consistently intense and unstable relationships with other people, alternating between idealising them and devaluing them. persistently distorted self-image or sense of self. at least 2 impulsive behaviours that are potentially self-damaging. ongoing self-harming behaviour, suicidal behaviour or threats.
Personality disorders, including borderline personality disorder, are diagnosed based on a: Detailed interview with your doctor or mental health provider. Psychological evaluation that may include completing questionnaires. Medical history and exam.
Signs and symptoms
An unstable sense of self with poor ability for self-direction and impaired ability to pursue meaningful short-term goals with satisfaction. Marked instability in functioning, affect, mood, interpersonal relationships, and, at times, reality testing. Disturbances in empathy and intimacy.
A pattern of intense and unstable relationships with family, friends, and loved ones. A distorted and unstable self-image or sense of self. Impulsive and often dangerous behaviors, such as spending sprees, unsafe sex, substance abuse, reckless driving, and binge eating.
According to the DSM-5, BPD can be diagnosed as early as at 12 years old if symptoms persist for at least one year. However, most diagnoses are made during late adolescence or early adulthood.
With borderline personality disorder, you have an intense fear of abandonment or instability, and you may have difficulty tolerating being alone. Yet inappropriate anger, impulsiveness and frequent mood swings may push others away, even though you want to have loving and lasting relationships.
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.
How do you get tested for BPD? You can get tested for BPD by participating in an interview with a mental health provider. Keep in mind that: There is no single test to determine definitively if you have BPD, but a mental health provider may use screening tools to assess your symptoms.
See your GP if you're concerned that you have borderline personality disorder (BPD). They may ask about your symptoms and how they're affecting your quality of life.
Borderline personality disorder (BPD) can be hard to diagnose because the symptoms of this disorder overlap with many other conditions, such as bipolar disorder, depression, anxiety, and even eating disorders.
Try this self-assessment based on the criteria outlined by the American Psychiatric Association's official DSM-5 Borderline Personality Disorder. The test should take less than five minutes.
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.
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. This paper will examine interfaces between BPD and depression, between BPD and bipolar disorder, and between BPD and psychoses.
Surveys have estimated the prevalence of borderline personality disorder to be 1.6% in the general population and 20% in the inpatient psychiatric population.
Splitting is a psychological mechanism which allows the person to tolerate difficult and overwhelming emotions by seeing someone as either good or bad, idealised or devalued. This makes it easier to manage the emotions that they are feeling, which on the surface seem to be contradictory.
If you have quiet BPD, you may have low self-esteem and often feel angry, depressed, or anxious. In addition, you may have a history of self-harm, suicidal thoughts, or both. With quiet BPD, you may also feel guilt or shame.
You might also experience BPD without having any history of traumatic or stressful life events. Or you might have had other types of difficult experiences. If you already experience some of these difficulties, then experiencing stress or trauma as an adult could make things worse.
Separations, disagreements, and rejections—real or perceived—are the most common triggers for symptoms. A person with BPD is highly sensitive to abandonment and being alone, which brings about intense feelings of anger, fear, suicidal thoughts and self-harm, and very impulsive decisions.
Some of the most common effects of untreated BPD can include the following: Dysfunctional social relationships. Repeated job losses. Broken marriages.
A person with BPD may experience intense episodes of anger, depression, and anxiety that may last from only a few hours to days.”
Findings from community samples have demonstrated that BPD symptoms and features peak during mid-adolescence and decline during late adolescence and young adulthood [11–14].
That's because some of its defining features are very common to adolescents in general. Emotional instability, moodiness, identity issues, and sensitivity to rejection are all fairly typical in teens. Historically, this is why many clinicians have refrained from diagnosing adolescents with BPD.
Common BPD Triggers
With a hairpin emotional trigger, navigating these emotions and avoiding the outbursts and BPD episodes can seem impossible. While triggers will vary from person to person, these are some common ones: Perceived or real abandonment. Rejection of any kind. Loss of a job.