BPD is characterized by:  

• Intense difficulties in interpersonal relationships 

• An unstable self-concept 

• Impulsivity, disinhibition, and risk-taking behaviors

• Difficulty managing painful emotions

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To receive a diagnosis of BPD, these symptoms must:

• Be present in multiple contexts (home and school or home and work)

• Result in significant suffering or cause significant impairment in functioning

While no specific "cause" has been identified, several risk factors for BPD have been identified. Dominant theories of BPD suggest that it results when a person who has an innate vulnerability (genetics) interacts with a "chronically invalidating environment".

(Vanwoerden et al., 2019)

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• While BPD is a serious mental illness, it is by no means a life sentence.

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• Research has shown that the prognosis for BPD is actually not as bad as once thought.

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• Almost half of people who are diagnosed with BPD will not meet the criteria for a diagnosis just two years later.

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• Ten years later, 88% of people who were once diagnosed with BPD no longer meet the criteria for a diagnosis. 

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