Borderline Personality Disorder Axia College of University of Phoenix “Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) is a psychiatric diagnosis in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders describes a prolonged disturbance of personality function characterized by depth and variability of moods.” (Wikipedia, 2008) A personality disorder is characterized as a mental disorder that involves feelings, thinking, and behavior. “The term borderline, although it was used in this context as early as the 17th century, was employed by Adolph Stern in 1938 to describe a condition as being on the borderline between neurosis and psychosis. Because the term no longer reflects current thinking, there is an ongoing debate concerning whether this disorder should be renamed. There is related concern that the diagnosis stigmatizes people, usually women, and supports pejorative and discriminatory practices.” (Wikipedia, 2008) In this essay, I will explore the symptoms, causes, diagnosis, and treatment of Borderline Personality Disorder. Diagnosis is not based solely on the patient’s report experiences but also on the observations of the clinician, family members, and friends. BPD was once classified as a sub-type of schizophrenia. “it is often accompanied by mild forms of brain dysfunction (such as attention-deficit disorder), schizophrenic-like conditions, and mood disorders, which has led some psychologists to question whether borderline personality disorder should be considered a separate and distinguishable category of personality disorder” (Axia, 2008) This very complicated disorder can also be diagnosed by associated features, comparably, differentially, and by comorbidity. “Figures from surveys of the prevalence of diagnosable BPD in the general population vary, ranging from approximately one percent to two percent. The diagnosis appears to be several times more common in (especially young) women than in men, by as much as 3:1 according to the DSM-IV-T, although the...