Borderline Personality Disorder: Diagnosis
Diagnosis of borderline personality disorder requires clinical assessment by a qualified mental health professional. Diagnostic criteria include:
- Intense fear of abandonment
- A persistently unstable self-image
- A pattern of unstable relationships veering between extremes of idealization and devaluation
- Impulsive risky behavior
- Suicidal or self-harming behavior
- Frequent mood swings
- Chronic feelings of emptiness
- Difficulty controlling anger
- Paranoid thinking or dissociative symptoms
For a diagnosis, five or more of the criteria must be present, no later than early adulthood.