Rebecca TaylorMartin Short broke his silence in a CBS Sunday Morning interview on 10 May 2026, speaking for the first time about the death of his daughter Katherine in February. She was 42. Katherine Short had struggled for years with borderline personality disorder (BPD) and related mental health conditions. She was also a licensed social worker who had dedicated her career to mental health advocacy, working with the charity Bring Change 2 Mind, which campaigns to reduce stigma around mental illness.
"It's been a nightmare for the family," Short told the interviewer, drawing a parallel that resonated with psychiatrists across the world: "Mental health and cancer are both diseases. And sometimes with diseases, they are terminal."
If you or someone you know is struggling, the Samaritans helpline is available 24 hours a day on 116 123.
What Borderline Personality Disorder Actually Is
BPD is one of the most widely misunderstood conditions in mental health. It is also one of the most commonly misdiagnosed — partly because its symptoms overlap with depression, bipolar disorder, anxiety, and PTSD, and partly because the name itself says very little about the condition's actual presentation.
The clinical picture of BPD involves intense and unstable emotions that are disproportionate to circumstances and difficult to regulate; a profound fear of abandonment, whether real or perceived; unstable relationships that swing between idealization and devaluation; impulsive behaviours; and, in many cases, episodes of self-harm or suicidal thinking.
According to NHS guidance on borderline personality disorder, around 1 in 100 people in the UK has BPD. The condition typically emerges in late adolescence or early adulthood and is significantly more common among people who experienced childhood trauma, abuse, or neglect — though it can occur without those factors.
Crucially, BPD is not a permanent or fixed condition. With the right treatment, many people with BPD improve substantially and go on to live full, stable lives. The challenge is access to that treatment and the time it takes to work.
The Treatment That Works — and Why Accessing It Is Hard
The most evidence-based treatment for BPD in the UK is Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT), a structured form of cognitive behavioural therapy specifically designed for people who experience intense emotional dysregulation. DBT was developed in the 1980s by psychologist Marsha Linehan — herself a BPD survivor — and has been subject to decades of rigorous clinical research.
DBT combines individual therapy with group skills training, focusing on four areas: mindfulness, distress tolerance, emotional regulation, and interpersonal effectiveness. For many people with BPD, it produces significant and lasting change. NICE (the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence) recommends DBT as a primary treatment for BPD in the UK.
The problem is availability. NHS provision of DBT is uneven across England. Waiting times for specialist personality disorder services — which typically provide DBT — can run to months or even years in some areas. Many people with BPD are placed on waiting lists during their most acute periods of crisis, leaving families managing a loved one's condition without professional support.
Private access to DBT therapists in the UK is available but requires finding practitioners with specific BPD training rather than general talking therapy experience. The difference matters: a therapist skilled in standard CBT may not have the specific DBT skills required to work safely with BPD presentations.
What Katherine Short's Story Tells Us About the Hidden Weight on Families
Katherine was not simply a person with BPD. She was a trained social worker who understood her diagnosis, who worked professionally in mental health advocacy, and who died despite — or perhaps in part because of — how heavy that knowledge can be.
Martin Short's observation that she "fought for a long time" reflects something that psychiatrists and families of people with BPD often speak about: the exhausting, cyclical nature of the condition. People with BPD can appear to be doing well, then face acute episodes of crisis. The pattern is not linear, and the unpredictability is one of the most distressing aspects for those who love them.
Family members of people with BPD can access support through NHS Family and Friends support groups for personality disorder services, and through private therapists who offer carers' work. The therapeutic approach developed for family members — Family Connections — is available in some UK areas through STEPPS (Systems Training for Emotional Predictability and Problem Solving) programmes.
When to Seek a Professional Assessment
Many people with BPD go undiagnosed for years — or are incorrectly diagnosed with depression, anxiety, or bipolar disorder and treated accordingly. The result is treatment that does not address the underlying condition, and interventions that may have limited effect.
UK psychiatrists advise seeking a specialist assessment if the following are present over a sustained period:
- Intense, rapidly shifting emotions that feel out of proportion to events
- A persistent pattern of unstable relationships, both close and professional
- Chronic feelings of emptiness or lack of stable sense of identity
- Impulsive or self-destructive behaviours, including risky spending, substance use, or self-harm
- Intense reactions to perceived abandonment or rejection, even in minor situations
A GP referral to a consultant psychiatrist can initiate a formal diagnostic assessment, which looks at the full pattern of symptoms over time rather than a single episode. A correct diagnosis is the foundation of correct treatment.
Moving From Awareness to Action
Martin Short described his daughter as someone who "fought for a long time with extreme mental health until she couldn't continue." His decision to speak publicly — despite the grief that visible in every word — is consistent with the kind of advocacy Katherine Short practised in her own career. Reducing stigma starts with honesty about what the condition actually involves.
For families navigating a BPD diagnosis — their own or a loved one's — ExpertZoom connects UK residents with consultant psychiatrists, DBT-trained psychologists, and specialist therapists who can provide assessments, diagnosis, and structured treatment planning. The first conversation with a qualified professional is often the one that changes everything.
Samaritans: 116 123 (free, 24/7). PAPYRUS (young people under 35): 0800 068 4141. If there is immediate risk to life, call 999.
