What is BPD like?

[ssd]

I always thought bipolar was whet your mood stayed high for weeks then dropped right down for weeks, but is it like that?
Someone at work has told me they think they are bipolar, and I don't know really what it's like, so can anyone tell me?
Thanks.

I thought BiPolar and borderline personality disorder were different conditions?

They aren't the same conditions. Bipolar episodes can last months. BPD can't really be treated with medications as it's more traits of behaviours.

I thought BPD stood for bi polar disorder? No I'm confused. What is the difference between them?

BPD isn't bipolar, it's Borderline Personality Disorder.

Bipolar has a lot of types. Some are rapid cycling so your mood changes quickly, and is very extreme. Some are slower, with weeks of psychosis level elation or very deep depression. People are triggered by different things. Some people struggle with money when they are in psychosis, some are argumentative and think they are always right, some are very focused...

Bi polar 2 and bpd are very similar; I know a few with bpd that had their diagnosis changed to bi polar 2. It seems this is mainly because of the stigma within heath services about bpd.

There is also bi polar 1, which is what I'd describe as the traditional bi polar. Long periods of mania followed by long periods of depression.

Normally bpd means borderline Personality disorder (which I have) and then bp1 and bp2 for bi polar disorders.

You can have the diagnosis of both bpd and bi polar.

No, Bipolar is just called Bipolar Disorder. Used to be known as Manic Depression. There are more than one type of Bipolar Disorder.

No, bipolar is manic depression so phases (for weeks of months) of high highs and low lows. BPD is borderline personality disorder with the same mood changes but very rapidly (could be several in an hour) and relationship difficulties.

I have bipolar. I have weeks at a time where I am productive, excited about life, on top of the world. This then tips into making terrible decisions regarding money, ripping out appliances, driving erratically, leaving jobs or applying for jobs way out of my reach. Then comes the inevitable crash where I can’t move or leave the house or function as an adult. I’ve tried to kill myself several times in this state. The worst bout lasted a year.

Both states are punctuated with alcohol abuse and reckless decisions.

It’s a wild ride. I’ve been much better since getting the right meds but it’s a constant battle of trying to keep myself steady. And everyone around me is on edge wondering if I’m manic or just happy, depressed or just a bit tired.

It’s horrible feeling out of control of my own emotions. And it’s hard to enjoy the productive times because I know it ends in tears.

I have a BPD diagnosis as well...

Women are disproportionately wrongly diagnosed with BPD before it’s recognised as something else (commonly bipolar or ASD).

The swing from mania to depression can be as short as a few hours and might resemble mere happiness in some people. Sort of sunny weather mood.

I have bipolar disorder, @YippeeKayakOtherBuckets sums it up pretty well. I’ve now been on lithium (mood stabiliser) for around 3 years which has really stabilised by moods, I still get the ups and downs, but they aren’t as big as before, and aren’t as frequent. However I am fully compliant with my meds, which some individuals find hard (why take them when you feel well??). I’ve also got really good insight into my moods- I can tell you when I’m going up, when I’m up, and when I’m coming down etc, which according to my psychiatrist is not common.
So when my mood starts going into hypomania (stage before manic), I know that’s happening as I don’t sleep, i’ll be scrubbing the kitchen at 2am and so on, so I take an antipsychotic medication rispiridone (excuse the spelling), and that basically makes me sleep. In the hope that I can bring my mood back down.

Although the funniest thing that happened to me was about a year before I was diagnosed. I applied for a job, and as I now know, my mood was getting high. Went to the interview and I tore the company and their methods to shreds. I can remember coming out, sitting in my car, and thinking wtf was that about?! A few hours later I got a call offering me the job, I declined, they increased the salary, I declined- anyway this went on until they offered me 38k more than at the start. I couldn’t take it- the job was 180 miles from home, I had dc etc. It wasn’t never going to work in the best of circumstances! Apparently they had never interviewed a candidate who could really see what was wrong with the company and had clear visions of how to take it to the next level. I couldn’t for the life of me, tell you what I actually said🙈

Bipolar is also known as bipolar affective disorder (BPAD) which can cause confusion with the initials. To confuse matters more, borderline personality disorder is now more often known as Emotionally Unstable Personality Disorder (EUPD) as this is a more accurate description. Those with EUPD often have difficulties regulating their emotions, which can swing rapidly. There are a lot of conditions related to EUPD such as eating disorders, deliberate self harm, and substance misuse. It often happens in those with traumatic childhoods as often they don't learning proper coping strategies in childhood. There is a school of thought that EUPD is a form of PTSD (the trauma being the difficult childhood, as there is often a history of sexual abuse etc.)

Bi polar is massive mood swings from manic highs to terrible lows. Delusions & hallucinations, paranoia & often sex drive goes into overload too. A psych Nurse I know also said the adrenalin surges are so huge that if you're a danger to others/self & require sedation, it can take 'enough to drop a rhino'. One patient she had was still manic after 2huge shots, to everyone's amazement. The third shot finally worked. 3 was unheard off apparently. Borderline personality disorder is overly intense unstable relationships, impulsive reckless or addictive (drugs/alcohol/sex) behaviour, feelings of emptiness, intense emotions you can't control (anger, sorrow etc) & crash like reactions to rejection. The NHS symptoms list differs slightly to USA versions (which list far more numerous symptoms) but are very similar.

Thanks for so many replies. These answers really help.

You can have Bipolar Disorder and Borderline Personality Disorder at the same time. BPD is alot harder to treat but it depends on how mild or extreme it is.

I have Bipolar Disorder and everyone experiences it differently. I tend to have hyper manic episodes rather than manic episodes but my moods are more stable now since I started medication and did CBT although I still have relapses. Before diagnosis I was erractic, rapidily talking and jumping from topic to topic, going through bad bouts of insomnia where I was awake for 2 days at a time, I was very hyper manic and the come down is horrible because I was so depressed after feeling so euphoric, I was very irritable and had a very short fuse and I couldn't relax it was lile my brain was having a party and couldn't switch off. Is you colleague like this OP? I'd advise them to ask for a referral to the Community Mental Health Team for an assessment its faster access to a psychiatrist