Borderline Personality Disorder "is defined in the DSM IV, a manual used by psychiatrists to diagnose all mental disorders, as an AXIS II disorder featuring symptoms of impulsive and emotional dysregulation " (Livesley 146) . A person with bipolar disorder experiences feelings of abandonment and emptiness and makes “frantic efforts to avoid abandonment, going to extremes to prevent someone from leaving” (Burger 300). He or she is emotionally unstable and forms intense but unstable interpersonal relationships. They exhibit impulsive behaviors, such as spending money, having sex, eating, and abusing substances. Borderlines engage in self-manipulative behaviors and recurrent suicidal attempts and thoughts. “Their behavior can be seen as maladaptive methods of dealing with constant emotional pain” (Livesley 144). “Personality includes those aspects of a person's thinking, moods, and behavior that influence his or her relationships with others” (Livesley 98). Differences in personality style (traits) add color and variety to relationships, but can become too extreme, inflexible, or maladaptive, significantly impairing a person's ability to function. When a person is unable to deal with people or problems in the environment, he or she is said to have a personality disorder (Livesley 99). “Originally the term borderline was used to refer to individuals whose adjustment was on the border between normal and psychotic” (Holmes 393). Today, borderline personality disorder is mainly characterized by instability, showing different symptoms at different times. Most symptoms revolve around mood problems, mild disturbances in mental processes, and impulsive self-harming behaviors (Holmes 393). All this prevents the borderline from having interpersonal relationships. Individuals with borderline personality disorder tend to have intense relationships that are very unstable. “Frequent interpersonal conflicts, unstable and stormy relationships are characteristics of a borderline; relationships usually have “love-hate characteristics” (Durand 334). Individuals with this disorder do not simply move in and out of friendships, but instead show sudden signs , frequent and dramatic changes between "intense love and equally intense hate" (Durand 334) in any relationship. The fluctuations in their mood, involved in their anger, involved in their thought disorders, and mixed with their paranoid thoughts ab... ...half of paper ...sometimes symptoms can go unnoticed or be misunderstood. “People with bipolar disorder can often be viewed as manipulative or attention-seeking (Burger 134). Sometimes they may "act as if" they are fine. “People with bipolar disorder need validation and acknowledgment of the pain they struggle to live with, as well as compassion without blame or judgment (Durand 99). Family members should always take suicidal statements and threats seriously and alert a mental health professional as soon as possible. “Education of family members cannot be emphasized enough (Durand 99). Families need to learn everything they can about bipolar disorder so they can advocate for appropriate treatment for their loved ones. Informed families are therefore better able to address the stigma often encountered by mental health professionals. Instability may not even do borderlines justice, (Burger 199) chaotic is the best word to describe the life of a borderline. Their lives are intense, their friendships abrupt. BPD is extremely painful for patients, their families and society. People with bipolar disorder try.