Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD): Related? 

My 17 year old daughter has been diagnosed with BPD and ADHD. Dialectical Behavioural Therapy was instrumental in getting her back into a good headspace. She takes 3 meds daily and still has regular Psychologist and Psychiatrist appointments. Just finished school and commenced a full time job 3 weeks ago. It’s not all smelling of roses and she will need continued support for some time to come. But she is starting to create a life for herself.

You often need only 5/9 or 6/9 of the symptoms of a disorder to qualify, but the symptoms lists of 3 4 or 5 disorders can overlap a little or a lot, and it is up to a professional who sees the disorders regularly and spend lots of time with you to really tell the soft differences like differences in severity and you can actually have 2, 3, or 4.

I was diagnosed with both of these last week and was thinking of how similar the two are. Thank you for making this video!

What about people just carrying around things that upset them when younger (CPTSD Complex), and Autism? These 'disorders' also share many symptoms. Then we have Narcissitic traits, Co-dependency --also part of the picture..that can show up with same symptoms. Last, but not least, how about Bi-polar!!

Fantastic topic! Using DBT more in my practice for ADHD IN addition to BPD. I describe DBT as “a regulation focused therapy.” Thought of this way, DBT can be helpful for both

Yea, thanks for this video! I have been diagnosed with ADHD. But upon my own research I suspect I have quiet BPD. I’m currently still trying to find a psychotherapist.

Yay for having both!! ☺️ Edit since some people really are that stupid: /s

my inability to regulate emotions, rsd and near constant feelings of abandonment and extreme loneliness. I've been diagnosed with both of these, but i've always been confused about it.

The drivers and motivations behind the outward behaviors that others see are COMPLETELY different in ADHD vs BPD. You're saying from a 3rd party observer that they look similar... Ok, some of the outward manifestations look similar, but the reasons are completely different. What I am trying to say is that the inner experience of a person with ADHD and the inner experience of someone with BPD are very different, although a 3rd party observer may say they're acting similarly. I think people are forgetting to explain how BPD really looks and is in real life, like the clinical snapshot or case study of a patient. It's one thing to read the symptoms out of the DSM, but those make every condition sound relatable to a layperson... But if you take an abnormal psych course, and have a good professor with years of clinical experience, they will be good at explaining this better, how severe things have to be to be in the clinical ranges. Also... If you have ADHD and are around people with BPD, and vice versa, you will quickly see that these are NOT similar. Example:... I have ADHD, and I was curious about learning DBT skills because I was already getting into meditation and stuff and was just curious about DBT because I was also working with pre-K children with attachment disorders due to being in foster care system, and thought I could maybe teach modified versions of some DBT skills for them if I learned it myself, and my university counseling center happened to run a DBT skills group for people with BPD/traits of BPD, and I asked the psychologist who was that group facilitator if I could join it due to my interest in it, and he didn't have enough people signed up for the next cycle of that group, and was generally amused by my interest and idea of learning it and using modified stuff for pre-K kids ... Ok, so I was in this group with college aged peers with BPD/traits of BPD, and I thought I'd fit in with ADHD things bc the issues that people with ADHD have and BPD sound similar on paper (as demonstrated in this video)... and thought that there'd be overlap and I'd blend in easily, but it's way different... I didn't feel like I fit in at all... I think the group members felt that way, too... There's a way different vibe... I think any mildly experienced practitioner would easily feel those vibes that are way different from individuals with ADHD vs BPD. Their lives are out of control in a completely different way with a completely different intensity than people with ADHD. My life was out of control at times because I didn't manage my time well, was forgetful, let people down sometimes due to that, and spiralled from there with guilt and shame, or times in life where i did social blunders due to talking too much or saying something embarrassing then wanted to disappear into the floor...ADHD issues are more of consequences of executive functioning lapses then mentally beating self up.... ADHD relationship issues stem from others thinking we don't care or that we dont prioritize them because we cant remember important stuff or keep forgetting our dishes in the sink or throwing our laundry on the floor... But people with BPD are doing something very very very different...it stems from a very different place...it's not reacting to oopsy forgetfulness/time management then scrambling like the ADHD people... No no no ... BPD people are like emotional burn victims and life hurts more for them like it would for someone with all their skin burned off, and they're scanning for issues to magnify and do behaviors that make sense to them to show that they are emotionally burn victims because nobody is seeing their pain they often feel like... And they're doing stuff that is just way different then the adhd issues... And often creating issues on purpose although they don't see it that way.

Just to point this out so there’s no confusion between the two, there are major differences between the two. A good source to look these symptoms up how the diagnosis are gone about being diagnosed is the DSM-V which stands for Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. This is used to diagnose mental health disorders. This is the criteria that needs to be met taken from the DSM. Five or more of these symptoms need to be met. I only wanted to comment on this because it took me 10 years to be diagnosed with it after being diagnosed with Bipolar 1, ADHD and Major Depression, which all have intertwining symptoms. BPD is specifically known for someone having a fear of abandonment and unlike Bipolar Disorder, the mood swings are just a constant day to day thing, it’s not mania that comes and goes for 3 weeks or so. BPD moods change like the weather, and depending on what region your in and the types of storms each region is capable of having, is what you could get at any moment. You could get a sunami, tornado, hurricane, snow and ice storm, or a all out heat wave reaching over 150 degrees. Best way I can describe it. DSM-V Criteria: BPD is a pervasive pattern of instability in interpersonal relationships, self-image, and emotion, as well as marked impulsivity beginning by early adulthood and present in a variety of contexts, as indicated by five (or more) of the following: Chronic feelings of emptiness. Emotional instability in reaction to day-to-day events (e.g., intense episodic sadness, irritability, or anxiety usually lasting a few hours and only rarely more than a few days). Frantic efforts to avoid real or imagined abandonment. Identity disturbance with markedly or persistently unstable self-image or sense of self. Impulsive behavior in at least two areas that are potentially self-damaging (e.g., spending, sex, substance abuse, reckless driving, binge eating) Inappropriate, intense anger or difficulty controlling anger (e.g., frequent displays of temper, constant anger, recurrent physical fights). Pattern of unstable and intense interpersonal relationships characterized by extremes between idealization and devaluation (also known as "splitting"). Recurrent suicidal behavior, gestures, or threats, or self-harming behavior. Transient, stress-related paranoid ideation or severe dissociative symptoms.

Very nice.

Exactly😳

The relationship I had with my ex was hands down the worst relationship I have ever had with another human being. Toxic, crazy, de-humanizing. After our final break up I started trying to figure out what the hell happened because it wasn't normal. I've come to wonder since if she had BPD as she had almost all of the markers. And I know that not long after we broke up she was diagnosed with ADHD. Very interesting.

I have both 😢

I was diagnosed adhd but i never did a test for bpd and now i think i have that too

Boys II Men, ADD...BPD😂😂....seriously though, this is very informative

Would drugs like methylphenidate amphetamines Strattera or Wellbutrin actually help sone people with BPD? Would mood stabilizers actually help sone people with ADHD?

What a pain

From personal experience, I know the same goes for Inattentive ADHD + Quiet BPD. Which are just in a sense the introvert version of ADHD and classic BPD.

Actually maybe your right 🤣🤣🤣🤣

I have ADHD and I had two BPD relationships. ADHD is manageable and there is scientific research that patients truly changed their brains by unlearning habits… compared to BPD outbursts constantly gaslighting etc. having ADHD is manageable for a couple BPD is not for the most couples.

The thing with ADHD is , it doesn’t create a bunch of dead souls and broken hearts behind…something called empathy in them, it’s still a disorder but it’s a bit manageable. Unlike bpd which is a nuclear roller coaster… which I’ll never ever ever ever ever step a foot near those who has it nor I will allow in my circle again I still pray and feel for them but god dammit far away from me at least or loved ones….. the one advice I would recommend to any person suffering around them is to RUN RUN and RUN never look back..!

You know it would be nice if people spoke in words instead of ABC codes.

They are not related, not one bit. BPD is a personality disorder, first of all. BPD is in the same category as psychopaths, sadists, narcissistic personality disorder etc, and they are in that category for a reason. BPD and ADHD have a few similarities in how some things are expressed, but that's just on the surface for the untrained eye. They are VASTLY different when you know how both of them actually works. And when you know people who suffers from both of these, you'll know that there are actually no similarities at all. Their core, their inner feelings and their motivations are in completely different universes.