Kylie Travers was just 16 years old when she first tried to kill herself.

Afterwards she was treated for depression and ADHD.

But it was not until many years later, when she was finally diagnosed with borderline personality disorder (BPD), that she finally began to understand why she felt the way she did.

"In 2010, my stepmother was reading a book called Stop Walking on Eggshells (a book about BPD) and she recommended that I read it, just in general for dealing with people," she said.

"As I read it, I realised that a lot of the attributes in this were very similar to what I'd been told that I was like, and issues that I had. And so then I went and got tested."

Before Ms Travers began treatment, she struggled to regulate her emotions and often found herself getting very upset and angry over small issues.

"There was significant anger issues ... it was like a light switch," she said.

"I was classed as very high-functioning BPD, so I could put on the face for public and do everything really well and it didn't seem like there was anything wrong with me at all.

"But I often had suicidal thoughts, even though I didn't express them, going from extremely depressed to extremely happy."

After years of weekly visits to a psychologist, Ms Travers has now recovered.

She credits her wellness to a specially tailored treatment program, including cognitive behavioural therapy, schema therapy, a good psychologist and a lot of hard work.

"It wasn't a short-term thing, and there was a lot of stuff I had to do at home," she said.

"In 2013 my psychologist was like, 'well, you don't really need to see me anymore, I wouldn't class you as BPD at all anymore. You're managing everything very well'."

And although Ms Travers is no longer classified as BPD, she still practises the techniques that she learned during her treatment.

"It's being really aware of my environment around me ... knowing what are the sort of things that do upset me, and then having methods in place to help calm myself down," she said.

Borderline personality disorder: a clinical perspective

Clinical psychologist Vivienne Lewis said typically, people with BPD displayed a pattern of unstable behaviour and had difficulties with interpersonal relationships.

"They have issues with their self-image. Often their self-image is quite negative, and they may be depressed or be quite flat in the way that they present," she said.

Another major symptom is impulsivity.

"When you track back into an adult's life, you can actually see maladaptive behaviours and impulsivity, particularly in adolescence," Dr Lewis said.

Dr Vivienne Lewis has treated many patients with borderline personality disorder. ( ABC News )

Other symptoms include a fear of being abandoned by family, friends or partners.

Dr Lewis said a key factor in diagnosing BPD was whether there was a significant history or a pattern of these kinds of behaviours.

"It's a disorder that is only diagnosed in adults, because what you've got to do is display a particular pattern of behaviour, the way you feel about the world and what you think about the world, that has started in childhood," she said.

Dr Lewis said BPD was tricky to diagnose, as the symptoms were often similar to those experienced by people with depression and anxiety.

And because of stereotypes about the illness, Dr Lewis said sometimes psychologists were hesitant to diagnose for BPD.

"The diagnosis of BPD is seen as quite a negative label to be given," she said.

"People are hesitant to give that diagnosis, because the client themselves can actually see that as quite a negative thing - because it's a personality disorder it implies that this is what you're like, and that you will be like this in the longer term."

But despite the perceived difficulties with treating BPD, Dr Lewis said there were treatments that had proven effective.

"There's a form of therapy called dialectical behavioural therapy and that has been shown to be very effective ... It's quite an intensive treatment program where people do a combination of individual therapy and group skills-based therapy, to basically learn how to better adapt to the world around them," she said.

"To be able to control their impulses, to be able to control their emotions, and also identifying some of the beliefs that they might have about the world that might not be very helpful."

Stigma reported by BPD patients and health service providers

Between 2 to 5 per cent of the population in Australia have BPD, according to Women's Centre for Health Matters.

And of those people, the majority will be women.

For this reason, BPD has been the subject of social research conducted by the Women's Centre in Canberra.

The centre recently surveyed women in the ACT with BPD and people who work as health service providers.

About 30 women completed the survey for people with BPD, with six of those going on to be interviewed in more detail, and about 60 people completed the survey for health service providers.

About 87 per cent of women with BPD surveyed said they had experienced some form of stigma when accessing mental health services.

This was backed up by about 70 per cent of health service providers surveyed, who said they had witnessed some form of stigma towards people with BPD in other providers.

Researcher Jane Yang said the results of both surveys indicated that the stigma around BPD meant it was often difficult for those affected to get adequate treatment and support.

"It's a mental health disorder where as soon as someone's been given that particular diagnosis, women have reported they've been treated differently as a result," she said.

"Some women would say that when they were diagnosed with something else, say depression, they would be treated a lot better."

Ms Yang said survey respondents indicated that when they were diagnosed with BPD, people would dismiss them as attention-seeking, difficult, manipulative - and not really worthy of their time.

"The way in which I've been treated in the health system makes me wish I didn't receive the diagnosis in order to avoid stigmatisations," one survey respondent said.

Another had this to say about her treatment in hospital:

"When I was in hospital I remember phrases like 'just another cutter' being thrown around."

The surveys also revealed that some women were declined services after revealing they had BPD, and a small number had actually filed human rights complaints following alleged poor treatment.

Ms Yang said interestingly, the majority of what was said by surveyed health providers backed up the concerns of those surveyed with BPD who said the illness was stigmatised.

She said the research also indicated that those with BPD wanted better support in times of crisis, and that there was a lack of knowledge about what BPD services were available.

"There really is difficulty finding a lot of information around appropriate BPD services ... for both women and service providers," she said.

"Service providers will say when they're trying to help these women and refer them onwards, they're not quite sure where to refer them."

New program for ACT patients with BPD

Now 30 years old, Ms Travers is a successful Canberra author, professional speaker and business woman.

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She said fortunately, she personally experienced very little stigma or discrimination while getting treatment for BPD, but she knew other people who had.

Ms Travers said the important thing was not to be defined by the illness.

"Just know that it's not a life sentence," she said.

"It's just about finding the best way to handle it and to treat it and finding that support network who will help you through it."

In Canberra, there are services available for people seeking treatment for BPD.

An ACT Health spokesman said an intensive dialectical behavioural therapy (DBT) program for adult outpatients with traits of BPD had just been introduced in the territory.

There was also dialectical behavioural therapy program for adolescents established in 2011.

Outside the ACT, Sane Australia have information on BPD and advice for accessing treatment.

If you or someone you know needs support, call Lifeline on 131 114, Beyond Blue on 1300 224 636 or the Kids Helpline on 1800 551 800.