It is the most common personality disorder in Australia, affecting about 1 to 4 in every 100 people at some time in their lives. It's more common in women, and usually the symptoms appear in the teenage years or early adulthood.
Some people with BPD may meet the criteria for the NDIS, some have been approved already, many have not. It is possible for people to recover from BPD however, and to go onto the NDIS, it is required you have a permanent disability this is one of the challenges faced with being eligible for the NDIS.
Borderline personality disorder causes significant impairment and distress and is associated with multiple medical and psychiatric co-morbidities. Surveys have estimated the prevalence of borderline personality disorder to be 1.6% in the general population and 20% in the inpatient psychiatric population.
Myth: BPD Is a Rare Condition
It is estimated that more than 14 million Americans have BPD, extrapolated from a large study performed in 2008. An estimated 11% of psychiatric outpatients, 20% of psychiatric inpatients, and 6% of people visiting their primary health care provider have BPD.
From the 2021 NSMHWB (ABS 2022a) it is estimated that: Over 2 in 5 (44%) Australians aged 16–85 had experienced a mental disorder during their lifetime.
The most common mental illnesses in Australia are Anxiety Disorders, Affective Disorders (such as Depression) and Substance use disorders (ABS 2022a).
Borderline personality disorder (BPD) is a serious, long-lasting and complex mental health problem. People with BPD have difficulty regulating or handling their emotions or controlling their impulses.
In particular, there is evidence that BPD is commonly misdiagnosed as Bipolar Disorder, Type 2. One study showed that 40% of people who met criteria for BPD but not for bipolar disorder were nevertheless misdiagnosed with Bipolar Type 2.
BPD is a troubling diagnosis, but it is important to remember that this is a treatable condition. You will see improvements if you work with your therapist and others involved in treatment.
One of the most common misdiagnoses for BPD is bipolar disorder. Both conditions have episodes of mood instability.
Results: People with Borderline Personality Disorder have a reduced life expectancy of some 20 years, attributable largely to physical health maladies, notably cardiovascular. Risk factors include obesity, sedentary lifestyle, poor diet and smoking.
The Social Security Administration placed borderline personality disorder as one of the mental health disorders on its disabilities list. However, you'll have to meet specific criteria for an official disability finding. For example, you must prove that you have the symptoms of the condition.
The symptoms of borderline personality disorder usually first occur in the teenage years and early twenties. However, onset may occur in some adults after the age of thirty, and behavioral precursors are evident in some children.
BPD is considered a disability and you can continue receiving benefits. The new psychiatrist will need to help you with getting clear about your inquiry. To change from one diagnosis to the other will require your psychiatrist to provide you with some sort of document to reference when contacting Centrelink.
If your doctor suspects BPD, they may refer you to a psychiatrist or psychologist for diagnosis and treatment – this may be through your local public mental health service. There are no specific tests that can help confirm the diagnosis of BPD.
People living with BPD often have an intense fear of instability and abandonment. As a result, they have problems being alone. The condition is also known for anger, mood swings, and impulsiveness. These qualities can dissuade people from being around someone with BPD.
Often, the borderline person is unaware of how they feel when their feelings surface, so they displace their feelings onto others as causing them. They may not realise that their feelings belong within them, so they think that their partner is responsible for hurting them and causing them to feel this way.
People with borderline personality disorder (BPD) often have a strong fear of abandonment, struggle to maintain healthy relationships, have very intense emotions, act impulsively, and may even experience paranoia and dissociation.
People with BPD score low on cognitive empathy but high on emotional empathy. This suggests that they do not easily understand other peoples' perspectives, but their own emotions are very sensitive. This is important because it could align BPD with other neurodiverse conditions.
Wide mood swings lasting from a few hours to a few days, which can include intense happiness, irritability, shame or anxiety. Ongoing feelings of emptiness. Inappropriate, intense anger, such as frequently losing your temper, being sarcastic or bitter, or having physical fights.
If left untreated, the person suffering from BPD may find themselves involved with extravagant spending, substance abuse, binge eating, reckless driving, and indiscriminate sex, Hooper says. The reckless behavior is usually linked to the poor self-image many BPD patients struggle with.
For example, in one study, 24% of BPD patients reported severe psychotic symptoms and about 75% had dissociative experiences and paranoid ideation. Thus, we start with an overview regarding the prevalence of psychotic symptoms in BPD patients.
Studies showed that schizophrenia is the most stigmatized mental illnesses in MHP, despite recent results suggesting that borderline personality disorder and substance abuse may be more stigmatized.