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.
The symptoms of BPD can be grouped into four 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.
Read more about the symptoms of BPD.
Introduction 