Reviewed: April 25, 2022. The term “borderpolar,” which refers to people diagnosed with both bipolar disorder and borderline personality disorder, is gaining steam in the medical field.
Symptoms common to both bipolar disorder and BPD include: changes in mood. impulsivity. low self-esteem or self-worth, particularly during lows for people with bipolar disorder.
Mood swings of bipolar disorder are more random and less related to events than those of borderline. Those with bipolar might have a hair-trigger kind of response during an episode, whereas the borderline person has a hair-trigger response all of the time.
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.
The key difference between bipolar disorder and borderline personality disorder is that bipolar disorder is a mood disorder while BPD is a personality disorder. Mood disorders are a category of disorders distinguished by serious changes in mood. Depression falls in this category along with bipolar disorder.
Bipolar I disorder is the most severe form of the illness. Bipolar II disorder is characterized by predominantly depressive episodes accompanied by occasional hypomanic episodes. Hypomanic episodes are milder than manic episodes but can still impair functioning.
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 abuse, reckless driving, and binge eating.
People with borderline personality disorder may experience intense mood swings and feel uncertainty about how they see themselves. Their feelings for others can change quickly, and swing from extreme closeness to extreme dislike. These changing feelings can lead to unstable relationships and emotional pain.
According to the DSM-5, BPD can be diagnosed as early as at 12 years old if symptoms persist for at least one year. However, most diagnoses are made during late adolescence or early adulthood.
Often, the borderline person is unaware of how they feel when their feelings surface, so they displace their feelings onto others as causing them. They may not realise that their feelings belong within them, so they think that their partner is responsible for hurting them and causing them to feel this way.
Most of the time, BPD symptoms gradually decrease with age. Some people's symptoms disappear in their 40s. With the right treatment, many people with BPD learn to manage their symptoms and improve their quality of life.
Borderline personality disorder (BPD) cannot be cured, and anyone who enters treatment looking for a quick and easy fix is bound to be disappointed. However, with treatment the symptoms of BPD can be effectively managed, monitored, and ultimately reduced in intensity, or entirely eliminated.
People with bipolar disorder tend to experience mania and depression, while people with BPD experience intense emotional pain and feelings of emptiness, desperation, anger, hopelessness, and loneliness. Time: In BPD, mood changes are often more short-lived. They may last for only a few hours at a time.
Intense and sometimes inappropriate rage is a characteristic of borderline personality disorder (BPD). A person with this condition has difficulty regulating their emotions or returning to their baseline. Extremes of rage and other intense emotions may last longer than might be expected, from a few hours to a few days.
With borderline personality disorder, you have an intense fear of abandonment or instability, and you may have difficulty tolerating being alone. Yet inappropriate anger, impulsiveness and frequent mood swings may push others away, even though you want to have loving and lasting relationships.
Borderline personality disorder (BPD) is a serious, long-lasting and complex mental health problem. People with BPD have difficulty regulating or handling their emotions or controlling their impulses.
Often, the person with BPD will react towards loved ones as if they were the abusers from their past, and take out vengeance and anger towards them. When the person with BPD feels abandoned, they can become abusive or controlling as a way to defend against feelings of abandonment or feeling unworthy.
Approach them very gently when they are in a stable mood. Don't specifically mention BPD if you can help it—just tell them their behavior is worrisome to you because you love them and want them to be happy. Offer your support every step of the way.
A romantic relationship with someone with BPD can be, in a word, stormy. It's not uncommon to experience a great deal of turmoil and dysfunction. However, people with BPD can be exceptionally caring, compassionate, and affectionate. In fact, some people find this level of devotion from a partner pleasant.
Fact: People with BPD are capable of giving and receiving love. People with BPD have a lot of difficulty in relationships, but that doesn't mean they're incapable of love.