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Well I ended my BPD Relationship a little over a year ago. I have moved forward not much dating as I never want to make a choice like that again. I have found a much better understanding of myself and why this type of relationship draws me in thus I will be much more aware in the future. I have also taken a healthy step away from women in general that have the very needy thing going on and I feel much better as a result. It is a full time job taking care of myself

  My question is everything I experienced in that last relationship was with a women with BPD She was a classic example of a high functioning Borderline and I researched this deeply and I was the care taking Codependent. Recently it was brought to my attention by a family member of hers her son that she has reoccurring issues tied to he thought Bi polar disorder. That comment I have to admit took me back a bit as my experience was pretty clear to me. I guess I will never know as I pleaded with her to get some professional help and all she would do is blame me for everything and continue raging and projecting her crap on me. I did explored the possibility of bipolar disorder as well as menopause her Doctor ruled that one out. In any case has anyone else had the question of borderline vs Bipolar disorder. The only real thing I need to take care of is my Codependent behavior which I continue to work on with slow progress however consistent progress with me spending more time with like minded people and focusing on my needs. Anyone else had this type of situation with an X  Bipolar disorder vs Borderline Personality disorder?

Hi HFABD,

Under the questions board, I have seen this topic a few times.

In general, BPD is diagnosed as bipolar mainly due to insurance... .  unfortunately, insurance companies have a big say and for a long time BPD was considered not treatable.  Only the low functioning tend to get BPD diagnosis and  it is not uncommon for high functioning to go into the bipolar category.

As a rule of thumb, bipolar is treatable with the correct combination of meds as it is a chemical imbalance.  BPD is behavioral and meds do not really treat it as much as it may help with anxiety symptoms.

DBT is evidence based treatment that is getting more and more attention, thus the attention of Drs. and Insurance. 

Finally, it is not unheard of to have a co-morbid diagnosis - both apply. 

Hope this makes sense - again, there are some threads under questions that may give more details.

Best,

SB

From my experience, there are very clear distinctions in identifying bipolar vs BPD traits

Bipolar

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Moods last longer - days, weeks

Will become manic and temporarily alter their behavior in an almost obsessive way (such as cleaning)

Usually seek a psychiatrist for meds to stabilize their mood swings, will admit their deficiency

BPD - I know it's cliche but bipolar dont exhibit these key behaviors below

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Shorter mood swings - minutes

Idealization - they come on stronger

Mirroring - they pickup your habits/favorites to make you feel special

Devaluation - they think less of you over time, not as special

Triangulation (read definition) (https://bpdfamily.com/message_board/index.php?topic=121673.0) - find alternative relationships

Push/pull - tests of your loyalty/devotion... . insecurity!

Tend to live in denial about their disorder and many times go undiagnosed because they avoid medical/professional help/intervention

Bipolar is also due to a chemical imbalance in the brain while BPD is due to environmental factors.

Some people are diagnosed with both BPD and Bipolar.

Thanks for the additional information and resources for me to check into. The more I learn about this issue the more I see how I could fall into this unfortunate situation. Thanks again!