Borderline personality disorder?

[DixieTreats]

My psychiatrist thinks I either have this or bipolar affective disorder. I have all the symptoms of the latter (inc family history) and none specific to the former. What IS borderline personality disorder?? Does anyone here have it?

[NanaNina]

You can google it. The Re-Think Mental Illness website has good information on this condition. I think it is now being re-named as "Emotionally Unstable Personality Disorder" but means the same thing.

I have heard others say that this diagnosis can be confused with Bipolar, but it does seem more likely to be bipolar if there is a family history though of course a psychiatrist should be able to diagnose. Please don't take this the wrong way but if you don't know what BPD is, how do you know you don't have the symptoms?

Is the psych offering you any treatment?

[SaucyJack]

You can't possibly have all the symptoms of bi-polar without having any symptoms of borderline due to the huge amount of crossover between them.

Borderline PD is basically having unstable moods due to having intense emotional (over) reactions to daily life. Mood swings are frequent and ever present, and impulsive and self-harming behaviours are normal.

I have a diagnosis of it- although my PCT refers to it as Emotional Intensity Disorder as "personality disorder" is a bit outdated and perjorative.

[DixieTreats]

Saucy - did you not read my OP?? I said I don't have any symptoms that are specific to BPD. By which I meant confined to. Sorry if I wasn't clear.

I googled it yesterday but I just wanted an overview of exactly what it is from a sufferer. I don't fit the description, I don't have mood swings as such, I have periods of comparative calm, highs and lows. These span months and months. And they aren't reactions. Although there are triggers.... I'm sure they'll get to the bottom of it.

[NanaNina]

Interesting post saucyJack and agree with you about Personality Disorder being outdated and discriminatory.

[SaucyJack]

Ah, ok- sorry. I see now what you were trying to say.

The point is tho is that there isn't actually a massive difference in symptoms-or behaviours- between the two. It's the underlying thought processes and neurochemistry that's different between the two.

That's why it's so hard for psychs to differentiate between the two.

[SaucyJack]

Cheers Nina.

(And too many "between the twos" in my last post)

[maggiethemagpie]

If you feel your emotions are very up and down, lots of rage, no one 'gets' you, you're all alone in this world, you're not sure if life is worth living, you feel like you're looking through a pane of glass at the rest of the world and all the people in it,... that could be BPD.

That was my experience of it anyway. I actually got cured - I got 'undiagnosed' a few months ago by my therapist - so there is hope for sufferers. I've no idea if you've got it or not, but you asked what it was and I think it can help to show a subjective view. But probably everyone with BPD has a slightly different experience. I do think it has the potential to be overdiagnosed. I haven't any experience of Bipolar so not sure how similar they are but have heard psychiatrists can find it hard to distinguish between the two.

Do you have a preference over which diagnosis you have?