BPD Borderline personality disorder and autism

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Hi Dubzero

A clinical psychology assessment is required to give you a reasonable answer, however even thinking between psychologists can differ. Upon balance, if you are not in agreement with your diagnosis, get a 2nd opinion. When I was diagnosed with autism I was assessed by several people and was evidence based, therefore I am satisfied they got it right.

Autism is different for many people, however some of the most common traits include;

deficits in social communication

deficits in developing, maintaining and understanding relationships

restricted, repetitive patterns of behaviour

inflexible adherence to routines

hyper or hypo reactivity to sensory input

symptoms present in the early developmental period (<5yo)


Common traits of BPD include;

unstable and intense​ interpersonal relationships

conflicting self-image including changing goals, values, seeing ones self as bad

fear of rejection or abandonment

feelings of emptiness

trouble controlling anger

stress-related paranoia

impulsive and risky behaviour


Unfortunately BPD is generally unfairly portrayed in books and on tv with too much focus on how other people (friends, partners, family) are affected by living with those with BPD as opposed to the struggles that those with BPD are going through. One book I mentioned earlier which is focussed on the person suffering from BPD is 'Talking About BPD' by Rosie Cappuccino. Its really good with lots of self help tips and best of all it was written by someone who suffers from BPD, highly recommended.

kuze

Not a lot of overlap, mainly just meltdowns and self-harm are shared. However, I've heard BPD misdiagnosis in self-harmers is common, because some clinicians just assume basically every self-harmer is BPD even if they don't have the other symptoms. So that's a possibility.

There's also a potential to have both. BPD tends to result from adverse experiences in childhood, and autistic people are at higher risk of experiencing those. It tends to especially be associated with disrupted parent-child relationships, like having a parent who is distant, mistreats you, leaves you, acts highly inconsistent, etc. Dissociation, unstable and intense relationships, fear of abandonment, all very typical BPD symptoms that are directly linked to disrupted parent-child relationships in most people. NT parents often have trouble parenting autistic kids intuitively, and well-meaning parenting strategies from someone who doesn't understand autism can be very damaging sometimes. And of course not all parents are well-meaning - eg some parents resent having a child who doesn't fulfill their goals/dreams in parenting, and take it out on the child.