What is Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD)?

Personality disorders are characterised by an enduring pattern of inner experiences and behaviours, which are inflexible, maladaptive and cause significant functional impairment or distress to the individual. Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) is a personality disorder that is characterised by a pervasive and enduring pattern of some of the following challenges: unstable and intense relationships, disturbance of identity and image, impulsivity and / or reckless behaviours, recurrent suicidality and / or self-harm, intense and dysregulated emotions, extensive efforts to avoid abandonment, chronic feelings of emptiness, intense anger, and transient dissociative or paranoid thoughts. BPD usually co-occurs with other mental health challenges, such as Anxiety, Depression, Trauma etc.

Although some people might be able to relate to some of the features above, they do not necessarily have BPD. Personality disorders are rather complex mental health disorders to understand and to diagnose, thus it is important to speak to a mental health professional about your experience. Additionally, it is sometimes helpful to view BPD from a dimensional perspective and understand the individual maladaptive traits, and how they fit within one’s system.

One of the most efficacious treatments of BPD is Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT). There are different components of DBT. In individual therapy, depending on your needs, DBT-informed approach can involve skills training, psychoeducation, understanding and changing problematic behaviours, learning skills to regulate emotions and improve interpersonal relationships etc. There is also evidence of effectiveness of treating BPD using Schema Therapy and Mentalisation Based Therapy (MBT).

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