BPD is also referred to as "Complex PTSD" by many people who work in the health or medical fields. Regardless of the descriptive names given to these behaviors, there are various similar traits shared by BPD and PTSD traits. BPD may be related to childhood traumas and / or external or dietary toxins while Complex PTSD, in turn, may be related to one or more traumatic life events. Either way, one may have a smaller or "zapped" Amygdala, which then may be the catalyst for these behavioral traits.
www.BPD.about.com/od/relatedconditions/a/Complex-PTSD.htmQuotes: "Complex post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is also sometimes called "disorder of extreme stress not otherwise specified" (DESNOS). This is a condition characterized by three categories of symptoms: emotion dysregulation, dissociation and problems in physical health.
Complex PTSD or DESNOS is thought to result from severe and chronic childhood maltreatment. Complex PTSD is not listed as a separate diagnosis in the DSM-IV; the features of complex PTSD are instead listed as "associated features" of PTSD.
One of the reasons that complex PTSD was left out of the fourth edition of the DSM was that experts in the field felt that this syndrome was so similar to borderline personality (BP) that it did not warrant a separate diagnostic category. Indeed, many of the features of complex PTSD are also core symptoms of BP. A critical difference, however, is that the cause of BP is not always known, whereas complex PTSD can always be traced back to traumatic events.
Emotion Dysregulation
Severe emotion dysregulation is a symptom typical of both complex PTSD and BP. In both conditions, people experience very intense emotions that shift unpredictably and are difficult to soothe.
Dissociation
Both complex PTSD and BP are also associated with dissociation. Dissociation is a state of altered perception that leaves people feeling "unreal," "zoned out," or "numb." In complex PTSD and BP, dissociation is frequent and chronic – it tends to happen often and can continue for long period of time.
Physical Health
Complex PTSD is also associated with problems in physical health, such as chronic pain, a proneness to frequent illnesses and frequent and complex medical problems that do not respond to medical treatment. While physical health problems are not in the diagnostic criteria for BPD, research suggests that many of these same medical problems are associated with BPD."
