An Overview on Borderline Personality Disorder

Abstract

Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) is a psychiatric disease marked by unstable interpersonal relationships, fear of abandonment, difficulty regulating emotions, feelings of emptiness, persistent dysphoria or sadness, impulsivity, and increased risk-taking behaviors. The prevalence of borderline personality disorder has been reported at 11 percent in the psychiatric outpatient community and as high as 20% in the psychiatric inpatient population. Patients with BPD have a high rate of morbidity, which makes medical treatment more difficult. Although the role of genetics in BPD is unclear, inheritance of BPD appears to be considerable. Life events are also found to play a role in the development of BPD. The most important risk factor for the development of BP is childhood trauma. Symptoms that have been present since adolescence or early adulthood and manifest in a variety of settings are used to make the diagnosis. There are no lab or imaging tests available to aid in the diagnosis. Patients with borderline personality disorder benefit from three evidence-based treatments. Mentalizing-based therapy (MBT). Dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) and transference-focused psychotherapy (TFP). In this review we will be discussing epidemiology, etiology, clinical features diagnosis and treatment of BPD.