No, having Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) does not mean a person is automatically a genius. Intelligence in individuals with BPD is distributed across the same spectrum as the general population; a person with BPD can be highly intelligent, average, or have intellectual difficulties.
Borderline personality disorder (BPD) is not reliably associated with higher or lower IQ as a group. Research and clinical observation show no consistent, robust difference in general intelligence (as measured by IQ tests) between people diagnosed with BPD and the general population. Key points and nuances:
This clinical study of 23 borderline outpatients and 38 outpatients with other personality disorders provides evidence that individuals who become borderline frequently have a special talent or gift, namely a potential to be unusually perceptive about the feelings of others.
Borderline intellectual functioning is when someone has an IQ score between 71 and 84. People with borderline intellectual functioning are at higher risk of mental health problems than those with average IQs. Individuals with this condition may need help accessing resources and learning daily life skills.
BPD may seriously affect a person's ability to cope and function in a job or in school. Other common problems that affect people with BPD include getting other mood disorders such as: Anxiety. Depression.
Up to 50% of people with Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) experience psychotic symptoms like hallucinations and paranoid thoughts. BPD-related psychosis typically differs from other psychotic disorders as symptoms are usually brief, stress-triggered, and the person often maintains some reality testing.
Others may not see it, but you love deeply. Others may not always see or understand it, but people with borderline personality disorder do have the ability to love and care for others. Behind the emotional turmoil and violent mood swings lies a heart that feels exceptionally deeply.
Overall, 54% of studies found lower IQ in subjects with BPD, suggesting impaired premorbid functioning. Many researchers set an IQ level in their inclusion criteria and thus might have erroneously eliminated those most affected.
However, intelligence has drawbacks too. For example, studies have found that higher IQ is associated with more and earlier drug use. Studies have also found that higher IQ is associated with more mental illness, including depression, anxiety, and bipolar disorder.
Research has shown that some people with BPD are highly intuitive. They can often sense what others are feeling and thinking. They can even physically feel what others feel.
From a shamanistic perspective, the symptoms of BPD include feeling intensely connected to everything; and therefore, highly affected by everyone and everything. The person is seen as not bad, but having a spiritual gift. They can sense the emotions of others instinctively and feel things that we cannot.
Empathy and compassion – People with BPD experience greater internal and external turmoil. However, this in turn allows for the ability to recognise and have greater insight for others in similar situations.
Although the exact cause of borderline personality disorder is unknown, research suggests that genetic, physical, environmental, and social factors may increase the risk of developing the disorder. These include the following risk factors.
Why BPD Symptoms Peak in Early Adulthood. In the 20s, identity formation and independence conflict with emotional vulnerability. Research shows impulsivity and mood swings occur most frequently between the ages of 18-25.
Patients with BPD showed significantly reduced volumes of both brain structures (left hemisphere hippocampus reduced 15.7%, right hemisphere hippocampus reduced 15.8%, left hemisphere amygdala reduced 7.9% and right hemisphere amygdala reduced 7.5%).
While not all people with BPD lie, BPD and lying can run the risk of weakening trust and placing a relationship in jeopardy, since it's a mental health condition often marked by emotional volatility, negative self-perception and unhealthy attachment styles, a partner with BPD may not even realize they're behaving this ...
Ludwig van Beethoven
The brilliant composer experienced bipolar disorder, as documented in The Key to Genius: Manic Depression and the Creative Life by D. Jablow Hershman and Julian Lieb.
Research indicates that BPD is linked to above-average intelligence (IQ > 130) and exceptional artistic talent (Carver, 1997). Because your partner with BPD may be exceptionally bright, they digest information and discover answers to problems more quickly than the average person.
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5 Positive Traits of Borderline Personality Disorder
Researchers have used MRI to study the brains of people with BPD. MRI scans use strong magnetic fields and radio waves to produce a detailed image of the inside of the body. The scans revealed that in many people with BPD, 3 parts of the brain were either smaller than expected or had unusual levels of activity.
Definition and Terminology. A milder deficit in general intellectual capacity, i.e., within the “lower normal” IQ distribution, corresponding to an intelligence quotient (IQ) in the approximate range of 70–84/85 is often referred to as borderline intellectual functioning (BIF).
Ability to sense emotions of others.
Another gifting of BPD is a keen awareness of the emotions of others. Oftentimes a person with BPD will sense an emotion such as anger from someone else that the person is ignorant or in denial of feeling.
Clinicians can be reluctant to make a diagnosis of borderline personality disorder (BPD). One reason is that BPD is a complex syndrome with symptoms that overlap many Axis I disorders.
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