What Does EUPD Mean? Why the UK Uses a Different Name for BPD
EUPD stands for emotionally unstable personality disorder. It is the World Health Organization's ICD-10 name, code F60.3, for the condition the American DSM calls borderline personality disorder, which is why a UK clinic letter can say EUPD while the NHS website says BPD.
Plenty of us get one name in a clinic letter and then find the other on every website we read afterwards, and it's easy to think you've been given two diagnoses. If you've just seen EUPD written in your notes, this is the short version of what it means and where it came from. I'm not a clinician; the sources are listed at the end.
What does EUPD stand for?
Emotionally Unstable Personality Disorder.
It comes from ICD-10, the World Health Organization's International Classification of Diseases, tenth revision. That is the system NHS England uses for coding diagnoses. NHS England's digital service describes ICD-10 as the classification used "for diagnostic health information for diseases, injuries and cause of death".
The American system is different. The DSM, published by the American Psychiatric Association, uses the name borderline personality disorder. The APA lists it as one of 10 specific personality disorders in DSM-5-TR and describes it as "a disorder of emotional regulation".
So the short answer to "what does EUPD mean in psychiatry" is that it is the ICD name, and BPD is the DSM name.
What is the ICD-10 code for EUPD?
The code is F60.3, Emotionally unstable personality disorder.
WHO's online ICD-10 says it is marked by a tendency to act impulsively without considering the consequences, with unpredictable mood, and that two types may be distinguished:
| Code | Name | What WHO says characterises it |
|---|---|---|
| F60.30 | Impulsive type | Mainly emotional instability and lack of impulse control |
| F60.31 | Borderline type | Emotional instability plus disturbed or unclear self-image, aims and internal preferences, chronic feelings of emptiness, intense and unstable relationships, efforts to avoid abandonment, and suicidal threats or acts of self-harm |
The two subcodes, F60.30 and F60.31, come from WHO's 1992 ICD-10 clinical descriptions and diagnostic guidelines. The online ICD-10 browser lists F60.3 as a single code and describes both types in its text.
The WHO guidelines also say plainly what F60.31 includes: "borderline personality (disorder)".
Is EUPD the same as BPD?
Mostly, with one wrinkle.
- EUPD, borderline type (F60.31) is the one that matches BPD. WHO's own guidelines list borderline personality disorder as included in it.
- EUPD, impulsive type (F60.30) is also EUPD, but it is described mainly by emotional instability and impulsivity, without the self-image, emptiness and abandonment features. Someone with that diagnosis would not necessarily meet the description of BPD.
There's a detail in the WHO text I found oddly reassuring. It says that "after initial hesitation", borderline personality disorder was included as a subcategory of EUPD "in the hope of stimulating investigations". Even WHO wasn't sure how to file it.
In practice, UK organisations treat the two names as one condition. The Royal College of Psychiatrists says BPD "was also referred to as emotionally unstable personality disorder (EUPD)". Rethink Mental Illness says BPD "is also known as" EUPD and emotional intensity disorder (EID). The NICE guideline for BPD says it "also covers" people diagnosed with EUPD under ICD-10.
If your letter says EUPD and every article you read says BPD, you're reading about the same thing. Everything in my BPD explainer applies to you.
Why does the UK use EUPD instead of BPD?
Because UK health services have coded diagnoses in ICD, while most of the internet, the research and the self-help books are American and use the DSM.
The NHS doesn't actually use EUPD on its public pages, though. Its condition page is titled "Borderline personality disorder" and I couldn't find the term EUPD anywhere on it. The NICE guideline (CG78, 2009) is titled borderline personality disorder too. So you can get EUPD on a clinic letter and BPD on the NHS website, from the same health service.
Rethink says the two manuals usually used by professionals in England are ICD-11 and DSM-5.
What did ICD-11 change?
ICD-11 removed the separate personality disorder types altogether, so there is no EUPD category in it.
Instead there is:
- One diagnosis, 6D10 Personality disorder, graded by severity: 6D10.0 mild, 6D10.1 moderate, 6D10.2 severe (or 6D10.Z if the severity isn't specified).
- Five optional trait descriptions (6D11.0 to 6D11.4): negative affectivity, detachment, dissociality, disinhibition and anankastia.
- A borderline pattern specifier, 6D11.5. It can be added when someone shows five or more of nine listed features, such as frantic efforts to avoid abandonment, unstable sense of self, recurrent self-harm and chronic emptiness.
The borderline pattern code can't stand alone. WHO's coding note says it should only be used alongside a personality disorder diagnosis (mild, moderate or severe) or a personality difficulty. WHO explains why it kept it: the specifier "may facilitate the identification of individuals who may respond to certain psychotherapeutic treatments".
So under ICD-11 the nearest thing to EUPD or BPD would read something like "moderate personality disorder, borderline pattern". The Royal College of Psychiatrists gives a similar example, and says the borderline pattern shows "someone might benefit from the treatments that research has shown work well" for BPD.
WHO says ICD-11 is "now officially in effect", in a release dated 11 February 2022. NHS England has not switched yet. Its digital service says ICD-11 "will become a mandated information standard for the NHS in England to replace ICD-10 in the next 5 years". That is why you'll still see EUPD and F60.3 in UK records.
If you were diagnosed under the old system, the Royal College's guide says the new categories "do not match the old categories exactly", and that over time they will start to be used instead.
Why do people dislike both names?
Neither name is loved, and the organisations that write about it say so.
- "Personality disorder" itself. The Royal College of Psychiatrists says "many people would like personality disorder to be given a new name". Some people prefer to describe their difficulties as complex PTSD, a separate diagnosis that can sit alongside it, or as "complex emotional needs".
- The old categories. The College says some of the old terms "are now considered to be stigmatising", and that the ICD-11 approach was created partly in the hope of being "less rigid and stigmatising".
- Feeling labelled. Rethink notes that some people find a personality disorder diagnosis an unhelpful or stigmatising label, while others find it helpful for understanding themselves and getting the right treatment. One person quoted by Rethink said it "felt like I was being told my personality was wrong".
My own view: "borderline" tells you nothing, and "emotionally unstable" sounds like a verdict. Neither is a description of who you are. They're shorthand that gets you through a referral door. If a diagnosis on your record is wrong or out of date, there is a process to challenge it, which I've set out in how to get a personality disorder diagnosis changed or removed from your NHS records.
Is there a test for EUPD?
No single test diagnoses it. The NHS says your GP will usually refer you to the community mental health team, where the assessment is "probably" carried out by a specialist in personality disorders, usually a psychologist or psychiatrist. The Royal College says the diagnosis "should only be made following a thorough assessment" and not quickly.
If you want to put some of what you feel into words before an appointment, my quiet BPD self-check is a 9-sign self-check. It isn't a diagnosis, but it can help you describe things to a clinician.
Sources
- World Health Organization. ICD-10 Version 2019, F60 Specific personality disorders, F60.3 Emotionally unstable personality disorder. icd.who.int/browse10/2019/en
- World Health Organization. The ICD-10 Classification of Mental and Behavioural Disorders: Clinical descriptions and diagnostic guidelines. Geneva, 1992. F60.3, F60.30, F60.31.
- World Health Organization. ICD-11 for Mortality and Morbidity Statistics (2025-01), 6D10 Personality disorder, 6D10.0 to 6D10.Z, 6D11.0 to 6D11.5 Borderline pattern. icd.who.int/browse/2025-01/mms/en
- World Health Organization. ICD-11 2022 release, 11 February 2022.
- NHS England Digital. Terminology and classifications. Last edited 25 August 2026.
- American Psychiatric Association. What are personality disorders? psychiatry.org, physician review November 2024.
- NHS. Borderline personality disorder: overview and diagnosis. nhs.uk, last reviewed 4 November 2022.
- NICE. Borderline personality disorder: recognition and management (CG78), context. Published 28 January 2009.
- Royal College of Psychiatrists. Personality disorder. Published April 2025.
- Rethink Mental Illness. Personality disorders. Last updated October 2026.
Read from the published abstracts and guidance on 5 October 2026. If something here is out of date or wrong, tell me.
Nothing here is medical advice, it's lived experience, meant to sit alongside real support, not replace it. If you're struggling, please see the support resources. If you're in crisis in the UK, call Samaritans free on 116 123, or dial 999 in an emergency.