Borderline Personality Disorder

Borderline personality disorder (BPD) is a serious and complex mental disorder marked by a pervasive, chronic pattern of instability and inability to regulate emotions, impulses, self-image, and interpersonal relationships. BPD is an extremely heterogeneous category, ranging from "antagonistic," "volatile" individuals to those who are actively violent and suicidal. BPD has been analyzed from several contrasting perspectives, including psychoanalysis, "traumatology," and biological psychiatry. Current thinking emphasizes that there are multiple causes involved, which vary from individual to individual. BPD is commonly comorbid with substance abuse disorders.

BPD is recognized as a diagnostic entity in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition, Text Revision (DSM-IV-TR). The label "borderline" dates from an early concept of an area between "neurotic" and "psychotic." It is sometimes confused with ...