BPD misdiagnosis.

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So, I've heard that A LOT of young women are diagnosed with Borderline-Personality Disorder and that it's also diagnosed before AS is for many women.

I was diagnosed with it somewhere along the way. I didn't even know about it until 2 years ago, they never told me, I just got ahold of some of my old files.

I really don't feel it describes me but I wold never tell a medical professional that. Once you've been diagnosed with it I don't really think they listen to much you have to say. I can see why they might think that I do, though. Mainly the shocking behavior aspect....I think a lot of my behavior may come off as me trying to shock people(more so in the past than now, I'm learning) but that's because I don't realize just how crazy it might look to other people. I don't do things to get a reaction, other than to make people laugh and my humor can be a little more extreme than I realize at times. I was DEFINITELY the dare-devil type when I was younger,so maybe this is part of it also but for me that was just fun. Looking back on it, I did do some REALLY risky things but at the time they seemed only semi-risky to me.

Aside from that I don't show many of the symptoms on the checklist, was never a self-harmer(aside from ED which for me was always more of a control thing, I didn't *flaunt* it), never had especially rocky relationships with people...the main reason I was a loner on and off throughout my childhood and teen years is because I just didn't talk to people, but when I felt like making friends I could and the relationships were always good.

I was never really too impulsive, aside from a few episodes as a teen that I chalk up to hormones, but as far as having an ongoing compulsion or impulsive behavior that I REALLY couldn't control, it's just not me. I was committed more to my ED as an obsession (which IS impulsive, I know) but once i realized how out of control it was getting and the kind of damage I was doing to body I just stopped.

I feel like the main thing that sets me apart from BPD is the display of emotion, I never displayed emotion like what they describe. Aside from having the occasional meltdown which happened VERY rarely once I got into my teen years, I would never put my emotions on display. I still wouldn't, it's just not me.

Anyway, what do you all think? Is this disorder often given to those who don't fit it? Just wondering if I'm alone here.

see, that is what they call it "manipulation" when someone is assertive as to proper social channels of behavior. I have heard people say 'social code words' that I blythfully disregard (as I have no idea what it means, just that they are repeating themselves and I haven't a clue what they are getting at). When someone assertively requests and has no social brakes to apply if the assertiveness gets a bit to strong and doesn't react to a " social yellow light" signal for caution people that are constrained by social conventions become uncomfortable. I have learned that the cardinal rule, socially, is to NOT make someone 'uncomfortable.' The moment we cross that line, we are considered manipulating someone by using their social code against themselves.

BPD uses it as a tactic of manipulation against someone, AS is just totally clueless it is happening. If we weren't so smart (i.e. IQ) we might be given a pass, but since we are so brilliant with other things, they think we know what we are doing and doing it on purpose, when we just want something and are clueless on how to get it.

same effect, different intent.

Merle

I had a diagnosis of BPD for about 5 1/2 years until (after lots of prompting from myself, my wife and my therapist) my psychiatrist decided to assess me for ASD last year. In October last year my BPD diagnosis was officially scrapped and I was diagnosed as being on the autism spectrum.

The main symptom that prompted them to give me the BPD diagnosis was my excessive and prolonged use of self harm over a span of 14 years. Other than that there wasn't much weight in the diagnosis and I found out last year that a therapist I saw in 2012 had written to my psychiatrist and suggested an autism assessment (unbeknownst to me) and he completely disregarded it. He's not the most useful of men but hey, I have the right diagnosis now so yeah. They actually screened me for BPD as they were doing the autism assessment and it difinitively came back that I didn't have it. (I didn't know they were testing me for it). I've never been over emotional or impulsive and the relationships I've had have tended to be superficial and fallen apart because I didn't know how to sustain them rather than because I was hot and cold. They petered out, no big fights just a misunderstanding of me but I now have some wonderful, long term friends and a wife of almost 3 years so that's good.

Sorry this was a bit of an essay. I will say though, if you don't believe in your diagnosis, fight it. If I hadn't fought, though granted I had a partner and psychologist on my side, I'd still have a BPD diagnosis.

Geeze, itsme82, it must have been years ago that I wrote those thoughts. I was out in the world then, working, commuting, using a laundromat, that sort of thing. I am now retired, live in a small motorhome with my cat on the wild Pacific Northwest coast and rarely talk to anyone in person. I absolutely LOVE IT, sister.
At 66 I no longer care to 'improve' my condition to 'get along with others.' Sorry, I won't blow smoke. From all those professionals that want to 'help,' deliver me, please.
I never did figure out how to work well with others . Now that is not a problem. Oh, my landlady sometimes checks in on me, or I take my cat to the Vet, or grunt happily at the UPS man. With Amazon and chewy.com I don't even take the bus go to the supermarket, anymore. Am I the weird old lady others whisper about? Probably. But I'll bet they don't even do that much, and I am invisible to them. Am I happy? Ask my cat when he decides the old lady needs to feed him and he wakes me up in the morning!

Does any of this answer your questions? Probably not. However, remember, someday you will be able to live the way that works best for you. At least, I did.

If somebody could illustrate what differintiates NPD and Autism, I'd really aporeciate it.

I've been diagnosed with Autism, and I've strongly suspected BPD for years.