emotionally unstable personality disorder

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emotionally unstable personality disorder (i-moh-shŏn-ăli) n. a personality disorder characterized by an unpredictable and capricious mood, a tendency towards outbursts of emotion, and inability to control behavioural explosions. There is an impulsive type, with particular emphasis on impulsivity and quarrelsome behaviour, especially when criticized; and a borderline type, with an emphasis on disturbance and uncertainty about self-image, liability to become involved in intense and unstable relationships, excessive efforts to avoid abandonment, and recurrent threats or acts of self-harm.