Is Bipolar and BPD alike?

I went into a crisis house last month, well because I could choose that or a psychiatric hospital, and well when i was in there I was diagnosed with BPD for the first time.. I always thought i had bipolar but not a personality disorder, so it kind of suprised me.. I also have PTSD and Major depression.. So what do you all think? are they alike?

There are no defining borders or barriers other than in the pages of the DSM series (and even there, the intro suggests we don't take the diagnostic criteria too literally or rigidly)

Many people who have at some point been diagnosed as bipolar, have gone on to be diagnosed with Borderline Personality Disorder, along with other variations, and a cocktail of diagnosis. This happens, primarily, because a good portion of the field, take the DSM criteria too literally.

You do not "have" Bipolar, or Borderline Personality Disorder, or PTSD, or Major Depression. you have you, and all the scars that went in to making you, you. No one "has" a personality disorder, nor are they defined by it, they show symptoms and traits that have been collected together and given a name. In reality, noone neatly fits within the given category or criteria, but always spills across. Their symptoms never quite fit a category, so they fit the category to their symptoms. Everyone is an individual, and the only category they fit in to, is their own.

Simon Attwood wrote:There are no defining borders or barriers other than in the pages of the DSM series (and even there, the intro suggests we don't take the diagnostic criteria too literally or rigidly)

Many people who have at some point been diagnosed as bipolar, have gone on to be diagnosed with Borderline Personality Disorder, along with other variations, and a cocktail of diagnosis. This happens, primarily, because a good portion of the field, take the DSM criteria too literally.

You do not "have" Bipolar, or Borderline Personality Disorder, or PTSD, or Major Depression. you have you, and all the scars that went in to making you, you. No one "has" a personality disorder, nor are they defined by it, they show symptoms and traits that have been collected together and given a name. In reality, noone neatly fits within the given category or criteria, but always spills across. Their symptoms never quite fit a category, so they fit the category to their symptoms. Everyone is an individual, and the only category they fit in to, is their own.

I really like your reply Simon Attwood, it really makes me feel better about myself (which doesn't happen alot) Just because I show alot of the symptoms doesn't mean that's who I am or should define myself by it xD

From what I've been reading, it seems bi-polar is the biological condition of over-activity in one part of the brain and under-activity in another part of the brain, and the constant balancing of neurotransmitters that impact those activities. This would be responsible for the manic-depressive cycling, as those biochemicals are partially regulated/affected by personal interactions, diet, routines, sensory stimuli, and random events.

It seems that borderline personality has that same problem, with the added effect of the person 1) having a difficult childhood/adolescence that contributes to dysfunctional behaviors through memories, and/or 2) learning that dysfunctional behaviors provide a biochemical "fix" of neurotransmitters (especially dopamine and serotonin, perhaps norepinephrine also) that help re-balance the brain's activity.

This would explain the commonalities and differences. But I haven't researched this "theory" enough to conclude this is an accurate picture.

That these disorders are created in order to facilitate diagnoses and treatments is why it's important to not define oneself, or one's outlook, by the DSM's criteria. It is a tool, and hopefully more scientific analyses (like spectroscopy) will better enable targeted treatments for the root causes instead of the symptoms.