Bipolar Disorder vs Borderline Personality Disorder – Do You Understand the Difference?

The mood swings seem to come out of nowhere. No matter how you try to prepare yourself or how hard you try to avoid it, that out-of-control feeling is back, and you find yourself acting in ways you swore you wouldn’t. You’ve tried to figure it out by Googling your symptoms, but the lists are overwhelming. It seems like your symptoms line up with bipolar or borderline personality disorder, but what’s the difference? Are they both the same thing?

Bipolar disorder and borderline personality disorder (BPD) have overlapping symptoms, but Bipolar mood changes last days, weeks, or months, whereas BPD mood swings last between a few hours and a few days. 

Both are serious and complex mental health conditions that require professional help, and neither can be diagnosed without a licensed professional. 

In Texas, 15+ million people live in areas with mental health professional shortages. This can make it tough for people living with mental health disorders to find professional help.

We are Sun Behavioral in Houston, Texas, and we want you to know that we’re here for you. Whether you are managing a mental health condition or substance use disorder, we’re here to help you through the entire journey to recovery. 

In this article, we’ll help you understand the difference between bipolar disorder and borderline personality disorder.

Bipolar disorder (previously called “manic depression”) is a mental health condition that causes significant shifts in a person’s mood, concentration, and energy. It includes periods of intense highs and extreme lows that may last for days, weeks, or even months.

Bipolar mood changes alternate between emotional highs (mania or hypomania) and lows (depression) that can significantly affect your job, relationships, school, and day-to-day activities. There are many types of bipolar, so your precise symptoms and the frequency of mood shifts can vary widely from one person to the next. 

Here’s how bipolar disorder may affect you:

• Emotions: During manic episodes, you might feel overly joyful, euphoric, or irritable. Depressive episodes, on the other hand, can leave you feeling extremely sad, hopeless, or empty.
• Behavior: You may find yourself acting impulsively, making risky decisions, or experiencing excessive energy and restlessness during manic phases. A depressive episode may lead to withdrawal from activities, decreased motivation, and increased fatigue.
• Thinking: You may experience racing thoughts, difficulty concentrating, or inflated self-esteem during manic episodes. During depression, you might experience negative thinking, poor concentration, feelings of worthlessness, and sometimes suicidal thoughts.
• Social interactions: Extreme mood shifts can strain relationships in every area of your life.  Manic episodes may cause you to behave carelessly or dominate conversations, making others uncomfortable. Depressive episodes may lead you to isolate yourself from loved ones and lose interest in social activities you previously enjoyed.

Getting treatment for bipolar disorder is important because it’s a lifelong condition that is very difficult to manage on your own. Without treatment, you are likely to have difficulty maintaining stability, and your symptoms can lead to harmful behaviors and depression that are difficult to manage. 

Bipolar disorder is highly manageable with proper treatment, which often includes:

• Medication Management: Mood stabilizers, antipsychotics, and sometimes antidepressants help balance mood episodes and reduce symptom severity.
• Psychotherapy: Therapies such as Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and Interpersonal and Social Rhythm Therapy (IPSRT) help you develop coping strategies, recognize mood episode triggers, and maintain routines that stabilize your daily life.

People with bipolar disorder frequently manage co-occurring conditions like anxiety disorders, ADHD, or substance use disorders, making comprehensive treatment plans even more important.

BPD is a condition that, left untreated, significantly affects a person’s mental health and ability to function well at work, home, and in relationships. The condition causes rapid emotional shifts, usually triggered by some type of social interaction, with the mood swings lasting between a few hours and a few days.

BPD mood swings can influence a person’s emotions, behavior, thinking, and relationships. The mood shifts come on quickly and can deeply affect the way you feel about yourself and others.

Here’s how borderline personality disorder can affect you:

1. Emotions: You may feel extreme emotions such as shame, rage, panic, and loneliness. Other times, you might lash out when you feel someone isn’t giving you enough space.
2. Behavior: You may experience impulsive desires to harm yourself or engage in self-destructive or suicidal behavior.
3. Thinking: You may suddenly feel you’re an awful person, have an intense fear of being abandoned, or experience hallucinations or paranoia.
4. Social interactions: Your fear of abandonment may inspire possessive behavior such as calling someone too many times or at inappropriate hours, or in other ways demanding that they not leave you.

Seeking treatment for BPD is critical because the condition is often accompanied by self-harm behaviors and suicidal thoughts. The good news is that BPD often responds well to treatment, which may include:

• Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) focuses on identifying and changing negative thought patterns and behaviors to improve your emotional well-being.
• Dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) builds upon CBT by emphasizing mindfulness and emotional regulation skills to help you manage intense emotions and improve interpersonal relationships.

People with BPD often manage co-occurring conditions such as anxiety, depression, or substance use disorders.

It's important to remember that BPD is a complex disorder, and symptoms can vary from person to person. If you or someone you know is struggling with BPD, seeking professional help is crucial.   

BPD and Bipolar disorder share some similarities, but their triggers and lifespan, plus the length of their mood shifts, are clearly different.

Bipolar disorder and borderline personality disorder are both serious mental health conditions that affect your emotional well-being, thinking, behavior, and social interactions.

Both increase your risk of depression and self-destructive behaviors. Both require professional diagnosis and treatment. And both are often accompanied by additional mental health issues. 

Although they share some common qualities, the two disorders are quite different from each other in several ways.

The most significant differences between bipolar disorder and BPD are the length of the mood episodes, the triggers that cause them, and the overall lifespan of the illness. Treatment methods are similar, although for some people with BPD, medication may not be required.

Mood Shifts:

• Bipolar disorder: Mood changes last days, weeks, or months.
• BPD: Mood swings last between a few hours and a few days.

Triggers

• Bipolar disorder: Episodes are typically triggered by lack of sleep, stress, or overactivity. Or there may be no trigger causing a mood shift.
• BPD: Mood swings are usually triggered by some type of social interaction.

Lifespan

• Bipolar disorder is a lifelong mental health condition.
• BPD symptoms often decline with age, although some people experience relapses over time.  

Treatment

• Bipolar disorder treatment: Mood stabilizing medications and psychotherapy (talk therapy).
• BPD treatment: Psychotherapy and sometimes medication.

Bipolar disorder and BPD may seem like they have a lot in common, but when you take a closer look, there are distinct differences.

Symptoms vary between BPD and bipolar, however, there are many similarities.

• Distressing anxiety
• Psychosis

Bipolar Disorder

Borderline Personality Disorder

BPD and bipolar disorder are serious mental health conditions that have a direct effect on your quality of life, relationships, and stability. Fortunately, both are highly responsive to treatment, and you don’t have to live with the feeling that you, or your life, are out of your control.

At Sun Behavioral in Houston, we believe true healing happens when treatment becomes part of your life, not just isolated episodes of care. Our approach guides you through every step of the journey to lasting healing and peace of mind. We welcome people with bipolar disorder, BPD, and co-occurring conditions such as substance use disorder, depression, and anxiety. Call us today at 713-796-2273 and discover how we can support you on your path to lasting wellness.

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