Can bipolar be confused with BPD?

Borderline personality and bipolar: These two disorders are often confused. They both have symptoms of impulsiveness and mood swings. But they are different disorders and have different treatments.

Can BPD be mistaken for bipolar?

BPD Looks Like So Many Other Mental Health Conditions

In particular, there is evidence that BPD is commonly misdiagnosed as Bipolar Disorder, Type 2. One study showed that 40% of people who met criteria for BPD but not for bipolar disorder were nevertheless misdiagnosed with Bipolar Type 2.

How can you tell the difference between BPD and bipolar?

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.

Why is BPD confused with bipolar?

People sometimes confuse borderline personality disorder and bipolar disorder because they can have similar symptoms, such as intense emotional responses, depression, and impulsive behavior.

How often is borderline misdiagnosed as bipolar?

published in the Journal of Psychiatric Research, nearly 40% of people with borderline personality disorder have previously been misdiagnosed with bipolar disorder. The causes of this high rate of misdiagnosis are multiple.

What It's Like When BPD Is Misdiagnosed as Bipolar Disorder

What is the most common misdiagnosis for BPD?

One of the most common misdiagnoses for BPD is bipolar disorder. Both conditions have episodes of mood instability.

What is commonly mistaken for bipolar?

As mentioned previously, the most common misdiagnosis for bipolar patients is unipolar depression. An incorrect diagnosis of unipolar depression carries the risk of inappropriate treatment with antidepressants, which can result in manic episodes and trigger rapid cycling.

What disorders are misdiagnosed BPD?

Why is BPD often misdiagnosed?

Many mental health professionals do not have a lot exposure or education on BPD, so it's easy for BPD to be misdiagnosed as something else such as bipolar disorder since both disorders involve shifting moods and periods of depression.

Can you feel manic with BPD?

Although people with BPD often cycle through their emotions more quickly than people with bipolar disorder, it is possible for someone to experience a very short manic or depressive episode. It's even possible to experience both at the same time—this is called a mixed episode.

What does a manic episode look like for BPD?

increased talkativeness; poor judgment; poor self-control and a tendency for high-risk behaviors, including drinking, drug use, sexual promiscuity or reckless spending; a false or exaggerated sense of self; overconfidence and excessive self-esteem.

What is the average length of a BPD relationship?

Results found in a 2014 study found the average length of a BPD relationship between those who either married or living together as partners was 7.3 years. However, there are cases where couples can stay together for 20+ years.

What is the misdiagnosis rate of BPD?

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.

What is the hardest mental disorder to treat?

Personality disorders are some of the most difficult disorders to treat in psychiatry. This is mainly because people with personality disorders don't think their behavior is problematic, so they don't often seek treatment.

How do you rule out BPD?

How does a psychiatrist diagnose borderline personality disorder?

A licensed mental health professional—such as a psychiatrist, psychologist, or clinical social worker—who is experienced in diagnosing and treating mental disorders can diagnose borderline personality disorder based on a thorough interview and a discussion about symptoms.

What age does BPD start to show?

The symptoms of borderline personality disorder usually first occur in the teenage years and early twenties. However, onset may occur in some adults after the age of thirty, and behavioral precursors are evident in some children.

Is BPD on a spectrum?

It is now clear that DSM-IV-defined BPD is a heterogeneous construct that includes patients on the mood disorder spectrum and the impulsivity spectrum (Siever and Davis, 1991), in contrast to the original speculation that these patients might be near neighbors of patients with schizophrenia or other psychoses.

How do you rule out bipolar disorder?

To diagnose bipolar disorder, a doctor performs a physical exam, asks about your symptoms, and recommends blood testing to determine if another condition, such as hypothyroidism, is causing your symptoms. If the doctor does not find an underlying cause of your symptoms, he or she performs a psychological evaluation.

What does undiagnosed bipolar look like?

The main sign of bipolar disorder is extreme mood swings that go from emotional highs to emotional lows. Manic episodes cause people to seem very energetic, euphoric, or irritable. During depressive episodes, your loved one may seem sad, upset, or tired all the time.

How often is bipolar overdiagnosed?

Moreover, impulsivity, a hallmark of BPD, is also increased among bipolar patients, even during periods of euthymia [17, 18]. In a recent study, nearly 40% of BPD patients were found to have a mistaken diagnosis of BD [8], whereas other studies reported an even higher rate (56%) of over diagnosis of BD [12].

Is a BPD diagnosis hard to get?

Borderline personality disorder (BPD) can be hard to diagnose because the symptoms of this disorder overlap with many other conditions, such as bipolar disorder, depression, anxiety, and even eating disorders.

How do I know if I have BPD or something else?

What are the positives of borderline personality disorder?

Is BPD always a result of trauma?

You might also experience BPD without having any history of traumatic or stressful life events. Or you might have had other types of difficult experiences.