A psychophysiological assessment of delayed emotional recovery across discrete emotions in borderline personality disorder and the impact of self-harm and suicidality

This study examined Linehan’s (1993) theory of delayed emotional recovery (i.e., emotions last longer) in borderline personality disorder (i.e., BPD), and whether non-suicidal self-injury and suicidal ideation modulate this process. BPD and healthy control (HC) groups were monitored via parasympathetic, sympathetic, and self-report indices after fear, anger, and sadness inductions. After the fear induction, the BPD group showed increases in emotional arousal as indicated by parasympathetic indices and no changes in sympathetic indices, whereas HCs showed no change in parasympathetic indices and decreases in sympathetic indices. Further, individuals with BPD with higher urges to commit suicide after the fear induction exhibited faster decreases in sympathetic responding than others. These findings suggest that individuals with BPD selectively show delayed emotional recovery and that suicidal ideation may quicken emotional recovery in this group. Those with BPD may benefit from learning strategies to quicken, or tolerate, delayed emotional recovery.