Borderline Personality Disorder Month on May, 2024: Is borderline personality disorder common?

May, 2024 is Borderline Personality Disorder Month 2024. BPD Residential Treatment‎ Specialized Treatment for Women w/ Borderline Personality Disorder

Borderline personality disorder (BPD) is an emotional disorder which effects a person emotions (not mood) and it is not caused by chemical imbalances in the brain but how someone has processed their emotions over time usually due to childhood trauma. Symptoms include rapid mood swings due to emotional instability, thinking in only black and white, self harm, suicidal ideation and reoccurring attempts, impulsive and/or risky behaviour, fear of abandonment, eating disorders, unstable self image and sense of self, unstable relationships with family and friends, anxiety, depression, anger and aggression. Take me as an example, I have BPD and my emotions are everywhere. I will wake up feeling so happy bouncing off the walls for no reason and then the smallest thing like not being able to turn my computer on will make me so angry and when I say angry I mean so angry I will smash my things against walls and hit my boyfriend to get all my anger out and this will last around 2 hours until I break down crying for hours just because I couldn't turn my computer on! I self harm almost every day, attempted suicide over 6 times, only think in black and white, have bad anger outbursts and switch from one emotion to the next in seconds. I also have struggled with eating disorders for 3 years and engage in risky behaviour such as drug and alcohol abuse as well as impulsively spending all my money and taking overdoses on a daily basis. I was even hospitalised for it.

Because it is not a chemical imbalance the best treatment is therapy for the person to learn techniques on how to control their emotions better. Some medications can help for symptoms such as depression and anxiety but it mainly therapy that is used to help people with BPD and it is curable through therapy. People under the age of 18 years old cannot be diagnosed with borderline personality disorder as a persons personality is changing up until late 20's.

Bipolar disorder which is what it is now called (used to be called manic depression) is a mood disorder which effects a persons mood and is caused by chemical imbalances in the brain. In bipolar disorder a person has mood swings from depression to mania which have to last 7 days each to be diagnosed but generally last weeks or months at a time. I developed bipolar when I was 15 and diagnosed at 18, when I was depressed I would sleep constantly, cry, self harm, wouldn't leave bed for days, didn't eat, wash, dress, constantly felt suicidal, hopeless and worthless, withdrew myself from family and friends and stopped going to school. This lasted for 6 months. Then I switched into mania when I was constantly full of energy and felt like I was on top of the world I was so happy, didn't sleep for days and if I did I would sleep up to 3 hours only, went out every night abusing alcohol and drugs, got into meaningless relationship, had sex with strangers, spent every penny I had and even stole from my mum, shop lifted, racing thoughts, aggressive and irritable, psychotic when I would hallucinate and be delusional to the point I stabbed myself and almost my boyfriend, I was constantly doing one thing to the next and I nearly failed college. This lasted for 4 months. Bipolar disorder is something that is very severe and effects your everyday life. I ended up being hospitalised because I was psychotic, hallucinating and delusional.

Bipolar disorder and borderline personality disorder share some symptoms but they are both comepletely different from each other. I know BPD is more common in women than men but I have no idea overall how common it is. Its not an underdiagnosed or ignored disorder, I was diagnosed with it after only 6 days in hospital. It is not a good label to have attatched to you however, a lot of doctor believe it is not a real disorder and treat yo ulike nothing is wrong with you. I have been mistreated by doctors for the label I have which is very hurtful. It is curable however.

Sorry I couldn't be more of a help.

Borderline personality disorder or bipolar?

Borderline. Definitely Borderline. Bipolar moods last for many weeks or months and only change 2 or 3 times a year..... the anger and emotional stuff is NOT Bipolar but is Borderline.

Everyone has moods like those of Bipolar Disorder....... because everyone has mood swings, momentary loss of judgment, likes to go shopping, likes sex, feels down sometimes, gets angry now and then and is hyper on occasion. The difference is that all of these symptoms in Bipolar are so intense that they interfere with your ability to function. Think of a pole (biPOLEr) with 0 at the center (0 being normal) and 10 at one end (manic) and -10 at the other (deep depression). Most people have swings but stay within 3 to -3. I have fairly severe Bipolar 1 but since my psychosis is mild I go from -9 to 9.... Also depression that comes and goes is not bipolar but just recurring depression, you have to have mania for it to be Bipolar..... you have to go to both ends of the pole.

Rapidly changing emotions or becoming angry or sad easily is not all there is to Bipolar. That is just having emotions. People with Bipolar Disorder do not just change emotions quickly, they go through periods of depression followed by periods of mania or elevated mood. Mood affects everything about you.... your energy level, self esteem, sleep patterns, appetite, sexuality, emotional response, judgment, etc..... not just your emotions. And while rapid cycling is possible, it is rare. The average person with Bipolar only cycles two or three times a year and the moods last for weeks or months. It is considered rapid cycling if they cycle 4 or more times in a year.

While everyone with Bipolar has a different set of symptoms and a different severity of symptoms, this is what Bipolar is like for me:

Depression - too tired to get out of bed, shower, even to brush my teeth. Cry all the time, sleep 16 hours a day. Feelings of self loathing and guilt that drive me to think of suicide but I'm to tired to even think about how to go about killing myself. It makes you feel small and worthless and completely insignificant. It makes you think about how big the world is and how meaningless you are in it..... and it refuses to let you have any good thoughts or see any good things.... when you look in the mirror all you see is pain, you don't even see yourself, you don't taste your favorite foods anymore, see that flowers are blooming, whether or not the sun is out, you become so inward that you hardly even notice your surroundings..... You don't even feel love for people anymore.... positive thoughts are just not possible...... it is a deep dark hole with no way out and no light for hope.... and most of all it makes you feel sooooo alone. And even if there were someone who cared about you they would be better off if you killed yourself....... because all you will ever be is a burden....... this can last from a couple of weeks to a couple of years.

Mania - Way too happy! PARTY GIRL! love drink and drugs. Talk really fast and pressured because my thoughts are going faster than my mouth can keep up with. Hypersexual - like I sleep with strangers and guys I just met on the internet or I masturbate 10 times a day. I once became bisexual because there were twice as many people to sleep with. down load porn and spend tons of money on sex toys. Spending sprees..... I once spent my mortgage money on african violets, yep, $1500 on African violets (then I got depressed and let them all die). Quit my job because I wanted my vacation pay for lottery tickets and I was so convinced I would win that I started shopping and writing bad checks because I'd be rich as soon as the numbers were drawn. Decided that I could replace the furnace in my home by myself... I mean how hard can it be..... Only sleep 2 or maybe 3 hours a night for months on end and never feel tired. In the end I was unemployed, $30,000 in debt, and had almost lost my home, which needed a new furnace because I had removed the old one.. or parts of it anyway. This can last for months.

I also have mixed states when I am depressed and manic at the same time which are truly the worst... By body and mind are depressed but there is this undercurrent of energy running all the time..... I'm highly emotional but the emotions tend to be negative (guilt and anger) I have intrusive thoughts and urges to mutilate myself (like wanting to stick my hands in the garbage disposal or cooking them on the BBQ), and I also have psychotic episodes where I hallucinate. This is when I am most suseptible to suicide because I am depressed, wanting to hurt myself, and I have the mental energy to plan and carry it out

Borderline Personality Disorder?

Borderline personality disorder doesn't manifest itself this way, in my experience. Borderline tends to be more like.

Well, a friend of mine struggles with borderline-like outlooks. She can't like a person just a little. Either she's all in or all out. ALL her emotions go into one aspect of her life, or not at all. Does that make sense?

If I were you, I would look more into bi-polar or manic depressive disorders. Do talk to your psychologist or a parent about the possibilities of all three disorders mentioned here. Your psychologist will know the possibilities best.