Not everyone has every symptom
The severity, frequency, and length of symptoms vary from person to person.
National Institute of Mental Health · Borderline personality disorder (brochure)
Signs and Symptoms
People with borderline personality disorder may feel unsure of how they see themselves and how others judge them, so their interests and values can change quickly. They also tend to see people and things in extremes. Only a licensed mental health professional can make a diagnosis. Source
Warning signs of suicide
People with borderline personality disorder have a much higher rate of self-harm and suicidal thoughts and behavior than the general population. Anyone thinking of harming themselves or attempting suicide needs help right away. Get help as soon as possible, especially if a behavior is new or has increased. Call or text 988 or chat at 988lifeline.org. In a life-threatening emergency, call 911.
Talking about
- Wanting to die
- Great guilt or shame
- Being a burden to others
Feeling
- Empty, hopeless, trapped, or having no reason to live
- Extremely sad, more anxious, agitated, or full of rage
- Unbearable emotional or physical pain
Changing behavior
- Making a plan or researching ways to die
- Withdrawing, saying goodbye, giving away important items, or making a will
- Taking dangerous risks such as driving extremely fast
- Extreme mood swings
- Eating or sleeping more or less
- Using drugs or alcohol more often
Source: National Institute of Mental Health · Warning signs of suicideSource: National Institute of Mental Health · Borderline personality disorder (brochure)
Common signs
Signs in four areas of life
Emotions
- Intense and highly changeable moods, with episodes lasting from a few hours to a few days
- Inappropriate, intense anger or trouble controlling anger
- Chronic feelings of emptiness
Source: National Institute of Mental Health · Borderline personality disorder (brochure)
Relationships
- Efforts to avoid real or imagined abandonment, such as jumping into or out of relationships quickly
- A pattern of intense and unstable relationships with family, friends, and loved ones
- High sensitivity to rejection, and feeling alienated or isolated
- Seeing people in extremes, such as all good or all bad, so feelings can swing from extreme closeness to extreme dislike
Source: National Institute of Mental Health · Borderline personality disorder (brochure)
Sense of self
- A distorted and unstable self-image or sense of self
- Interests, values, and feelings that can change quickly
- Feeling dissociated: cut off from oneself, watching oneself from outside the body, or disconnected from one's surroundings
Source: National Institute of Mental Health · Borderline personality disorder (brochure)
Behavior and safety
- Impulsive or reckless behavior, such as spending sprees, unsafe sex, substance use, dangerous driving, or binge eating
- Self-harming behavior, such as cutting
- Recurring thoughts of suicide, threats of suicide, or suicidal behavior
Source: National Institute of Mental Health · Borderline personality disorder (brochure)
Mood swings or something else?
If impulsive behaviors happen mostly during times of elevated mood or energy, they may be symptoms of another condition, such as a mood disorder, rather than borderline personality disorder.
National Institute of Mental Health · Borderline personality disorder (brochure)
Being alone can feel unbearable
Some people with borderline personality disorder cannot tolerate being alone and have repeated crises.
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration · Borderline personality disorder
Risk factors
What may raise the risk
The causes are not fully understood. Research suggests a mix of factors.
Family history
People with a close family member, such as a parent or sibling, with the disorder may be at higher risk.
National Institute of Mental Health · Borderline personality disorder (brochure)
Brain structure and function
Research shows possible changes in brain areas that control impulses and regulate emotions. It is unclear whether these changes are a cause or a result of the disorder.
National Institute of Mental Health · Borderline personality disorder (brochure)
Life events and surroundings
Many people with the disorder report traumatic events such as abuse, neglect, abandonment, or hardship in childhood. Others grew up with unstable or invalidating relationships or frequent conflict.
National Institute of Mental Health · Borderline personality disorder (brochure)
Having these risk factors does not mean a person will develop borderline personality disorder, and people without them can have it too. Source
Next step
Noticed some of these signs?
Talk to a primary care provider, who can refer you to a qualified mental health professional. Writing down what you notice first can make the conversation easier. Source