Inner Speech and Borderline Personality Disorder

Borderline personality disorder (BPD) is marked by instability in self-representation, self-regulation, and interpersonal functioning. These domains overlap with central functions of inner speech—the covert and typically conscious use of language. Examining how inner speech varies in BPD can therefore clarify its role in self-knowledge and metacognition, the sense of self, and self-regulation. Drawing on a review of the empirical literature, we propose that specific dimensions of inner speech—such as egocentricity, intrusiveness, and valence—may be altered in BPD. Such alterations may both arise from, and in turn exacerbate, BPD symptoms. This perspective yields testable predictions and opens new avenues for understanding the role of inner speech in cognitive architecture.