Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD)

Mental illness as a whole is viewed in a negative light by those who don’t understand what makes those affected do what they do. Especially when it comes to personality disorders like Borderline Personality Disorder that often causes hostility and distance between those who are supposed to help the 18 million people affected by the disorder. (Kreisman, 5) The term “borderline” was coined in 1936, yet the official diagnosis wasn’t made until the 1980’s, and even now the symptoms often confuse and deter both psychologists and patients alike. The reason that occurs is because BPD is often accompanied by other illnesses like depression, anxiety, or even a conflicting personality disorder. (BPD, 1) There is also a fine line as a patient with BPD
As those affected with BPD tend to live recklessly, they are prone to engage in impulsive activities such as substance abuse, promiscuity, and self-harm. Physically, someone with BPD is more likely to have issues like fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue disorder, arthritis, diabetes, and even high blood pressure. (Salters-Pedneault, 1) The patient may also suffer from an inability to fix unhealthy habits such as a lack of exercise or an adjustment of one’s diet. It normally takes support from their family, friends, and therapists to bring about change, if they can tolerate the borderline’s erratic
Schizophrenia, much like BPD can have psychotic episodes, though a borderline should only suffer for a few hours to a couple of days. Both may also be self-destructive, but a BPD patient can normally function in society and are less socially impaired. In comparison, Borderline Personality Disorder and Dissociative Identity Disorder both can experience amnesia and feelings of unreality. Both sufferers of Narcissistic Personality Disorder and BPD are normally hypersensitive to criticism, failure, and rejection which can lead to severe depression. Both demand constant attention and have low self-esteem and rely on the reassurance of others. BPD and Antisocial Personality Disorder are similar in the fact that they are impulsive, have a low tolerance of frustration, and manipulate relationships. Lastly, when it comes to Histrionic Personality Disorder and BPD, they both can be attention seeking, manipulative, and have shifting emotions. And this is barely the tip of the iceberg as dozens of other combinations of symptoms could be created through BPD and its incredibly horrible