
Psyche | M Di Mauro/Getty
The term ‘borderline’ itself is not very helpful for understanding the condition. It originally referred to the idea that the problems of BPD exist between, or at the border of, ‘psychosis’ and ‘neurosis’ – an idea rooted in early psychoanalytic concepts. This understanding of the disorder does not reflect the majority of current research on BPD or people’s personal experiences with it, but the term ‘borderline’ has lived on.