Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) has been a disability surrounded by stigma and confusion for a long time, and it is time to raise public awareness and understanding about this disability. The disability itself is often misdiagnosed as another disability because the symptoms overlap with many other disabilities (NIMH, n.d., para. 16) or, in the worst case scenario, a medical professional refuses to diagnose or treat the disability because they believe these people are incurable due to a negative schema about disability and clinical controversies over the legitimacy of the BPD diagnosis (Hoffman, 2007). However, after nearly three decades of research, it has come to light that BPD actually exists, has a good prognosis for remission with treatment (BPD Overview, n.d., paragraph 3), and that many treatment options are available such as three different types of psychotherapy (dialectical behavior therapy, cognitive behavioral therapy, and schema-focused therapy), omega-3 fatty acid supplements, and/or medications (NIMH, n.d., paragraphs 29, 30, 31 and 39, 41). Although disability originated as a psychoanalytic colloquialism for incurable neurotics (Gunderson, 2009), BPD is easily treatable and does not deserve the stigma it currently carries throughout society. Symptoms, Comorbidities, and Risk Factors For someone to be diagnosed with Borderline Personality Disorder, they must exhibit at least five of the following symptoms: 1) fear of abandonment, 2) a history of intense, unstable relationships with family, friends, and loved ones, who often go back and forth between idealization (which includes love and extreme closeness) to devaluation (which includes extreme hatred or anger), 3) a disto...... middle of paper.. ....were lower in individuals who received DBT than in those in the control group. Additionally, individuals who received DBT maintained individual therapy and had a 16.7% dropout rate compared to the control group, which had a 50% dropout rate. DBT differs from CBT because it seeks a balance between change and acceptance of behaviors and beliefs (NIMH, n.d., para. 23). In addition to CBT and DBT, schema-focused therapy is a type of therapy that combines elements of CBT with other forms of psychotherapy. which focuses on reevaluating an individual's schemas about themselves. This therapy is based on the theory that BPD stems from a dysfunctional self-image that affects how an individual reacts to others, their environment, and how they deal with problems or stress, regardless of whether it comes from negative childhood experiences or not (NIMH, n.d., para 23).