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Borderline Personality Disorder

How Chinese medicine differentiates the emotional instability of borderline personality disorder — distinct from Mood Swings and Schizophrenia already covered — the six patterns you'll actually meet in practice, and the points for each. Supportive care only. Acupuncture only — no herbs.

This page is educational, for practitioners and students — it is not a diagnostic tool and does not replace a proper in-person assessment. Borderline personality disorder requires ongoing psychiatric and therapeutic care; acupuncture here is supportive alongside that care — for mood, sleep, and physical symptoms — never a substitute for it, and never a reason to stop or reduce prescribed treatment without a psychiatrist's guidance.
General Acupuncture Points

Acupuncture points traditionally used for borderline personality disorder — 14 key points, used across the patterns below rather than tied to just one.

PointKey action
HE-7Calms the Mind and opens the Mind's orifices. Nourishes Heart-Blood.
P-6Opens the chest and moves Qi and Blood. Calms the Mind.
BL-15Calms the Mind. Nourishes the Heart.
BL-20Tonifies Spleen and Stomach. Nourishes Blood.
KI-3Tonifies the Kidneys (both Yin and Yang). Benefits Essence.
KI-6Nourishes Kidney-Yin. Calms the Mind.
BL-23Tonifies the Kidneys and nourishes Kidney-Essence.
ST-40Resolves Phlegm and Dampness. Calms the Mind.
LR-2Drains Liver-Fire and subdues Liver-Yang.
SP-6Strengthens the Spleen. Nourishes Blood and Yin.
BL-18Nourishes Liver-Blood. Benefits the sinews.
LR-3Subdues Liver-Yang. Promotes the smooth flow of Liver-Qi.
LR-14Promotes the smooth flow of Liver-Qi and harmonizes Liver and Stomach.
SP-10Cools Blood. Invigorates Blood and eliminates stasis.
The Six Patterns

↑ reinforcing   ↓ reducing   ⊥ even method.

1. Heart-Blood Deficiency View full pattern →

Clinical manifestations: Frequent uncontrollable crying spells, frequent yawning, palpitations, pale complexion and lips, insomnia with vivid dreaming, fatigue and mental exhaustion.
Tongue: Pale body with thin white coating. Pulse: Fine and weak, possibly choppy.
Treatment principle: Nourish Heart-Blood to anchor the Shen.
HE-7 ↑ P-6 ↑ BL-15 ↑ BL-20 ↑
Note: moxa applicable throughout. Direct exact-name match with this site's own Heart-Blood-deficiency slide.

2. Kidney-Yin Deficiency With Empty-Heat Blazing View full pattern →

Clinical manifestations: Mental restlessness and irritability, night sweats, five-palm heat, lower back soreness, dry throat at night, malar flush.
Tongue: Red, thin, dry body with little/no coating, possible cracks. Pulse: Fine and rapid, weak at the Kidney position.
Treatment principle: Nourish Kidney-Yin to anchor Yang and calm the Mind.
HE-7 ↑ KI-3 ↑ KI-6 ↑ BL-23 ↑
Note: no moxa given the Empty-Heat. Direct match with this site's own Kidney-Yin-deficiency-Empty-Heat-blazing slide.

3. Phlegm-Fire Harassing the Heart View full pattern →

Clinical manifestations: Mental restlessness and agitation, copious thick yellow sticky phlegm, bitter taste, chest oppression, flushed face, insomnia with disturbing dreams.
Tongue: Red body, swollen with a red prickly tip, thick yellow greasy coating. Pulse: Slippery and rapid.
Treatment principle: Clear Phlegm-Heat to calm the Heart orifice.
HE-7 ↓ P-6 ↓ ST-40 ↓ LR-2 ↓
Note: no moxa. Direct match with this site's own Phlegm-Fire-harassing-the-Heart slide.

4. Kidney and Liver Yin Deficiency View full pattern →

Clinical manifestations: Dull aching rib pain, lower back/knee soreness, dry eyes with blurred vision, night sweats and five-palm heat, emotional fragility with sudden crying/irritability, dizziness and tinnitus.
Tongue: Red, thin body with cracks, little/no coating, dry surface. Pulse: Fine, rapid, wiry.
Treatment principle: Nourish Liver and Kidney Yin to ground rising Empty-Heat.
KI-3 ↑ SP-6 ↑ BL-18 ↑ BL-23 ↑
Note: no moxa given the Yin deficiency. Direct exact-name match with this site's own Kidney-and-Liver-Yin-deficiency slide.

5. Liver-Qi Stagnation View full pattern →

Clinical manifestations: Frequent sighing, distension/bloating along ribs and flanks, irritability or short temper, feeling of a lump in the throat, breast tenderness, mood swings with depression.
Tongue: Normal or slightly dark body with red/purple sides, thin white coat. Pulse: Wiry.
Treatment principle: Course Liver-Qi to resolve constraint and lift depression.
LR-3 ↓ LR-14 ⊥ P-6 ⊥
Note: no moxa. Direct exact-name match with this site's own Liver-Qi-stagnation slide.

6. Blood Stagnation View full pattern →

Clinical manifestations: Mental restlessness and agitation, fixed stabbing chest pain or oppression, dark purple tongue with stasis spots.
Tongue: Dark purple body with stasis spots, distended dark sublingual veins. Pulse: Choppy, rough uneven.
Treatment principle: Invigorate Blood and move Qi to unblock stasis affecting the Heart.
SP-10 ↓ SP-6 ⊥ LR-3 ↓
Note: no moxa. Direct match with this site's own Liver-Blood-stasis slide via the well-established dark/purple stasis-spot-tongue marker.
Related conditions
Mood Swings Schizophrenia

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Acupuncture-only reference — structure adapted (not text) from how other condition-lookup sites organize this kind of content. Let us know what to add or change.