What is it?

Borderline personality disorder (BPD) is a disorder of mood and how a person interacts with others. It’s the most commonly recognised personality disorder.

In general, someone with a personality disorder will differ significantly from an average person in terms of how he or she thinks, perceives, feels or relates to others.

Symptoms of borderline personality disorder (BPD)

The symptoms of BPD can be grouped into 4 main areas:

• Emotional instability – the psychological term for this is affective dysregulation
• Disturbed patterns of thinking or perception – cognitive distortions or perceptual distortions
• Impulsive behaviour
• Intense but unstable relationships with others

The symptoms of a personality disorder may range from mild to severe and usually emerge in adolescence, persisting into adulthood.

Causes of borderline personality disorder (BPD)

The causes of BPD are unclear. But as with most conditions, BPD appears to result from a combination of genetic and environmental factors.

Traumatic events that occur during childhood are associated with developing BPD.

Many people with BPD will have experienced parental neglect or physical, sexual or emotional abuse during their childhood.