Hi everyone, I have a question for those familiar with borderline personality disorder. My sister's husband's sister has been diagnosed with BPD, and their daughter, my niece, has been showing signs of it (possibly) since she was 12. We are considering talking to the GP about it, but we are hesitant because we have read that BPD is often linked to trauma rather than genetics. My niece has not experienced any trauma, so we're wondering if BPD can run in families. Can anyone share their experiences or insights on this? Thank you.
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Mental health
Genetics and Borderline Personality Disorder - Any Insights?
antiqueplatecollector · 24/02/2024 14:57
Icannotbudget · 24/02/2024 15:23
Something to consider is that BPD ( now more commonly named Emotionally Unstable Personality Disorder) is often misdiagnosed in females- with the correct diagnosis being Autism spectrum disorder.
ASD can be caused by genetics ( combinations of genes increasing likelihood more commonly than specific ones) . In my experience true BPD/ EUPD almost always is rooted in early neglect or trauma.
However a pp has a point- if your young family member has been exposed to her Mum dysregulating/ self harming/ complex emotional needs presentation or if her Mums MH interfered with her ability to meet her Daughters emotional needs then yes this could in turn have predisposed her- in the team I work in we can see multiple family members coming or assessments all presenting similarly however when you learn about each person’s life story it becomes clear how trauma has been passed down through generations.
Universalsnail · 24/02/2024 17:07
If you are seeing similar traits in your niece as you are SIL I would push for both to have an autism assesment. Autistic women are often misdiagnosed as having borderline personality disorder. Autism is genetic unlike BPD.
If autism is then ruled out I would query what child is being exposed to and whether she is learning the behaviour from her mother unfortunately. Edit: just realised you say niece hasnt grown up with her mother. Seems very likely this is autism
Oneofthesurvivors · 24/02/2024 18:26
How do you know she has had no trauma?
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