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Bipolar vs Borderline Personality Disorder

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Posted 12/29/2010 11:30 PM (GMT 0)
I was diagnosed by my marriage counselor(who is a licensed psychologist not just a counseling certificate) almost a year ago with Bipolar disorder, he referred me to a psychiatrist who agreed with the diagnosis, although couldn't pin point I or II but said he was leaning more towards II since I cycle so fast. He also diagnosed me with Borderline Personality Disorder. How do you really tell the difference? A lot of the symptoms are so over lapping, where does one end and the other begin? Borderline Personality disorder was also never discussed with me, he never even mentioned it, just wrote it down on the paperwork I needed for my college to excuse my absences from class(mostly my anxiety) and there is was. So all of the information that I have on it has come from the internet and books and from what I've read, I can relate to the symptoms for borderline even more so than bipolar but then the things, like mania and the rash decisions from bipolar disorder I definitely have problems with. I mean maybe this is me just wishing I could pull off the Bipolar label, I'm not really sure but I'm curious if anyone truly knows what separates these or even if someone who suffers from both has these same thoughts sometimes? Thanks for listening and I hope everyone has a good New Year.
Posted 12/30/2010 3:10 AM (GMT 0)
I have both and it's hard to describe how sometimes I know I'm not having a bipolar mood swing, but it's the borderline personality flaring. Like I attempted suicide recently - thank god that someone on this forum talked me down via Facebook. It wasn't a bipolar depression. It was a reaction to perceived withdrawal from my fiance. Whoops. :banghead:

I'd suggest googling it. Some symptoms do overlap, but once you get your mood swings stabilized and you're still having not-normal stuff look at the borderline personality symptoms.
Posted 2/2/2012 7:37 AM (GMT 0)
I was diagnosed with Bipolar 2 and also BPD. I also have been a trauma victim and have a chronic medical illness.. seems like there is too much happening at once.. must be an overlap with the dual.. One day their will be a more clear cut answer I believe. I studied studied psych in school ironically.. the BPD is on the Bipolar Spectrum.. seems I can manage my bipolar symptoms almost as if they are tendencies.. so the Bipolar two is def diff than my bipolar friends, or xbf's that I saw go through the depressive part.. I am more of a constant hypo-mania and have bad anxiety.. can not take any meds due to medical probs.. been a nightmare to say the least for many years..
Posted 2/2/2012 9:39 AM (GMT 0)
I was diagnosed last year with bipolar and like you really, really have a hard time with the stigma ,as you said, would really like to tear the label off. I always am trying to convince myself I do not have it because I have never really had a "mania" , well not really. I tend to lean more towards the depression side of the spectrum. I also get confused with all the "other" stuff. because of chronic illness I have actually been diagnosed with PTSD from some horrific surgeries and have severe anxiety. I also have a friend that has both bipolar and borderline..from what I researched and what I know from knowing her..abandonment is a HUGE issue. She has inconsistent thoughts and her memory..gone..well I just described myself! Who knows! All I do know is once they found a medication for me I no longer try to constantly kill myself or am racked with guilt and self-loathing.. I still have bad days, as we all do here I am sure but the medication has worked for the better this time so that has to mean something right? Either way we are all different and require different therapy, medication and couseling. It is a ton of trial and error and just plain old time to figure it all out. We MUST keep trucking along and trying everyday to get through the day. It's soo hard, trust me! I know! But one day at a time and self awareness is key. good luck to you and if any of you know much about the difference between bo1 and 2 would love to have your insight... Take care , Leslie or Les
Posted 2/2/2012 10:39 AM (GMT 0)
I have PTSD also.. sorry to hear that and the rest
Posted 2/2/2012 10:43 AM (GMT 0)
what medication? I tried so many for anxiety and they all made me worse and tried one for ptsd/bpd and was taken via ambulance to the hospital for medical side effects.. I have abandonment fear and was abandoned.. I actually went through trauma medically and non-medically.. anyhow- I really need to get my life back.. thank you for replying. also, the mania could be from meds it is all very complex
Posted 2/2/2012 10:27 PM (GMT 0)
I have both. BPD is a hard mental illness to treat. I see everything in black and white. I use phrases like: "I have never been this sick before" Everything is very dramatic for me. I seem to always forget the past and focus on the now. I also disconnect very easy from people. 'Well to hell with you!' I can be very cold, and I like it. I am extremely smart and I use that to my advantage to keep people where I want them- sometimes I see people as pawns in my game of life. I find it hard to have sympathy for people when they hurt. It's sad but very true. One other BPD trait is I can get lost in worlds I create in my head; they can seem very real to me.

My doctor says that BPD is caused by trauma and most people develop it as a coping skill. I was abused as a child. BPD is not usually treated via medication but by cognitive behavior therapy.

But all that being said I am a very nice person with a lot of friends whom I do care about. I work really hard at keeping people close to me and not walking away just because. I have a wonderful husband of 21 years and a beautiful daughter. I watch what I say, and if I catch myself saying things like: 'I've never been this... ' I try and change it. When people are hurting I do get involved to help find a solution or just be there for them. I might not be able to feel what they feel emotionally but I give what I can give. I still enjoy living in my head, as it is an escape for me, and I am very creative.

Overall I think BPD has served me well as it has allowed me to escape hard situations in my life, and I have had to work harder to keep my relationships. Bipolar has also made me stronger as well, because I take nothing for granted.

Good luck, BPD doesn't have to be the end of the world if you really put your all into the CBT. Work with your Pdoc. It's hard work but it is worth it.
Posted 2/2/2012 10:55 PM (GMT 0)
thanks.. unfortunately I have major medical situations and obligations, costs/surgeries.. and no medical assistance.. I can not afford nor anymore time in therapy (had years of it for other stuff growing up)..I have been caught up trying to survive medically and now will need to look into this more.. I do have friends again now, and it will be a long road ahead. I have a great boyfriend too.. glad you do to. I get the cold part and pawns part as well.. I am very smart and kind, but also get what you mean. I was abused as a child by a mentally ill sibling. and adult by addict boyfriends.. and raped, and had a sibling commit suicide, etc and medical trauma- a lot of medically- serious: for 18 years. this is no joke. I am in major pain after a lot of major surgeries just last wk and have gone through ptsd cycling a lot.. esp bringing up neglect/abuse and etc from the past .. I am sorry u suffer as well. what do u do with cbt?
Posted 2/3/2012 12:45 AM (GMT 0)
The easiest step thing I do is when I want to throw temper tantrums, walk away, be cold, disconnect from others:

I sit down- breathe in and out- and then I picture my life the way it would look if I went through with my knee jerk reactions.

'Get the hell out!' What would my life look like without that person in my life? How would I feel, not just today, a month from today, but a year from today? I also ask myself is what I am feeling reasonable? Should I really pack up and leave home because I am frustrated about the house being messy? Would a normal person do this?

I also tell myself that I am allowed to feel frustrated. When I am taking my time out I allow myself to cry and if it is really bad I can even scream into my pillow until I have no voice left.

The last key to keeping me well is I am honest with my husband. He knows about my BPD, and we have researched it together. We are both informed. When I am having a bad day I tell him. I tell him that I am disconnected. I think it might be hard for him to hear sometimes, but he understands that won't last long.

You don't need a Pdoc to do the work. I too have medical issues at the moment. We are dealing with my kidneys failing and all the other complications that come with it.

I just refuse to give up...
Posted 2/3/2012 2:06 AM (GMT 0)
stay strong :-)

smilewinkgrin
Posted 2/23/2012 10:49 PM (GMT 0)
I was diagnosed with borderline personality disorder but that changed to bipolar 1 recenly..i think they are very similar..i initially suffered from manias and depression but now im rapidly cycling because of a reaction to antideppresants.ive been good since ive been taken off antideppressants and put on lamotrigine200mg seraquel 50mg and alprazolam.5asneeded there are no easy answers and cbt does really help with retraining yourself to behave better and cope better.with bipolar antidepressants on their own have caused me nothing but trouble and i thing i share the same pattern of mood changes as you dont give up maybe try a mood stabilizer lamotrigine is meant to be good for bad depression also it helped me out i just wanted to die but now im finding my way through life a whole lot better:-)
Posted 2/25/2012 4:38 PM (GMT 0)
thanks.. I have major medical conditions.. the meds have too many side effects for me.. who knows whether the medial probs/meds had caused me to be worse either.. I know the psych meds did for sure..
Posted 2/25/2012 4:40 PM (GMT 0)
bpd and bipolar co-exist together a lot.. try renting bpd books.. I just did.. also- do nay of you suffer from any types of food addiction?
Posted 2/29/2012 1:00 AM (GMT 0)
I have been anorexic in the past with a side order of bulimia but that is largely under control now although my weight goes up and down alot
Posted 2/29/2012 2:37 AM (GMT 0)
Yeah, food issues here. Binge and starve, ain't it fun. :/
Posted 2/29/2012 3:03 AM (GMT 0)
All of you have my empathy and blessings. I am Bipolar I, mostly with depression but can become very agitated from cruel treatment or yelling by angry people in my environment. I had a BPD diagnosis 5 years ago, but subsequent therapists say that while I have some of the features, that I am not actually BPD. I was also told that I am narcissistic, because I think I am smarter than everyone else, which is absolutely not true, but apparently I triggered a nerve in a retired Army psychiatrist that I unfortunately went to.

I am on Seroquel 200 mg HS, 2 mg Klonopin BID for anxiety disorder, 300 mg Trileptal TID as a mood stabilizer that will probably be increased to 600 mg BID (for a total of 1200 mg), and NuVigil 150 mg for depression, in addition to some other medications for other conditions. The NuVigil is for narcolepsy, so I take it off-label and it is not covered by insurance, but it has proven to be outstanding for depression since I have tried Ritalin and other stimulants and amphetamines in the past and cannot take them at all without feeling sick or having serious tics.

My environment exposes me to a lot of things that make me angry and I use cognitive behavioral therapy and dialectical behavioral therapy to get by. I also have become more religious and found a very supportive church. IMO, the differences between Bipolar and BPD can be very subtle and can be given depending on the bias of the psychiatrist or other type of therapist.

I generally just tell people that I suffer from depression, since bipolar sounds scary and most people do not know what borderline even is. I do feel like I have been invalidated as a person for most of my life, and I think that exacerbates the times when I feel agitated. My psychiatrist says the best behavioral strategy for me is to remove myself from agitating situations as quickly as possible. Do not let the labels get to you. Try praying, even if you gave up on that long ago.

I wish all of you well.
Posted 2/29/2012 9:19 PM (GMT 0)
Hi zirconia,

Welcome to HW! I hope you will stay around for a while and get to know us. :)
Posted 9/15/2012 11:51 PM (GMT 0)
Feel free to revive it! How are you doing?
Posted 9/17/2012 1:10 AM (GMT 0)
I have both also. I was told that the major difference is with borderline you have emotional swings. With biploar you have mood swings. That's what they told me, lol. I don't know if that helped any.
Posted 9/17/2012 4:14 PM (GMT 0)
10fold, I just read your post above mine. You should probably tell your therapist. Your suppose to tell them everything. I always end up messing up relationships too and no one seems to understand. I really do try and I am getting better with the borderline but that is my major issue is in relationships. Like for example: my ex is suppose to be coming over sunday through wednesday of this coming up week bcuz if not I'm gonna be at home alone by myself and last time someone tried to break in. He is like my best friend, but hes gotta find someone to feed all his animals while hes gone cuz he lives like 40 minutes away. I know i shouldn't but if he doesn't get to come over I'm gonna be so upset bcuz i miss him so bad= (
Posted 9/30/2012 1:25 AM (GMT 0)
Then tell her that too. Don't let your fear of how she perceives you stop you from getting help. No one REALLY wants to live with these conditions. <3
Posted 10/16/2012 5:24 PM (GMT 0)
Do you still feel like a "diagnosis shopper"? lol (((hug))) You did good. I'm glad they saw the same symptoms you had.

I hope this helps your therapist in your future session.
Posted 11/10/2012 3:14 AM (GMT 0)
DoUTripOnAir,

i was diagnosed 2 years ago Bipolar 2 and Borderline. Yes, they do overlap in areas and is hard 2 explain. Explained 2 me, borderline you need the certain # of symptoms that you suffer from, i know that is one area. i like one of the other posts can tell when my actions are bipolar 2 or the Borderline. My daily struggles are more with the emotion dysregulation that comes with Borderline. Self-harming actions that come with it tho not in all cases. Borderline defininately affects my daily living with my family and i'm blessed that they don't react 2 my actions and are just 100% supportive. DBT (dialectal behavior therapy) can be a great help for Borderline Personality Disorder. For me group sessions with others that suffer are greatly helpful. i attend a bipolar/depression group 2x a week and Borderline specifically 1x a week. i don't know what i would do without them. And their free of charge so you don't have 2 worry about expense.

i wish you all the best and keep reading up. i have bought quite a few books and recently bought one that has really helped me and my family understand more in depth.

Serenity537

Bipolar 2, Borderline, Extreme Anxiety/Depression, self-harm, suicidal ideation, OCD, PTSD, Chronic Pain, etc, and Dual Diagnosis

Posted 11/27/2012 4:09 AM (GMT 0)

tortoise11 said...
Then tell her that too. Don't let your fear of how she perceives you stop you from getting help. No one REALLY wants to live with these . <3

That's really interesting that you also have PCOS, along with BPD, Bipolar, and panic disorder. I've been officially diagnosed with bipolar and bulimia, and in the past i've been diagnosed with OCD because of my obsessive thinking, although I believe a lot of that has to do with the fact that I'm very BPD. I haven't been diagnosed with BPD officially, although all of my therapists and psychiatrists have considered the diagnosis and danced around it because I meet almost every single criteria... they won't diagnose me because I have stable relationships with my friends and they believe if I was really BPD I'd have rocky friendships. I personally believe although I may not have received a legit diagnosis, I'm super BPD, especially with how I handle romantic relationships and like someone above stated "living in a fantasy world" deal. That's a huge issue of mine. Also, does anyone here do the thing where you work really hard at something or have some goal, and right at the very last second you drop out or give up? Thats a MAJOR problem of mine and I heard it's a BPD thing. Sometimes I think I'm kinda BPD because my dad used to "abandon" me as a child... my mom would tell him to pick me up from school or wait for me outside the bathroom in a public place and he'd always either not show up to come pick me up/ when i got out of the bathroom he was nowhere to be seen and I was stranded. Sometimes I think that was the "trauma" that made me develop BPD. I was also sexually assaulted, although it was recently and only after I'd already been pretty BPD for years.  Anyway, I think it's so weird that PCOS goes along with the BPD, Bipolar, panic diagnosis... I think I read somewhere online when I was looking up stuff about PCOS about some girl who cured her PCOS and rid herself of all her mood problems, etc. I don't know how legitimate that is, but that's really interesting how we both have very similar diagnoses, as well as PCOS... hmm...

Posted 12/2/2012 9:28 AM (GMT 0)
DoUTripOnAir,

i am both Bipolar 2, Borderline Personality Disorder, Anxiety/Depression, PTSD, OCD, Chronic Pain...i attend Women's Bipolar/Depression group weekly, along with a BPD group. Our BPD group is specific to the diagnosis as we discuss some pretty heavy stuff in it. The people kept asking the difference between Bipolar/Borderline, since they do have some overlapping. So i decided 2 study and put together the comparisons, similarities, etc.

i highly recommend going online and pulling up each one thru the DSM-IV Mental Disorders. I could type up all the information i studied on it but there is quite a bit and then when you add Manic episodes and Hypomania episodes associated with Bipolar 1 and 2.

Borderline is everything to the farthest extreme possible with emotion dysregulation on various levels. Like if something happens even a car cutting me off, or a person giving me a bad look or paranoia i don't get over with in minutes, it can take me days. Over the top abandonment or boredom. My husband can run to the store for literally 5 minutes and i think he is never coming back. My kids off 2 school and i think they won't return. Just a couple of my examples.

Serenity537

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