Bipolar disorder (BD) and Borderline personality disorder (BPD) are both disorders of the mind, meaning that they are more psychiatric disorders than physiologic. Both of them share a lot of common features and, thus, have gained a false reputation of being the same. The common symptoms include depression and self-harm, and thus, not only are these ailments mistaken for being the same, they are also confused with Major Depression and/or Atypical Depression. One of the major distinctions between the two is that Bipolar Disorder is classified as a “mood disorder” while Borderline Personality Disorder falls under the category of, you guessed it, “personality disorders”. Due to rising numbers of people with these disorders, it is imperative that we discuss what they actually are, and how can we differentiate between the two.
Borderline Personality Disorder, or BPD, is characterized by an inability to process emotions. People with BPD have an uncontrolled, usually atypical reaction to events other people might find normal. They have an altered sense of self-image, meaning that either they don’t like themselves enough to think highly of them, or their take on themselves keeps shifting from a positive to a negative perspective. These people also have bouts of anger, problems managing relationships, impulsiveness and tendency to cause self-harm, emotional swings, chronic feelings of emptiness, and a fear of abandonment. In short, people with BPD have to work extremely hard to maintain relationships because of their fear of abandonment, mood swings and anger bursts, and a distorted self-image. Read about can mind detects cheaters?
Since people with BPD have a hard time managing their relationships, it also reflects that their partners also have a hard time. In fact, spouses/partners of these patients describe living with the condition as “walking on eggshells”. They have to limit and control not just their words but also their daily life activities because there are several different “triggers” for an acute attack of BPD. However, this does not mean that this is always the case. Studies have shown that people with BPD can also be genuinely passionate, courageous, and intelligent individuals rather than being “aggressive” and “difficult”.
Although the exact cause of BPD is still unknown, studies have shown an increasing relation between BPD and childhood trauma, such as abusive parents, parental negligence, emotional non-fulfillment, and straight up physical trauma. There is also a strong correlation with genetics and it is thought that along with certain environmental triggers listed before, patients may have inherited temperamental patterns.
BPD is a serious disorder with grave complications, but it’s certainly treatable. Research data reflect the benefits of Dialectal Behavioral Therapy which tries to identify and change negative thinking patterns and pushes for positive behavioral changes.
Bipolar Disorder, or BD, is a condition characterized by alternating mood patterns ranging from emotional highs with ecstatic, unsettling energy boosts to lows such as depressive episodes. Due to these alternating patterns it is very easily confused with simple Mood Swings which are a manifestation in a variety of different physiological settings such as pregnancy or PMS. One difference between the two is duration of alternating mood patterns, with BD patterns lasting for weeks or months and simple mood swings lasting for relatively shorter periods.
A subset of patients with BD experience a mixed pattern where they have manic episodes superimposed on depressive episodes and rarely do these patients get to experience a “normal mood”.
People with BD generally belong to a younger age group with teens being the most affected. These people experience bursts of energy, unusual talkativeness, decreased need for sleep in their manic episodes and hopelessness, irrational guilt, and urge to attempt suicide in their depressive episodes.
Although the exact cause is still unknown, many studies have shown actual physical differences in certain parts of the brain of these people, the significance of which is yet to be determined. Having a first-degree relative with BD also increases a person’s chance of being affected, indicating a genetic correlation. Whatever the cause might be, people with this disorder have a hard time managing relationships, compromised cognitive abilities, and a tendency to abuse drugs.
Several supportive therapies are available ranging from psychiatric counselling to anti-anxiety and anti-depressive medications.
As previously mentioned, the exhibited symptoms in both disorders resemble quite a lot and there are some striking similarities in the risk factors for both diseases as well. Even though both of the disorders receive quite a lot of attention from physicians and psychiatrists, and there are numerous researches being done to find out their exact causes, definite answers are yet to be found. Researchers aim to come up with a schema for definite diagnostic factors for each of these disorders in the near future.
Due to similar symptoms of anxiety, unpredictable mood swings, changing behavior and alternating intense emotions, bipolar disorder and borderline personality disorder are thought to be one and this can prove to be detrimental because patients with these disorders require different support systems altogether. And these support systems not only include physicians, it also includes people like us who interact with these people out of clinical settings. Both of these disorders have several different triggers and if not well understood, they may be set off by people these patients interact with. Having said that, it is still best to remember that mental health professionals are the best-suited individuals to diagnose each disorder and they do so by observing the symptoms, taking the client’s mental and physical health history, family medical history and conducting different types of test. Only a trained mental health professional would be able to diagnose and assign the right treatment according to the disorder and the client’s individual case.
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