Mental health professionals are increasingly arguing for a rethink of Borderline Personality Disorder, with some pointing out its links to misogyny and a misunderstanding of the impact of trauma and abuse Borderline Personality Disorder is a condition often formed by trauma. Photo: Getty What exactly is Borderline Personality Disorder, and do we need to rethink it? Why are women three times more likely to be diagnosed with it? Is BPD a kind of modern day ‘hysteria’ diagnosis, a made-up label which women were historically labelled with for a bewildering array of reasons, including reluctance to marry? The symptoms of BPD suggest great distress: fear of abandonment, feelings of insecurity about yourself, intense and rapidly changing emotions, difficulty in maintaining stable relationships, feeling empty inside, impulsivity and risky behaviours, using self-harm to manage your emotions, feeling suicidal, feeling intense anger, and feeling paranoia and/or dissociation when stressed. Around one in 100 of us are thought to live with this condition.
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