People do not realize that clinicians hate to give out DSM diagnoses. If the number diagnoses doled out dropped next year, I for one would jump for joy. This is a diagnosis of mental illness and clinicians are not cavalier about giving out such a negative label on another human being.
Consequently, there are people who in effect have a BPD or Borderline Personality Disorder, but if they are functioning at a high level, we do not diagnoses them. The new term for such persons is “High Conflict Personalities.” Most of them are women. These are basically functional Borderlines in the same way that some are functional alcoholics. As long as they function well, we cannot diagnose them. Nevertheless, these High Conflict Personalities nevertheless wreak considerable havoc among their friends, co-workers and in particular boyfriends and husbands.
