Borderline Personality Disorder
Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) is a complicated condition. It profoundly impacts how a person feels about themselves and others in their life. People living with BPD experience intense and unstable emotions, insecurity, and self-doubt.
What is BPD?
Borderline personality disorder is a form of mental illness. It causes people to behave recklessly and makes it difficult for them to manage their emotions. Someone living with BPD will have difficulty completing daily life tasks. They may have trouble keeping a job or maintaining a stable relationship.

Causes of BPD
Mental health experts disagree on BPD causes. Some studies point to hereditary factors. Cultural and social factors may also play a part in whether someone develops borderline personality disorder.
A person living in a culture where relationships are intense grows up with that model of normalcy. They tend to behave that way as adults. Unstable personal relationships may follow from the intensity the person brings to adult relationships. As a result, the person may start to feel insecure, which encourages self-doubt, making them feel more insecure. Their relationships become more intense and unstable. It is a circle of emotional symptoms they are unable to get off without help.
Someone who has a prior history of childhood trauma, abuse, or neglect is at higher risk for developing BPD. This person learns they can’t trust the people they should be able to count on to care for and protect them. It would be expected for someone with this background to feel insecure and have unstable emotions.
A child who lives with parents or guardians with a history of criminal activity is also at higher risk for developing borderline personality disorder. The child may experience people coming in and out of the home who pose threats to the child’s health and well-being. The child may also experience one or both parents being absent from the house for some time to deal with legal matters and punishments handed down by the court. Neither circumstance would help a young child develop a sense of stability or security as they grow up.
Some experts point to brain abnormalities as being a contributing factor in whether a person develops BPD. When specific brain chemicals responsible for mood regulation aren’t functioning correctly, it changes some areas of the brain. These brain changes have been linked to depression, aggression, and difficulty regulating destructive urges.
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Categories
Signs and Symptoms of BPD
A borderline personality disorder is considered a “mind and body condition.” Its symptoms usually start during a person’s early teen years and gradually improve during adulthood. Approximately 1.4 percent of the adult population live with BPD.
The signs and symptoms of BPD are:
- Impulsivity
Along with being impulsive, people with BPD also have intense emotions. When they feel extremely distressed, they experience dissociation and paranoia. For people in relationships with a BPD person, these symptoms lead to relationship stress and distress.
Someone living with borderline personality disorder is unable to comfort themselves. Instead, they react impulsively or recklessly to feel better.
- Quick to Anger
Another sign of BPD is someone quick to anger and easily offended. Since they are so “prickly,” other people may give them a wide berth.
- Fear of Being Alone
A person with borderline personality disorder often struggles with how others perceive him. They may honestly not understand how their anger and mood swings can push others away when at the same time, they are intensely afraid of being abandoned. They often have problems being alone.
How BPD is Treated
Specific treatment for borderline treatment disorder depends on the person’s age, symptoms, and general health, as well as the severity of the condition.
Psychotherapy is the most common treatment for BPD. It can either be delivered one-on-one or in a group setting. A psychotherapist may use the following methods to treat clients with BPD:
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is a structured, goal-oriented type of psychotherapy. Therapists and counselors use it to treat or manage several mental health conditions and emotional concerns.
CBT is based on the following principles:
- Psychological issues are based in part on negative thinking patterns.
- They are also based in part on learned negative behavior patterns.
- Psychological issues are partly based on negative core beliefs, including people’s ideas about themselves and the world.
- People living with psychological issues can learn better-coping mechanisms to deal with them. These coping mechanisms can relieve symptoms and improve mental and emotional health.
Cognitive-behavioral therapy involves a specific number of sessions, usually held over 12 and 20 weeks, customized to meet the client’s needs.
Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT) teaches participants to “sit with” and manage intense emotions. This form of therapy also helps people cope with challenging situations and improve their relationships by encouraging them to use mindfulness techniques.
DBT can be used in individual and group sessions. The therapist encourages the participants to adopt a nonjudgmental attitude. Compassion and acceptance are encouraged.
Dialectical behavioral therapy also teaches these primary skills:
- Distress tolerance: how to manage emotional distress in the moment
- Emotional regulation: recognizing, accepting, and then managing intense emotions
- Interpersonal effectiveness: improving communication with others to strengthen relationships
How BPD Overlaps with Other Mental Illnesses
People living with BPD must get treatment, as they are at higher risk for self-harm and suicide. BPD also puts a person at higher risk for anxiety, depression, and substance abuse.