What is the Difference between Bipolar Disorder and Borderline Personality Disorder?

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Medical Video: Bipolar, Borderline or Both? Diagnostic/Formulation Issues in Mood and Personality Disorders

People often find it difficult to distinguish what is the difference between bipolar disorder and borderline personality disorder. Bipolar and borderline personality disorder (also called borderline personality disorder) are two mental health conditions that affect millions of people each year. Although both mental health conditions with similar symptoms, they still have differences. What are the differences in bipolar and borderline personality disorder?

The difference between bipolar disorder and borderline personality disorder (BPD)

Although at a glance bipolar disorder and BPD look the same, there are still differences in the symptoms of both. How to distinguish?

Bipolar disorder

This disorder is called bipolar (which means two poles) because the sufferer shows two very different emotional poles. The first is mania, the phase or episode of extreme happiness and explosiveness. While the second pole is depression. This second pole is the drastic opposite of mania. Sufferers will enter a phase that is so sad, sad, lackluster, and very lethargic.

The symptoms of bipolar disorder are divided into two, namely the phase of mania and the phase of depression. The following are symptoms of phase mania.

  • Can't keep quiet, have to move or walk back and forth.
  • Feel the exuberant excitement.
  • So be more aware of the surrounding environment, ranging from falling objects, touches of other people, to the voices he hears.
  • Talk very quickly without clear direction (difficult to understand).
  • Can not sleep, stay up all night but do not feel sleepy or tired in the morning.
  • Acting recklessly, such as shopping madly, fighting with teachers or superiors, resigning from the company, having sex with strangers without condoms, reckless driving, or drunk drinking.
  • Psychosis, which is not able to distinguish which is real and which is only in his mind.

While in the depressive phase, you will show characteristics such as:

  • Withdraw from the environment and the closest person.
  • Loss of interest in activities that were previously enjoyed.
  • Drastic loss of energy and energy, usually sufferers can not leave the bed for hours or days.
  • Talk very slowly, sometimes like someone who is wandering.
  • Memory, concentration and reasoning disorders.
  • Obsessed with death, suicide, or attempted suicide.
  • Drastic changes in diet, whether appetite is lost or increased.
  • Constantly feeling guilty, useless, or unworthy.

What distinguishes bipolar disorder from mood swings in general is its intensity. Bipolar sufferers will show a very severe phase of mania and depression so they can lose control of their own emotions.

bipolar characteristics

Borderline personality disorder

People with BPD conditions have an unstable mindset. This instability makes it difficult for them to regulate emotions. People with BPD tend to have a history of unstable relationships. They will try hard not to be ignored by the surrounding, by whatever means. This is one of the differences compared to bipolar.

People with borderline personality disorder are more likely to have other mental health problems too. They also tend to have some type of trauma as a child compared to people who have bipolar disorder.

Besides having other mental health problems, BPD usually also has problems with eating disorders, body image, and anxiety.People with BPD experience emotional responses that are too strong, they often have chaotic relationships with those around them.

Someone with a BPD disorder has problems controlling his temper and managing his feelings, and often has impulsive and reckless behavior.

These are the symptoms of BPD:

  • Excessive fear of rejection or abandonment of someone.
  • Feelings that are very anxious, worried, and depressed.
  • Having a history of romance that is unstable (changes drastically) from love that is very much turned into hatred.
  • Experiencing changes mood which is continuous, lasts for several days or only a few hours.
  • Have an unstable self image.
  • Difficulty feeling empathy for others.
  • Impulsive behavior, risky, dangerous self-destruction. For example, physically hurting yourself, driving recklessly, or doing drugs and alcohol abuse.
  • Paranoid.
  • Feelings of being alienated, bored, and empty.

So where is the difference between bipolar disorder and borderline personality disorder?

At first glance, these two disorders are indeed very similar. However, the key to differentiating is the intensity. In people with borderline personality disorder,mood swingthis will continue. Whereas in people with bipolar disorder, there will be times when they will not feel symptoms of mania or depressive at all. They will look calm like most people.

In addition, experts also believe that bipolar disorder can occur without a clear trigger or suddenly appear. It's different from borderline personality disorder. At the BPD, usuallymood swingor an explosion of emotion will arise when triggered by factors such as conflict with the closest person.

If you suspect that you or the person closest to you has symptoms of bipolar disorder or borderline personality disorder, see a doctor immediately.

What is the Difference between Bipolar Disorder and Borderline Personality Disorder?
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