I agree r.e. the "self-harm means BPD" diagnosis; I fought tooth and nail with one junior consultant to have a diagnosis of BPD removed from my records because it was put on there for just that reason. As far as he was concerned, self-harm is not a characteristic of bipolar disorder, so he felt he had to find an additional diagnosis - so he could have me neatly pigeonholed. However all too many MH professionals use a BPD diagnosis as a form of shorthand code to tell other MH professionals, "Look out, this one's trouble" - whether that trouble be acting out, as with the original post, or just someone who isn't going to tamely sit back and take the patronising pat on the head and the handful of tablets but instead insists on fighting for the threatment she (and the vast majority of people diagnosed with BPD are female) needs and insists on playing an active part in her own treatment. It doesn't help that there are far too many people who think they can get away with behaving like utter brats by blaming it on BPD.