To Tame a Volcano: Patients with Borderline Personality Disorder and Their Perceptions of Suffering

The aim of the study was to investigate life situations, suffering, and perceptions of encounter with psychiatric care among 10 patients with borderline personality disorder. The results are based on a hermeneutic interpretation of narrative interviews in addition to biographical material (diary excerpts and poems). The interpretation revealed three comprehensive theme areas: life on the edge, the struggle for health and dignity—a balance act on a slack wire over a volcano, and the good and the bad act of psychiatric care in the drama of suffering. These theme areas form a movement back and forth—from despair and unendurable suffering to struggle for health and dignity and a life worth living. Common beliefs regarding these patients among personnel and implications for psychiatric care are discussed in relation to the results.