The diagnosis of BPD has been around for nearly a century, with initial diagnosis first being used in 1938 to describe patients who did not fit into existing diagnostic categories. The formal recognition of BPD as its own diagnosis with its own specific criteria did not come about until 1980. BPD was at this point thought to be individuals on the borderline of neurosis and psychosis. Whilst a handful of individuals with BPD do suffer psychosis not everyone with this diagnosis does. Individuals battling BPD are sometimes referred to as psychotic, whilst this is simply not the widespread truth many think it is. Throughout the 70’s and 80’s Marsha Linehan, a woman who herself has this diagnosis, dedicated her time to developing Dialectical Behavioural Therapy, the first treatment designed specifically to help those with BPD, after coming to the notion that no other therapy was quite there yet, in the 90’s DBT became the first recognised treatment to support those with BPD.

EUPD/BPD is made up of a number of different components, to be diagnosed with EUPD/BPD you need to have 5 of the following 9 criteria; 

1, Frantic efforts to avoid abandonment - Those with BPD experience intense fear and anxiety about being alone or abandoned even when there aren’t any threats of being abandoned. 

2, Impulsivity - behaviours that can lead to risky encounters or self-damaging such as driving recklessly, abusing substances or spending sprees.

3, disturbance of identity - those with BPD struggle with a sense of self, their self-image or sense of self is unstable and can differ depending on company and situations.

4, unstable and intense relationships -  alternating between idealisation and devaluation, someone with BPD can see someone as perfect one moment and completely flawed the next.

5, instability -  those with BPD often have mood changes that can vary, lasting only a few hours or days, rapid and intense mood changes include periods of intense dysphoria, irritability or anxiety.

6, chronically feeling empty - a persistent sense of emptiness or void from within.

7, suicidal behaviours, gestures or self-harm - this includes suicidal thoughts, actions and/or self-injuring behaviours such as cutting or burning. 

8, paranoia or severe dissociative symptoms, being paranoid or disconnected from themselves or reality, especially in times of distress. 

9, uncontrollable anger or intense feelings of anger when not appropriate, frequent displays of temper, constantly angry or physically fighting. 

EUPD/BPD does not have a definitive cause, it is complex and not fully understood. Research suggests it is a combination of biological, psychological and environmental factors that contribute to its development. Some causes for BPD include childhood trauma and/or adverse experiences such as abuse or loss/early separation of a care giver, biological factors though no biological BPD gene has been found it is believed that those with a history of BPD in their family are more likely to have BPD, another cause for BPD is a sensitive temperament from a young age experiencing emotions to their core and having difficulty returning to a baseline, and lastly there are environmental and social factors, chronically being invalidated and unstable relationships are key factors of what can cause BPD/EUPD. We would like to point out it is not the individual with BPD’s fault that they have BPD as there is no definitive cause for it, these are just factors that can lead to BPD/EUPD.