People with borderline personality disorder (BPD) experience such violent and frightening mood swings that they often fear for their sanity. They can be euphoric one moment, despairing and depressed the next. There are an estimated 18 million sufferers of BPD living in America today, each displaying remarkably similar symptoms such as: a shaky sense of identity ; Sudden outbursts of anger ; Oversensitivity to real or imagined rejection ; Brief, turbulent love affairs ; Intense feelings of emptiness ; Eating disorders, drug abuse, and other self-destrucive tendencies ; An irrational fear of abandonement and an inability to be alone. For years BPD was difficult to describe, diagnose, and treat. But with this guide, the authors offer professional advice, helping victims and their families understand and cope with this affliction. This completely revised and updated edition includes information on the most up-to-date research that has opened doors to the neurobiological, genetic, and developmental roots of the disorder, as well as the connections between BPD and substance abuse, sexual abuse, post-traumatic stress disorder, ADHD, and eating disorders, making it a reference for understanding and living with BPD.