Borderline Personality Disorder

Borderline personality disorder (BPD) is a mental health condition characterized by intense and difficult-to-manage emotions, impulsive and self-destructive behaviors, and chaotic interpersonal relationships. An individual with BPD may struggle with their sense of identity and rapidly shifting moods, as well as with tolerating separations or directly communicating their needs. Without effective treatment, an individual with BPD may be at high risk of suicide.

BPD is thought to result from the transaction between an individual’s emotionally vulnerable temperament and an environment that struggles to validate their emotional experience. At times–but not always–this invalidation may take the form of a traumatic event (bullying, assault, etc.). While high emotional sensitivity is present from early childhood, symptoms of BPD typically develop in adolescence or early adulthood. Research demonstrates that BPD symptoms and overall severity gradually improve with age, especially with effective treatment.