Why patients with severe personality disorders are overmedicated

Abstract

Emotionally unstable personality disorder (EUPD), more widely known as borderline personality disorder (BPD), has long been considered a clinical challenge. Patients meeting criteria for these diagnoses are emotionally dysregulated, impulsive, and involved in troubled relationships; in clinical settings, they may threaten suicide or attempt it and are frequently seen in emergency departments. Patients with BPD can be treatment resistant, even when clinically depressed, to both pharmacotherapy and standard types of psychotherapy.