Author: Sam Vaknin, Ph.D.*
Abstract
In Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD), the lack of a cohesive Self undermines life goals and accomplishments. This should be the emphasis of long-term treatment: to finally get a life.
Article
The term “borderline” originated in the 1930s to describe patients precariously balanced on the border line between neurosis and psychosis. Though formally no longer the consensus, it is still the view of many practitioners and theoreticians, myself included.
Still, both the BPD Alliance and TARA call for name change.
In younger patient, borderline-like symptoms are common: impulsivity, mood lability, and unstable self-concept, acute sensitivity to rejection.
Ever since its 3rd edition, the DSM offered these diagnostic criteria for BPD: fear of abandonment, unstable relationships, identity disturbance, impulsivity, self-harm or recurrent suicidal behavior, emotional reactivity, chronic emptiness, intense anger, and transient, stress-related paranoia or dissociation.
But, diagnosing someone with BPD based on 5 out of 9 diagnostic criteria in the DSM creates a polythetic problem: two individuals could be diagnosed with BPD and have only one criterion in common.
BPD is highly prevalent in clinical settings: 22% of psychiatric inpatients and 12% of outpatients have a primary diagnosis of BPD.
A 2026 meta-analysis estimated a global community prevalence of 2.4%. BPD occurs equally in men and women but is diagnosed 3 times more often in women, possibly owing to gender bias and stereotypes: men are likelier to be diagnosed with substance use disorders, or treated for isolated problem behaviors.
My proposed diagnosis of covert borderline addresses this gap.
Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) is a very disruptive condition: repeated hospitalizations are common; powerful, debilitating medications; and years of psychotherapy.
Like other personality disorders, BPD is all-pervasive. Every aspect of the patient’s life is affected: sense of identity and Self, emotions, relationships, and behaviors (which are often self-harmful). Marsha Linehan, developer of DBT, described the condition as lacking an “emotional skin” when every contact is excruciating.
Suicidal ideation is common. More than 80% of the 35,000 subjects in a meta-analysis were found to have experienced suicidal ideation. More than 50% attempted suicide, and 6% actually ended their lives. BPD is the single most potent independent predictor of suicide risk across all psychiatric conditions. Substance use and self-harm are also very prevalent.
Jerold Kreisman suggests that BPD is a “chameleon effect”. Identity diffusion (which is reflexively reactive to the environment) colludes with mimicry of conditions such as depression, PTSD, and Bipolar Disorder to mislead diagnosticians.
But, as distinct from Bipolar Disorder, in BPD mood swings and shifts are rapid, shallow, and triggered by stressors. 40% of Bipolar patients are misdiagnosed and actually suffer from BPD.
Luckily, BPD is highly responsive to treatments (such as DBT, MBT, or TFP) and remits with age.
(DBT=Dialectical Behavior Therapy; MBT=Mentalization-based Therapy; TFP=Transference-focused Psychotherapy)
In 2024, the APA published updated practice standards for BPD.
(APA=American Psychiatric Association, also the publisher of the DSM=Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders)
The new guidelines are revolutionary: talk therapy in, long-term medications for core symptoms out. There is no evidence that drugs resolve clinical features.
Psychotropic medications should only be used as adjuncts as anxiolytics or for co-occurrent (comorbid) conditions.
Clinicians should communicate openly with their patients: discuss the diagnosis, track progress, and construct treatment plans as a collaborative effort.
The education of clinicians on BPD is paramount. Most patients wait for a decade or more for the correct diagnosis. In 2026, the Journal Of Psychiatric Research published a study that found a median delay of 13.5 years between symptom onset and formal diagnosis. When lived experience is explored in targeted survey, the number ratchets up to 18.
Gunderson constructed a framework for the treatment of BPD by nurses, primary care providers, and social workers (GPM=General Psychiatric Management). It is now being applied to young patients.
“GPM emphasizes psychoeducation, practical problem-solving, and what Gunderson called “getting a life.” A central priority is building real-world stability: holding down a job, staying in school, and navigating healthy relationships. Clinicians learn to discuss the diagnosis openly, connect emotional crises to immediate stressors, manage suicidality and self-harm proactively, and use psychiatric medications sparingly for targeted symptoms.”
Zanarini et al. (of ZAN-BPD fame) led the McLean Study of Adult Development. Of 300 participants with BPD who were tracked longitudinally over 24 years, almost all exhibited symptom remission for at least 2 years. More than 77% sustained remission for 12 years.
Similar results emerged from the multisite Collaborative Longitudinal Personality Disorders Study. It followed 668 subjects over 10 years. 85% of them achieved remission over at least 1 year. Only 12% relapsed.
Remission starts with the amelioration of impulsivity and self-harm. But inner processes and clinical feature remain: a sense of emptiness, chronic loneliness, anxiety, depressive episodes.
According to the McLean study, at the 24-year mark, only 37-60% of patients are fully functionally recovered.
Conclusion
The lack of a cohesive Self undermines life goals and accomplishments. This should be the emphasis of long-term treatment: to finally get a life.
References
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2. Lak M, Shakiba S, Dolatshahi B, Saatchi M, Shahrbaf M, Jafarpour A. The prevalence of suicide ideation, suicide attempt and suicide in borderline personality disorder patients: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Gen Hosp Psychiatry. 2025 Jul-Aug;95:52-61. doi: 10.1016/j.genhosppsych.2025.04.005. Epub 2025 Apr 21. PMID: 40279864.
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Citation: Vaknin, S. (2026). Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) Revised. J. Psychol. Neurosci. Res. Learn.