Can someone please tell me...

Can someone please tell me what the difference is between Borderline Personality Disorder and Bipolar II Disorder? I Mean like symptom wise, I know how they are diagnostically different and all that jazz. What are the symptoms of BPD and what age does it usually onset? Are there similarities between BPD and Bipolar type II?

I've been struggling alot with that question myself and what I am coming to see is that behavours that we have adopted into our personalities are the BPD...such as how we deal with change. Meantime the bipolar, is when you wake up in the morning and you just in general feel like crap. No event is necessary for the change in mood, while the BPD is usually set off by some kind of internal or external event. For example, losing a valued relationship can cause some with BPD to swing as if having a bipolar swing. With myself as I am more familiar with depressive state I tend to swing down. It just depends on the learned behavior. For me the idea that BPD is something learned is a reason for hope that I can change my responses to be healthier.

Maybe someone here can offer more light. I really haven't actually spent time reading up on it for fear of developing symptoms I don't already have. I'm sure there are plenty of good sites that people here visit.

I have been diagnosed as borderline. I have mood changes but I was told that for someone with borderline there moods can change quite quickly, as mine do. They can change several times a day or can last for a few days. But I was informed that with bi-polar the mood changes last longer, i.e. days, weeks, months rather than hours with borderline.

Hope this helps.

p.s. I am new to this site.......

Welcome MissMaisy and thanks for jumping in and participating right away. I was originally diagnosed as a rapid cycling bipolar because of my rapid swings. Now I don't really believe it was so much rapid cycling as it was the BPD that was the issue all along.

That is a tough one to answer in a nutshell. I have a book in my lap called Borderline Personality Disorder Demystified. It is really good. To answer one question, people tend to get it early, even as a child, but will have it by the time they are a teen or young adult years. Are you a victim of longstanding trauma, such as a chaotic home life, alcoholic/ abusive parent? If so, that can be a precursor to BPD.

I have to sign off before I fall asleep! sorry. I will try to post more later.

The best way to find out about BPD and the correlation to Bipolar disorder is to read a book called The Borderline Personality Disorder Survival Guide: Everything You Need To Know About Living With BPD
by Alexander L. Chapman, Kim L. Gratz

I have purchased many books relating to BPD as I have been diagnosed with it. The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of (DSM) is the official guidebook for the diagnosis of psychological disorders and it has very key criteria that define each disorder. There is a difference in the between BPD and Bipolar Disorder criteria but they do have similar characteristics.

It is not common to diagnose anyone under the age of 18 with BPD but the more you read about the more you learn that even children can show signs and symptoms.

I highly recommend reading the book to anyone who has been diagnosed as it shed light on a lot of questions. It is not overly expensive and is an easy read which is a bonus. I believe it sells for under $20.00

I am posting a link that directly answers your question. Good Luck

http://bpd.about.com/od/relate...

Hi Fellow Friends:

I just found this site today from an A.D.D. site. I am so excited to be here. I have come to the conclusion at 53 (going on 15) that I am a little of all the initials... So my answer to my diagnosis is always "E" - all the above.

BPD was my first diagnosis back in 1983. At that time you didn't talk BPD because insurance didn't cover it and there was no "cure" so they covered me with labels. Bi-Polar is the one that stuck all of these years but I knew all along that the BPD was the problem. I can handle the ups and downs of Bi-Polar because that is mood. But the reactions and reponses to certain, unknown at the time, stimuli sends me off on a tangent. And THAT is the BPD! Which can last minutes, hours and this last week I had an episode that kept me in a childlike anger and pouty sort of mood, literally hiding in my room, for 3 days. I know when I am still there because I want to do childish things. I was mad at my brother so, why not hide the coffee... pour out his beer... etc, etc. And God knows, don't try to reason with me because I ain't gonna listen!!! As far as someone mentioning childhood lifestyles, I have had to move back home and am helping to take care of my mom. This has certainly set everything in a whirl as I am back in the dysfunction of an alcoholic home. And the drinker is the brother I had a fight with... he is 55 and has lived here all of his life. It's been tough!

As mentioned earlier about learned behavior, with all of my reading, counseling, and lack of changing, is now finally understanding when I get set off or triggered, and how to get back out once in that mindset of a learned, unhealthy, patterned response to a behavior. I am now on a mission to learn mindfulness training to be able to stay in the present moment without having what I term a PTSD sort of response that takes me way over the edge in the reaction I have to the action that is going on at that time.

If I can learn this, everyone around me will benefit. For now, I stay isolated with a fear of ??? not ever getting well? Fear and Guilt are my enemies. I was blessed with many gifts that get wasted as I rot in a room. :-) I pray my butt gets out of bed and again... I start this journey to recovery. Being ADD I can not imagine me keeping a mood tracker but what an awesome tool... I hope to use it. And with you all, get though this sideline life issue that keeps me from living a life of freedom and joy.

Thanks for listening... well, reading,,, I hope I will be back.

Carol

How funny, the defeated perfectionist in me just went back to reread my post and edit it. That alone will cause me to obsess and might take me an hour so it may make no sense but I will make myself post it and stop now before I try to do it PERFECT... Sorry if it makes no sense... lol

btw initial writer.... Cool chart, good job keeping track. I really think DBT therapy is the way to go for BPD... imho :) blessings .....

Okay so I did go back... O.C.D. has definitely found a place in my list. And impulsiveness is a huge one too... I probably made it worse...

and... one more time? I really went through it one more time? Just being honest with you folk... lol Yes... I really did!

Hi there CJBesch

Just wanted to say hi and welcome. I have not been on this site long either and I am finding the mood trackers very interesting. I have just had a change to my medication so it will be interesting to see how things are for me over the next few weeks.

I like the way you described the BPD side of things for you and how you compare it to child-like behaviour. I really can relate to that. Thanks for sharing.

Hope to write more.......but feeling so tired lately.

Take care

Hi there CJBesch

Just wanted to say hi and welcome. I have not been on this site long either and I am finding the mood trackers very interesting. I have just had a change to my medication so it will be interesting to see how things are for me over the next few weeks.

I like the way you described the BPD side of things for you and how you compare it to child-like behaviour. I really can relate to that. Thanks for sharing.

Hope to write more.......but feeling so tired lately.

Take care

I have ADD and set a calendar reminder on my computer to remind me to do it each day. Once the bell goes off I do it right away before I forget (which usually means I forget what I was doing when the bell went off, but at least I do it)

I really like your insight CJ. I have dx of bipolar too, but I really think it just might be BPD.