Borderline Personality Disorder

Abstract
This paper attempts to define Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) as according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th. Edition, and the American Psychiatric Association.   Also compiled and addressed are the statistics dealing with the prevalence, origins, and known risk factors for BPD.   A number of treatment options and likely prognosis will also be laid out. Concluding with a brief discussion on the stigma often associated with treating BPD, as well as advocacy for persons with the disorder.

Borderline Personality Disorder
Borderline personality disorder (BPD) is a condition in which people have long-term patterns of unstable or turbulent emotions, such as feelings about themselves and others.   These inner experiences often cause them to take impulsive actions and have chaotic relationships (Pubmed, 2010).   BPD is a serious mental illness that centers on the inability to manage emotions effectively.
According to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th. Edition, better known as the DSM-IV, diagnostic criteria for borderline personality disorder is indicated by five (or more) of the following:  abandonment fears, unstable intense relationships, identity disturbance, impulsivity, suicidal or self-injurious behaviors, affective (emotional) instability, emptiness, anger, and psychotic-like perceptual distortions (Gunderson, 2011).
BPD afflicts up to 6% of adults (approximately 14 million Americans), making it more common than schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.   This disorder tends to occur more often in women, approximately 2 to 3 times greater than men, and among hospitalized psychiatric patients.   BPD accounts for 20% of inpatients admitted to psychiatric hospitals and 10% of psychiatric outpatients.   10% of adults with BPD commit suicide, 55-85% of adults with BPD self-injure their bodies, and 33% of youth who commit suicide have features of BPD (NEABPD, 2011).
The causes of BPD aren’t fully...