Borderline Personality Disorder What is borderline personality
disorder? Borderline personality disorder is a mental illness
that causes intense mood swings, impulsive behaviors, and severe
problems with self-worth. It can lead to troubled relationships
in every area of a person's life. Most of the time, signs of the
disorder first appear in childhood. But problems often don't
start until early adulthood. Treatment can be hard, and getting
better can take years. Problems with emotions and behaviors are
hard to improve. But with treatment, most people with severe
symptoms do get better over time. What causes this disorder?
Experts don't know exactly what causes borderline personality
disorder. Problems with chemicals in the brain that help control
moods may play a role. It also seems to run in families. Often
people who get it faced some kind of childhood trauma such as
abuse, neglect, or the death of a parent. The risk is higher
when people who had childhood trauma also have problems coping
with anxiety or st