DIFFERENCES|COMORBIDITY: Borderline PD and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Dis

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GENERAL ANNOUNCEMENT This board is intended for general questions about BPD and other personality disorders, trait definitions, and related therapies and diagnostics. Topics should be formatted as a question. Please do not host topics related to the specific pwBPD in your life - those discussions should be hosted on an appropraite [L1] - [L4] board. You will find indepth information provided by our senior members in our workshop board discussions (click here).

[htl67]

Wondering how similar these are? Anyone have any insight? Does anyone know of a really good informative site for info on ADHD?

Thanks,
htl

[BPDFamily]

DIFFERENCES|COMORBIDITY: Overview of Comorbidity

Additional discussions...

Personality Disorders
Borderline and Paranoid Personality Disorder
Borderline and Schzoid/Schizotypal Personality Disorder
Borderline and Antisocial Personality Disorder
Borderline and Histrionic Personality Disorder
Borderline and Narcissistic Personality Disorder
Borderline and Avoidant Personality Disorder
Borderline and Dependent Personality Disorder
Borderline and Obsessive Compulsive Personality Disorder
Borderline and Depressive Personality Disorder
Borderline and Passive Aggressive Personality Disorder
Borderline and Sadistic Personality Disorder
Borderline and Self Defeating Personality Disorder

Other
Borderline PD and Alcohol Dependence
Borderline PD and Aspergers
Borderline PD and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder
Borderline PD and BiPolar Disorder
Borderline PD and Dissociative Identity Disorder
Borderline PD and P.T.S.D.
Borderline PD and Reactive Attachment Disorder (RAD)

[Abigail]

One site I would recommend for info on ADHD is www.chadd.org

Both ADHD and BPD can involve impulsivity but for somewhat different reasons.  ADHD impulsiveness is linked more to acting before thinking and some impulsive behaviors are a form of stimulation for a bored ADDer. 
Those with BPD become involved in self-destructive impulsive behaviors such as drug use, gambling, reckless driving, compulsive shopping, etc. to deal with the pain and dysphoria so they will feel better.
Approximately 50% of those with BPD have comorbid ADHD as well.  And a substantial percentage of adults with ADHD have BPD (there have only been a few studies but the percentages were 29% to 38%). 

[GENERAL ANNOUNCEMENT]

GENERAL ANNOUNCEMENT This board is intended for general questions about BPD and other personality disorders, trait definitions, and related therapies and diagnostics. Topics should be formatted as a question. Please do not host topics related to the specific pwBPD in your life - those discussions should be hosted on an appropraite [L1] - [L4] board. You will find indepth information provided by our senior members in our workshop board discussions (click here).

[Aboutme2011]

I am reading "Understanding the mind of your BiPolar Child"  My husband is BPD and Bip.  It has a great section about ADD and how it differs from Bip and is often confused.  You might find that helpful.

The book it says "Although they share some common properties - inattention, hyperactivity, impulsivity, and an abundance of speech - ADD/ADHD and Bipolar disorder arise from different problems in different areas of the brain."  It is my understanding that BPD is conditioning of the mind or damage to the personalitly whereas ADD and Bipolar are physical problems in the brain.   Although Bipolar is not BPD this book compares ADD and Bip which is similar in some ways (the outward manifestation of symptoms)  and gives a lot of insight into how to tell the difference.

[tiff]

My bf has previously been diagnosed with severe ADHD, PTSD from childhood and anxiety issues, but not BPD officially.  To me - one issue that stands out (beyond meeting so many of the general BPD criteria) is that when he feels pain he does something impulsively self-destructive to his life.  I don't know why no one has noticed this before about him. He's been labeled an impulsive person for years - but it's not random - his planned out actions are good ones and the impulsive choices are often not in his own best interest.  The more pain he feels, the more he'll quickly wreck his life. 

[truthbeknown]

my girlfriend is very scattered, loses things easily, and can't seem to stay "present" sometimes.  She is disorganized, impulsive and hyper focuses on emotions.  All of these traits have been listed on sites that talk about Adult ADHD.  I did find one site that said there is some cross-over between Adhd and bpd.   So i'm confused because from what i have read on this site, while she has ups/downs, shifts gears, locks on negative feelings in an instant- she does not swear or yell at me. She apologizes profusely if i confront her on her hyperfocus and change of emotional status etc. and she hasn't shown any signs of being the "leaving type". Instead she is clingy and very "needy" emotionally.  Just yesterday we spent all day talking about "us" and trying to work things out.  I felt like she was really getting some of what i was saying and really understanding.  Then, it came time for me to take her home and she went back to an emotion that was upsetting her about me not wanting to let her see my kids.  She went into overfocus mode as if she never remembered or comprehended anything we talked about all day.  I told her how upset i was that i spent all day talking to her only to hear her say things like, "there's more going on here than just you not wanting me to see your kids".  then she confessed that she had gone back on the date site a few weeks ago after an email exchange between us to see if i was actively dating again!  i was flabbergasted!
I told her i was going to take her home. She asked me if i was going to stay over? i said "no".  She cried and begged me to please reconsider.  She gets so focused on what she needs that she can't see the big picture. 

So, is there anybody that knows enough about both disorders that can shed some light on this?  Either way its a handful but maybe if its ADHD related than it can be treated easier than bpd. 

[lbjnltx]

dear scattered

i can't claim to know enough about adhd to diagnose anyone...especially since i am only a lay person.. however, i read a book by dr. daniel amen last year about all the different types of add/adhd there are.  if a person has several types of add/adhd then they could present as a bpd.  the name of the book is "healing add the breakthrough program that allows you to see and heal the 6 types of add".  this is the same dr. amen that founded the amen clinics and has been featured on various tv programs.

the 6 types are:  classic
                         inattentive
                         overfocused
                         temporal lobe
                         limbic
                         ring of fire

dr. amen states that a person can have several of the types at the same time.  to be diagnosed w/a specific type of add they must first meet the basic criteria for classic add as well various criteria for the other type(s).

temporal lobe, limbic, and ring of fire symptoms mimic many of the criteria of a pwbpd.

since this book was written, a few more types of add have been identified.

many of the skills taught here at ftf as well as recommended therapy models can help persons with severe types of add as well as pwbpd.

lbjnltx

[desperate dutchman]

Hi I can only speak for myself I have been diagnosed with ADHD and i married 20 yrs w uBPDso and there seems to be some striking differences ie I do not have trust issues or intimacy issues I still have healthy respect for family and friends. My wife has disconnected herself from anyone other than me that gets past the stage of casual friend. I get angry she can rage .  We both can get distracted and manytimes will talk over / past each other . (I am working on that one)