to be related solely to her.
In conclusion overall the depiction of borderline personality disorder are presented well enough in the series but it still lacks some presentation.
- The severity and frequency of symptoms is not what it should be in BPD.
- She also gets Borderline Episode suddenly and then stays normal for a while. This does not happen in BPD.
Part 2: Discuss the role of therapy and support systems in the drama:
Saba did not receive any therapy or intervention for her mental health issue. They did not take her to any psychologist or psychiatrist. This is close to reality because personality disorders are rarely reported, or people rarely go to therapy for personality disorders until and unless they are in very severe condition.
If we talk about how her family played a role in the severity of her symptoms. We can see that she was very close with Irtaza but still her family allowed them to be together and do what they were doing. Although their behavior with each other was opposite to social norms but family still allowed it.
One detrimental thing was that after finding out that she had feelings for Irtaza they still did not let them get married or resolved this issue, which made her situation even worse.
Her grandmother was supportive of her and she used to confide in her grandmother so she was an important support figure for her. Also after the death of Saman, Saba’s family did understand how much impact it had on Saba and they consoled her and gave her space. They also helped with getting her out of the toxic marriage she had with Aamir. Also when they married her to Irtaza they let her go to the US and that made them rebuild their relationship.
Irtaza was also very supportive and appeared as a strong protective factor as he was tolerant of Saba’s behavior and emotions when she was not letting him stay with her in one room and when he was getting avoided by her. He supported her in that period and also shared his love with her and made her understand that she was not the cause of Saman’s death.
Part 3: Management For Borderline Personality Disorder
DBT typically combines various elements, including group skills training, individual psychotherapy, and phone coaching, although there can be variations. Throughout DBT therapy, patients are encouraged to monitor their symptoms and utilize the skills they’ve learned on a daily basis, with their progress being tracked (May et al., 2016).
There are four primary categories of skills covered in DBT skills training:
Mindfulness Meditation Skills:
Mindfulness meditation skills focus on being fully present in the current moment. These skills involve observing, describing, and participating in all experiences, including thoughts, sensations, emotions, and external events, without passing judgment on them. These core skills are essential for effectively applying other DBT skills.
For instance, Saba in this example showed extreme emotions at the event of the wedding when Irtaza and Saman were getting married, she even cursed Saman. Mindfulness Meditation skills could have helped Saba stay in the moment and observe her feelings and act effectively on them. She did love Saman, so if she would have thought about what she wanted to do she would have stopped herself from cursing her.
Interpersonal Effectiveness Skills:
This skill module emphasizes the ability to assert one’s needs successfully and manage conflicts in relationships.
Saba had conflicts in her relationship with both Saman and Irtaza. Improving her interpersonal skills would help her deal best with the conflicts that she has in different relationships in her life.
Distress Tolerance Skills:
The distress tolerance skills module focuses on learning how to accept and tolerate distress without engaging in behaviors that may worsen the situation in the long run, such as self-harm. Like when Saba was feeling distressed that she wished Saman to be dead and now she was dead and Irtaza and her family wanted her to marry Irtaza but she blamed herself for the death of Saman and married someone who was worse for her. Distress tolerance would have stopped Saba from making these rash decisions.
Emotion Regulation Skills:
In this module, patients learn to identify and manage their emotional reactions. Emotion regulation involves enhancing or reducing emotions to respond effectively and achieve personal goals. This would have helped Saba to be emotionally stable and react with calm in situations where she was feeling overwhelmed and reacting to her emotions.
References:
May JM, Richardi TM, Barth KS. Dialectical behavior therapy as treatment for borderline personality disorder. Ment Health Clin. 2016;6(2):62–67. doi:10.9740/mhc.2016.03.62
Disclaimer: This is opinion based article and does not include medical advise. Contact professionals if you are dealing with any psychological issues.