WHAT THE AMBER LEE HUGHES CASE REVEALS ABOUT BORDERLINE PERSONALITY DISORDER

SOUTH Africans have been gripped by the shocking case of Amber Lee Hughes, a former preschool teacher accused of the rape and murder of four-year-old Nada-Jane Challita in 2023.

- VUYILE MADWANTSI

During court proceedings, Hughes admitted to drowning her ex-boyfriend’s daughter but claimed that she had been suffering from borderline personality disorder (BPD) at the time of the crime.

The case has sparked widespread debate. Can a mental health disorder like BPD drive someone to commit such a violent act? Or does invoking a diagnosis risk stigmatising thousands of people who live with BPD without ever harming others?

To unpack this, we need to understand what BPD really is and what it isn't.

What is borderline personality disorder?

Independent Media Lifestyle reached out to Dr Happy Setsiba, a clinical psychologist at Mediclinic Medforum, who said BPD is a complex mental health condition marked by extreme emotional sensitivity, unstable relationships, impulsive behaviour, and difficulty regulating emotions.

Along with strong emotions, people with BPD can also experience intense anger, known as borderline rage. According to the DSM-5 (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders), people with BPD may experience:

Psychotherapist Dr Courtney Tracy, known as the “Truth Doctor’, explains BPD as “thinking and feeling faster and deeper than most people in an environment that wasn’t able to meet you where you were”.