what's the difference between borderline personality disorder and depression?

Question

I really don't know, but it seems that people with borderline personality disorder are often misdiagnoised initially with depression. Maybe I am wrong though, maybe if you have borderline personality disorder then depression is a part of it????

Answer 1

Simple depression is much more common than Borderline Personality Disorder. The patient may not exhibit all the signs of BPD when the clinician first sees him or her.

BPD is much more complex with extreme fear of abandonment, volatile relationships alternating between idealization and disdain, identity crises and impulsive behavior in addition to mood swings.

Answer 2

I suspect my own mother may have BPD. She was diagnosed with depression somewhere between a year to two years ago (she never tells me specifics). She was put on some sort of depression medication, and she seemed to be doing better for awhile, but then went downhill again. I suspect she stopped taking her depression medication - she has a bad habit of "knowing" when she's better and stopping her medications without consulting her doctor. She has not been diagnosed with borderline personality disorder, but after much research on my part, I am 99% convinced that she has this disorder. However, I don't think the depression was a wrong diagnosis. I believe she truly is unhappy and deeply depressed, to the point that it's making her physically ill. Based on her actions throughout my childhood (I am now in my early 20s), I believe that the BPD has always been there, but I was too close to the situation to realize it. I actually think she has always had the disorder, and when life threw her a curve ball (I moved a thousand miles away almost two years ago), she plunged into depression. So I would have to agree with the poster who said that borderline personality disorder and depression are two separate diagnoses, but I agree that often time, they do go hand in hand.

Answer 3

Borderline Personality Disorder and Depression can be two seperate diagnosises, but in many cases depression is a symptom of the underlying disorder. The reason I seperate the two is because when you have BPD you aren't depressed all the time. It just can feel like it because you can't regulate your emotions so the frustration starts to get to you. Myself I'm BPD with severe panic and periodic bouts of depression. The important thing I think would be sure that your doctors stay abreast of any changes you may be having so they can treat all the symptoms you experience. Either way it's a rough road but with therapy, and/or the appropriate medications I think it's safe to say you'll be able to handle either one.