Bipolar disorder or borderline personality disorder?
Understanding the clinical, psychopathological, and sociodemographic correlates is critical.
Several factors might make clinicians reluctant to diagnose BPD, or bias them to diagnose BD more frequently. These include a lack of familiarity with the diagnostic criteria for BPD, the phenotypical resemblance between BP and BPD, or even concerns about the stigma and negative implications that are associated with a BPD diagnosis.32,37,38
Whereas BD is currently perceived as a condition with a strong biological basis, there are considerable misconceptions regarding BPD and its nature.4-6,22,26 As a consequence, individuals with BPD tend to be perceived as “difficult-to-treat,” “uncooperative,” or “attention-seeking.” These misconceptions may result in poor clinician-patient relationships, unmet clinical and psychiatric needs, and frustration for both clinicians and patients.37
Through advances in biological psychiatry, precision medicine may someday be a part of psychiatric practice. Biological “signatures” may eventually help clinicians in diagnosing and treating psychiatric disorders. Presently, however, rigorous history-taking and comprehensive clinical assessments are still the most powerful tools a clinician can use to accomplish these goals. Finally, destigmatizing psychiatric disorders and educating patients and clinicians are also critical to improving clinical outcomes and promoting mental health in a compassionate and empathetic fashion.
Bottom Line
Despite the phenotypical resemblance between bipolar disorder (BP) and borderline personality disorder (BPD), the 2 are independent conditions with distinct neurobiological and psychopathological underpinnings. Clinicians can use a rigorous assessment of pathological personality traits and characterization of symptoms, such as onset patterns, clinical course, and phenomenology, to properly distinguish between BP and BPD.
Related Resources
- Fiedorowicz JG, Black DW. Borderline, bipolar, or both? Frame your diagnosis on the patient history. Current Psychiatry. 2010; 9(1):21-24,29-32.
- Zimmerman M. Improving the recognition of borderline personality disorder. Current Psychiatry. 2017;16(10):13-19.
- National Institute of Mental Health. Overview on bipolar disorder. www.nimh.nih.gov/health/publications/bipolar-disorder/index.shtml. Revised October 2018.
- National Institute of Mental Health. Overview on borderline personality disorder. www.nimh.nih.gov/health/publications/borderline-personality-disorder-fact-sheet/index.shtml.
