persistently distorted self-image or sense of self. at least 2 impulsive behaviours that are potentially self-damaging. ongoing self-harming behaviour, suicidal behaviour or threats. intense feelings lasting hours to days.
Personality disorders, including borderline personality disorder, are diagnosed based on a: Detailed interview with your doctor or mental health provider. Psychological evaluation that may include completing questionnaires. Medical history and exam.
A pattern of intense and unstable relationships with family, friends, and loved ones. A distorted and unstable self-image or sense of self. Impulsive and often dangerous behaviors, such as spending sprees, unsafe sex, substance misuse, reckless driving, and binge eating.
Mental health providers can be reluctant to diagnose BPD and other personality disorders due to diagnosis criteria, insurance, and stigma. Not diagnosing BPD, where appropriate, can adversely affect treatment. Traits of BPD can be communicated without formally diagnosing the full personality disorder.
Assessing for a BPD diagnosis
During your assessment for BPD, you will typically be asked the following questions: Do you have an intense fear of being alone? Does this cause you to act out of the ordinary or in an extreme manner in order to avoid being alone? Do you have long-term feelings of emptiness and loneliness?
Clinicians can be reluctant to make a diagnosis of borderline personality disorder (BPD). One reason is that BPD is a complex syndrome with symptoms that overlap many Axis I disorders. This paper will examine interfaces between BPD and depression, between BPD and bipolar disorder, and between BPD and psychoses.
BPD can be difficult to diagnose because the symptoms are similar to other mental illnesses, such as depression, psychosis and bipolar disorder. Depending on your situation, one session may not be long enough to decide which diagnosis best fits your symptoms. You may be also be offered different treatments.
Fear of Patients Lashing Out. Individuals with symptoms of BPD are particularly sensitive to perceived criticism. This increases the likelihood that they will feel attacked when a therapist attempts to offer suggestions or insights. This often leads to lashing out.
Most professionals will use a combination of assessments and an interview that may take place anywhere over one to six hours. Feel free to ask your mental health professional how they assess for and diagnose borderline personality disorder.
Relationship difficulties, including separation and divorce. Physical injuries due to impulsive or self-harming behavior. Onset or worsening of other mental health concerns. Higher risk for suicide.
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.
Researchers have used MRI to study the brains of people with BPD. MRI scans use strong magnetic fields and radio waves to produce a detailed image of the inside of the body. The scans revealed that in many people with BPD, 3 parts of the brain were either smaller than expected or had unusual levels of activity.
If you think you might have BPD, it's important to get an accurate diagnosis so you can begin an effective treatment program.
There is no single borderline personality disorder test. If you think you or someone you know has symptoms of borderline personality disorder, the first step is to see your doctor. It may take weeks or months to get a diagnosis. A health professional needs to get to know you properly first.
BPD is characterized by intense, unstable emotions and relationships as well as insecurity and self-doubt. BPD makes everything about a person feel unstable, ranging from moods, thinking, behavior, relationships, and sometimes identity.
Your BPD assessment may take one session or several sessions. Your therapist will tell you how long the assessment will take and what types of tests or interviews they'll employ, if any. Different providers use different tools to conduct an assessment.
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.
Borderline personality disorder is known to cause many negative outcomes, including the loss of interpersonal relationships, divorce, an inability to maintain steady employment, self-harm, addiction, legal trouble, unplanned pregnancy, health complications, and more.
Impulsive behaviour and mood swings may impact a person's workplace relationships. If the workplace is not supportive, the person may feel misunderstood or find it hard to "fit in" A person's BPD symptoms may affect their concentration and focus at work, making it hard to keep up with deadlines.
Borderline personality disorder often occurs with other mental illnesses, such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). These co-occurring disorders can make it harder to diagnose and treat borderline personality disorder, especially if symptoms of other illnesses overlap with symptoms of the disorder.
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.
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.
People with borderline personality disorders are aware of their behaviors and the consequences of them and often act in increasingly erratic ways as a self-fulfilling prophecy to their abandonment fears.
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.