One of the most common misdiagnoses for BPD is bipolar disorder. Both conditions have episodes of mood instability. When you have bipolar disorder, your mood may shift from depression to mania, in which you experience elation, elevated energy levels and a decreased need for sleep.
Individuals with Borderline Personality Disorder (BPDs) become overwhelmed and incapacitated by the intensity of their emotions, whether it is joy and elation or depression, anxiety, and rage. They are unable to manage these intense emotions.
Intense episodic irritability or anxiety lasting a few hours or more than a few days). Recurring feelings of emptiness. Frequent intense, inappropriate anger or issues controlling temper. Severe dissociative symptoms or stress-related paranoia.
Some people with quiet BPD can hide their condition and appear successful, independent, and overall high functioning. You might be able to hold a job during the day, but crash into a depressive, anxious, or dissociative state when the day is over. Think of quiet BPD as a mask.
To evaluate crying behavior, we used a set of specially designed tools. Compared to non-patients, BPD patients showed the anticipated higher crying frequency despite a similar crying proneness and ways of dealing with tears.
If left untreated, the person suffering from BPD may find themselves involved with extravagant spending, substance abuse, binge eating, reckless driving, and indiscriminate sex, Hooper says. The reckless behavior is usually linked to the poor self-image many BPD patients struggle with.
How is borderline personality disorder diagnosed? A licensed mental health professional—such as a psychiatrist, psychologist, or clinical social worker—can diagnose borderline personality disorder based on a thorough evaluation of a person's symptoms, experiences, and family medical history.
“This can look like poor self-image and excessive self-criticism, feelings of emptiness and instability in goals, values and opinions.” Individuals living with quiet BPD may have decreased levels of empathy, high conflict relationships, clinginess and fear of abandonment, adds Dr. Lira de la Rosa.
In real life, however, people may exhibit some traits of a certain personality type without it being a full-blown disorder. People tend to be on a spectrum of more or less severe symptoms before they come anywhere near a diagnosis.
Bipolar is one of the most frequently misdiagnosed mental health issues. Somewhere between 1.4 and 6.4 percent of people worldwide are affected by bipolar disorder. However, it's hard to say which number is more accurate due to the frequency of wrongful diagnosis.
One study cited that almost 40% of people who were diagnosed with BPD were provided with a misdiagnosis of BD at some point in their lifetime in comparison to only 10% of people in the general population receiving a misdiagnosis of BD. The exact reasoning for this high rate of misdiagnosis is debated among researchers.
Separations, disagreements, and rejections—real or perceived—are the most common triggers for symptoms. A person with BPD is highly sensitive to abandonment and being alone, which brings about intense feelings of anger, fear, suicidal thoughts and self-harm, and very impulsive decisions.
Recognizing a BPD Episode
Intense outbursts of anger are indicative of an episode of BPD as are bouts of depression and anxiety. Eighty percent of those suffering from BPD experience suicidal thoughts and behavior while in the throes of an episode as well.
Borderline personality disorder usually begins by early adulthood. The condition seems to be worse in young adulthood and may gradually get better with age. If you have borderline personality disorder, don't get discouraged.
If you're wondering, “can you have autism and BPD?” research shows that it's possible to experience both conditions. One study showed that 15% of patients with BPD also met the criteria for ASD. Living with these two complex conditions causes various difficulties that manifest differently from person to person.
Manipulative. Untreatable. Clingy. This is how people (even mental health professionals) describe those who live with Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD).
Many people who live with borderline personality disorder don't know they have it and may not realize there's a healthier way to behave and relate to others.
Intense outburst of anger. Repeated involvement in risky, impulsive behaviors. Lack of a stable or clear self-image. Intense, often unreasonable fear of being abandoned.
The 3 C's are: I didn't cause it. I can't cure it. I can't control it.