Difference between Bipolar and BPD

[sbr1050]

Could someone explain or steer me to a site that explains the difference between someone that is Bipolar and someone that is BPD?

Thanks!

[LimboFL]

The differences are deep, but when I was trying to determine where my exBPDgf fell on the scale (because she definitely suffered from both) the thing that drove me away from from BP to BPD was the speed of mood cycling.

From what I have learned, BP episodes occur maybe 3 times a years and they last sometimes weeks (hyper manic vs depression), whereas BPD mood changes can happen in a blink of an eye, can be very short lived and happen perpetually throughout the year. My ex would always say that drinking brought on her Bi Polar self. My ex had a number of issues. Hard not to empathize until they hurt you to the point where you can't take it any longer. 

I am not a doctor, so this is just what I have weaned from countless hours of self study.

[SWLSR]

The two are often confused with each other.  Not only because of the b and p s but also there symptoms are very similar.  But the causes are different.  Bipolar is a chemical imbalance of the brain. With proper medication this disease can be controlled.  Sometimes people with this disease do not medicate properly and that can cause issues.  Borderline is an emotional issue that few medications can treat.  It is something that intense therapy is required and I know of many therapist who refuse to treat borderlines because they are difficult to deal with. 

Hope this helps

[Allmessedup]

The diseases are very similar in some aspects but one of the biggest things I can see (psych nurse). Is that bipolar cycles more slowly and is not dependant on situations or others whereas BPD cycles rapidly and the highs and lows are directly attributed to whatever is going on in their life that second

Amu

[zundertowz]

To me the biggest difference is that BPD seem to have a lack of empathy and a level of manipulation that far exceeds that of Bi-polar.  I never thought of someone with bi-polar as being evil the way I do with BPD... .more of just a mood disorder rather than personality disorder.  A Bi-Polar has extreme mood swings while people with personality disorders have warped personalities that are constant.  Just my thoughts could be wrong.

[maxen]

hi sbr1050. these conditions are often enough confused, even by professionals. the answers already given here are helpful and we have a thread discussing this topic: What is the relationship between BPD and bipolar disorder?

hope that helps!

[zundertowz]

People with Bi-polar are also self aware and are likely to seek treatment while most BPDs are not.  Also seems to me BPDs enjoy inflicting pain on others while that is not the intentions of people with bi-polar.

[blissful_camper]

The persons I know who have Bipolar openly discuss their condition and challenges.  They all want relief from it.  All are in treatment and are proactively seeking solutions. 

They aren't in denial about living with Bipolar. 

[SWLSR]

When I was in college I saw a film about a test of people who had too much to drink and drove a road test and people who had smoked marijuana and took the same test.  After the test the drinkers were interviewed and they almost all said there were not driving as well as they should have been.  But the pot smokers were different they almost all claimed there was nothing wrong with there driving and did see all the fuss about it.  Even though in reality most of them did worse than the drivers who drank.   That is a key difference in the two.  A borderline sees nothing wrong with there actions and does not understand why the whole world does not accept them.  Even though there actions are quite unhealthy for themselves and everyone close to them.

[goateeki]

The persons I know who have Bipolar openly discuss their condition and challenges.  They all want relief from it.  All are in treatment and are proactively seeking solutions. 

They aren't in denial about living with Bipolar. 

I am really just now beginning to appreciate the fact that pwBPD have absolutely no idea that their stance toward the world and relationships is not well grounded in reality and counterproductive.  My dBPD ex wife seems to this day (after more than a year of steady tx) convinced that the world persecutes her, and that she is able to find just a tiny handful of loyal subjects who protect her from it. Until, of course, her relationships with her loyal subjects disintegrate, one after another... .

There is no ability to connect cause (views/behaviors/character) and effect (turmoil, stress, unhappiness).  None. 

I don't think my ex will get better.  Maybe she will, but it seems so unlikely.

[sbr1050]

Thank you for all the feedback!

The reason I ask is because yesterday my therapist stated that it sounds like my ex was bipolar.  I had him pegged at uBPD and still am almost positive that he is.  His idealization and devaluation of me could flip flop from one minute to the next, plus all the other fun BPD traits.  But, after reading some of your comments, I can't help but wonder if he may also be bipolar.  There were times that he had bipolar traits too.  I guess it doesn't really matter at this point but I can't help but want to figure him out... .

Thanks again!

[Sunfl0wer]

Thank you for all the feedback!

The reason I ask is because yesterday my therapist stated that it sounds like my ex was bipolar.  I had him pegged at uBPD and still am almost positive that he is.  His idealization and devaluation of me could flip flop from one minute to the next, plus all the other fun BPD traits.  But, after reading some of your comments, I can't help but wonder if he may also be bipolar.  There were times that he had bipolar traits too.  I guess it doesn't really matter at this point but I can't help but want to figure him out... .

Thanks again!

My sis has both.  It has always been confusing to me to sort it out.  After reading some of the posts... .I think this... .

When she was being frantic emotionally trying to get a response "in the moment emotionally": BPD

When she was impatient, running off for months on some made up mission "hyper for a duration":Bipolar Manic phase.

I imagine there is a lot of overlapping... .esp when it comes to the depression phase.

I have heard that with bipolar... .a person is either predominantly manic or predominantly depressive.  So if a person cycles with bipolar... .more depressive... .this can overlap the BPD stuff more?   Lead to the cutting etc.  maybe harder to distinguish than a more Manic person?

[sbr1050]

[[/quote]
if a person cycles with bipolar... .more depressive... .this can overlap the BPD stuff more?   Lead to the cutting etc.  maybe harder to distinguish than a more Manic person?[/quote]
My 62 year old ex was more depressive.  Even overall, he was a depressed type person.  At least most of the time.  With his friends, he was maybe a bit more outgoing, animated, etc but I never knew if that was really him or just putting on an act among his friends.  His friendships were mainly work-based so he didn't really have buddies he hung out with in his free time.  He did have some much, much younger guys as apprentices.  They were his friends but in hindsight (after hearing he married a 23 year old after 5 months of dating), I think his friends were this young for the same reason his new wife is so young.  He needed people he could control or manipulate and be the "big man" around (although, I still question that as he was a very unassuming, quiet man).

Anyways, his manic phases (if that is what they were) were more subtle.   Mainly, he would have periods were he just couldn't figure his life out.  He didn't care about anything or getting anything done in life.  He'd lay around questioning his life, me, our relationship. He was all gloom and doom.  I would be irritated at how much time he could waste, literally, laying around on the bed or the couch.  He was truly depressed.  For a long time I tried helping him try to get out of that state but I really couldn't.  I hated dealing with him in that state because eventually our relationship (and me) would become his main target.  It happened a few times a year.   It was different than what I believe was his BPD... .those were from minute to minute, day to day. 

[sbr1050]

Could the marrying a 23 year old after only 5 months of dating be a long, drawn out manic phase?

[cosmonaut]

They are completely, totally, utterly different and yet somehow seem to be commonly misdiagnosed as one another - particularly as pwBPD having bipolar.  I suppose the mood swings throw off physicians and they don't properly dig into patient history which would indicate the patterns necessary for BPD diagnosis.

Bipolar is a chemical in imbalance in the brain.  It has clear biochemical origins and it manifests as extreme swings in behavior between manic states (characterized by hyperactivity, euphoria, intense motivation, sleeplessness, risk taking, etc.) and depressive states (no energy, no motivation, despair, hopelessness, etc.).  These are normal, cyclic experiences and they are not the result of clear triggers.  They are simply due to abnormal brain chemistry.  It is successfully treated with drugs, although talk therapy and coping mechanisms are also important.

BPD is, as we all know, a personality disorder.  It is not a biochemical disorder.  It is a distorted pattern of thinking and behaving that is rooted in a failure of normal development to occur.  It is not successfully treated by drugs, and requires talk therapy and overcoming the deeply distorted beliefs and developmental failures for recovery to happen.

As far as I am aware, there is no significant comorbidity between the two despite the frequent misdiagnoses.