Answer:
"Borderline" is classified as a personality disorder - it is not manic-depression, which is an affective (a disturbance in mood) disorder.
That doesn't mean that a "borderline" individual can't be manic-depressive also.
Personality disorders are grouped into 3 different "clusters -
cluster A (Odd): Schizotypal, Schizoid, Paranoid
cluster B - (Dramatic): Antisocial, Borderline, Histrionic, Narcissistic
cluster C -(Anxious): Dependent, Obsessive-Compulsive, Avoidant
(I copied and pasted this part from Wikipedia)
"Borderline personality disorder (BPD) is defined within the fields of psychiatry, social work, and clinical psychology as a mental condition characterized primarily by emotional dysregulation, extreme "black and white" thinking, or "splitting" (believing that something is one of only two possible things, and ignoring any possible "in-betweens"
"A DSM diagnosis of BPD requires any five out of nine listed criteria to be present for a significant period of time. There are thus 256 different combinations of symptoms that could result in a diagnosis, of which 136 have been found in practice in one study.[2] The criteria are:
1.Frantic efforts to avoid real or imagined abandonment. [Not including suicidal or self-mutilating behavior covered in Criterion 5]
2.A pattern of unstable and intense interpersonal relationships characterized by alternating between extremes of idealization and devaluation.
3.Identity disturbance: markedly and persistently unstable self-image or sense of self.
4.Impulsivity in at least two areas that are potentially self-damaging (e.g., spending, promiscuous sex, eating disorders, substance abuse, reckless driving, binge eating). [Again, not including suicidal or self-mutilating behavior covered in Criterion 5]
5.Recurrent suicidal behavior, gestures, threats, or self-mutilating behavior.
6.Affective instability due to a marked reactivity of mood (e.g., intense episodic dysphoria, irritability, or anxiety usually lasting a few hours and only rarely more than a few days)
7.Chronic feelings of emptiness.
8.Inappropriate, intense anger or difficulty controlling anger (e.g., frequent displays of temper, constant anger, recurrent physical fights).
9.Transient, stress-related paranoid ideation or severe dissociative symptoms."
Ouch - that hurt. I've described some people I know, Including myself.
my sisiter in law who is bi-polar is like that , she suffers w/ anxiety & depression, she saw a Dr. & got meds. to help cope w/ it , as long as she takes the meds. she's fine , but when she forgets to take the meds. she can drive one nuts worrying about every little thing
Do you mean borderline personality disorder? I don't know any real ones. This is the category currently for cutters but I expect the DSM-V to give it its own category. I know some cutters but it is getting so popular most people who cut do not have the symptoms of borderline.
These are the qualifications for borderline personality disorder from the DSM-IV:
A pervasive pattern of instability of interpersonal relationships, self-image, and affects, and marked impulsivity beginning by early adulthood and present in a variety of contexts, as indicated by five (or more) of the following:
(1) frantic efforts to avoid real or imagined abandonment.
Note: Do not include suicidal or self-mutilating behavior covered in Criterion 5.
(2) a pattern of unstable and intense interpersonal relationships characterized by alternating between extremes of idealization and devaluation
(3) identity disturbance: markedly and persistently unstable self-image or sense of self
(4) impulsivity in at least two areas that are potentially self-damaging (e.g., spending, sex, Substance Abuse, reckless driving, binge eating).
Note: Do not include suicidal or self-mutilating behavior covered in Criterion 5.
(5) recurrent suicidal behavior, gestures, or threats, or self-mutilating behavior
(6) affective instability due to a marked reactivity of mood (e.g., intense episodic dysphoria, irritability, or anxiety usually lasting a few hours and only rarely more than a few days)
(7) chronic feelings of emptiness
(8) inappropriate, intense anger or difficulty controlling anger (e.g., frequent displays of temper, constant anger, recurrent physical fights)
(9) transient, stress-related paranoid ideation or severe dissociative symptoms
My ex boy friend was. He was ok. Once in a while he had a little temper, but I usually stayed away when that happened.
Do you always ask the same question in five or six categories?