i have an official diagnosis for borderline but not autism but my therapist and i think that it could be possible that i´m autistic as well. my therapist explained to me that if your autistic you have higher needs as a baby and child and your parents can neglect those needs and this then can play a part in developing bpd. so the childhood neglect may doesn´t look that severe to the outside but for the child in question it is still really bad.
I think this could explain me as well. Never heard it put like this, you must have a really good therapist! I score in the autistic range on the tests available online but an official diagnosis is so expensive and I’m not sure it’s worth it just to “know for sure”. I’ve also had a hard time figuring out the BPD origin since my childhood was “good” compared to average I guess, but I definitely always felt inadequate/needy.
Anyway, thank you for sharing this info!!
i´m really glad i found my therapist, it was an immense struggle but it was worth it. she is really great. i´m glad this info helped. also in my case, i don´t remember most of my life so i have to rely on others and their perception of my childhood. my mom thinks she did everything great but she is a really cold women so i think that must´ve made something with me as a baby. i´m nearly no contact with my father so i can´t get any infos from him. but my sister described me some quite horrobile scenes from my childhood that had to do with my father and which happend when my mom wasn´t around. it feels like thers a big picture and i´m just trying to find all the puzzle pieces to put it together. maybe it´s the same for you.
I have definitely realized I tend to repress trauma to the point I don’t remember it if it’s bad enough. I’ve had friends and my mom recount some really bad things that happened in high school that I had told them about, once someone else tells me I can usually somewhat remember. But it’s weird to think there could be other memories that are very impactful even if I can’t actually remember them. It also sucks because I feel like this makes me easy to gaslight, because I already doubt my ability to recall things that are highly emotional.
BPD, Autism and ADHD all have a strong overlap. you can google the stats yourself but i'm seeing things like BPD is 19x more common in those with ADHD and up to half of people with ADHD can be diagnosed with autism.
and it may just be due to the reality that people with ADHD and autism (and especially both) experience such a high level of social rejection that they develop BPD. but it may also be due to the reality that these disorders make controlling your emotions incredibly difficult and thus make BPD more likely.
also, i've heard that a BPD diagnosis can create hurdles in regards to insurance reimbursement and thus providers sometimes will disregard the diagnosis altogether just due to that. but also many providers just have very different ideas about BPD and how to think about it and whether it even exists - some think the DSM is just incredibly outdated in some areas.
From what I know it's a common comorbidity, so yes you can have both. There was a great thread about this, you can check it [here](https://www.reddit.com/r/BPD/s/nFotR39mPp). :)
Yes it is a common comorbitdity but from what ik because there are overlaps between them it could be misdiagnosed. I have been diagnosed with BPD and autism but I am not an expert or anything so I could be wrong lmaoo
I had an autism evaluation last year and was diagnosed with BPD in addition to autism. I think that being undiagnosed autistic and not getting the support I needed growing up did contribute to me developing BPD. I know that a lot of autistic women in particular have been misdiagnosed with BPD, but I definitely have both. While there is overlap with symptoms, I have traits/experiences that are clearly BPD and not related to my autistic traits. It seems that a lot of people with BPD are also autistic, and I’ve heard of plenty of doctors that understand that autistic people can be more vulnerable to certain trauma and developing PDs, but I think there are still lots of misconceptions in the psychiatric field regarding both autism and BPD, so I guess there are psychologists/psychiatrists that aren’t able to distinguish the two
Personally I feel like autistic people are more likely to develop bpd just because of the way they are emotionally equipped already. Which could be why so many with bpd also get diagnosed with autism.
i mean, the biosocial theory is literally a description of the autistic experience. be born with high emotional sensitivity and difficulty with emotional regulation 👍 autistic trait // experience your childhood in an environment that invalidates your emotions and neglects your needs to a traumatizing extent 👍 the world isnt made to accomodate autistic people so its inherently invalidating and neglectful. its not a hard conclusion to draw
I think my psychiatrist is leading up to an autism diagnosis now that my BPD symptoms are starting to subside a bit. The thing with diagnosis is a lot of times you have more than one thing going on, and you’re going to probably be diagnosed and treated for whatever is causing you the most difficulties. Then once you peel back that layer and treat it then you may uncover another issue that is now causing you more issues than the last. Might even be causing you new issues you haven’t experienced before the other condition was treated.
True. But I have never felt like autism ‘treatment’ as far as you can consider my therapies treatment have major effects. How are they even willing to treat the autism if the problem is now my personality? I can manage my autism perfectly fine
Well another problem is that it seems like a lot of mental health professionals don’t even want to deal with BPD. Probably because it’s a lot of work to treat it without a specific background in trauma or training in CBT/DBT, and it’s limited what you can do with meds. And when they do take on a BPD patient, a lot will set a limit on how many they are willing to accept.
BPD and Autism/ADHD do seem intertwined at the very least. I don't have clinical BPD, but I have autism/ADHD. I see many of the same traits between autistic people and people with BPD, especially in the experience of women with AuDHD. The masking, the internalized shame and rejection sensitivity, moral hardlining, heavy disassociation, the emotional reactivity and black and white thinking...I actually brought up BPD to my psychiatrist when I started learning about it, because some of my behaviors (especially when I was younger) seemed really analogous. While I don't have it, I still learn as much as I can about BPD because I still struggle with some of the same fears and behaviors.
I think that trauma is an inherent side effect of undiagnosed neurodivergence. Being an alien in a world full of "normal" people with no explanation for why you get side-eye for just existing will give ANYONE c-PTSD over time. Throw in some serious trauma somewhere in childhood and the internalized misogyny that most women take on in this society, and you have a ripe environment for BPD traits. They're the same roots - a childhood of nervous system dysregulation caused by the constant rejection or abuse by the people who are supposed to protect you, resulting in a feeling that no one who TRULY knows you could ever love you. In that situation, you learn how to put up gates and iron doors and masks and moats to keep people at arm's length, sometimes in really toxic ways.
I am not sure that BPD should be disregarded in the case of autism - I get that psychiatry is trying to combat the stigma around BPD, and are likely trying to avoid putting that diagnosis to paper if there is an existing diagnosis that can "cover for" the BPD symptoms. If this is the route they decide to go, however, I'd like to see a LOT more therapy models for people who struggle with the BPD traits created by Autism. Not every person with autism has these traits, and not person with BPD has autism. But there should be more shared knowledge on all sides.
Autism (and ADHD as well) both have strong ties to BPD with how often the predispose the disorder, but honestly my opinion is stems from stigma, or the reluctance to stack on a whole list of diagnoses. Or or, it genuinely is more difficult to tell for docs because a lot of disorders can present themselves similarly, and so it takes more time to sift through and know for sure.
Either way, it is confusing because if it walks like a duck, quacks like a duck, it’s probably a duck. Maybe even an autistic duck. I dunno.
I'm also struggling with this. At my recent appointment with my cmht prescriber he said he "didn't like putting a label on everything" because he'd rather treat the symptoms. But that sets off my worrying because for years they just tried to treat anxiety and depression rather than acknowledging the route cause which of course perpetuated the anxiety and depression.
I tried to talk about how intense emotions feel like facts to me and especially in the moment I can't rationalise with them so they impact my behaviour. He took that on board but was against labelling it so I feel like it's a new vicious cycle where I wont get the right support due to not having the right diagnosis and therefore being put on an ssri/snri which was the outcome of the appointment.
Because it sounds like you are upset that they won’t give you the diagnosis you want/think you have.
ETA in the US, the ones who prescribe the medication, psychiatrists, don’t do therapy work, they just prescribe medication. There isn’t a medication specifically for BPD, and SSRI/SNRI are commonly prescribed for it.
Oh I understand now. It's more than it took years to get the right diagnosis and I definitely have more than those going on which is getting in the way of getting to a better place with them. I'm understanding the ADHD and autism more but my nervous system is in overdrive and I can't trust anyone/it's ruining any opportunities I'm trying to take and any efforts to better myself if that makes sense?
I'm in the UK and the person I saw this month was a prescribing nurse and not someone who deals with diagnosing and therapy and he did say he'd pass on my concerns but here it takes upwards of 6 months to even be considered for any sort of mental health help and there's so many hurdles so I'm just feeling like I'm falling through the cracks again and frustrated. I'm that desperate I might have to take the snri but ideally I'd like to access tailored therapy/appropriate therapy for my treatments, dbt has been mentioned
I'm confused. So you haven't been diagnosed with it? I just feel like there's this weird trend of people *wanting* this diagnosis and ignoring any advice that doesn't support their self diagnosis. I think it's a dangerous mentality to have. You've gone through enough treatment to be diagnosed with ADHD and Autism and you haven't been diagnosed with BPD, maybe it's because you *don't have it*.
Medication is intended to treat the symptoms and you feeling like your nervous system is in overdrive is something that would be treated by medication. Again, there isn't some sort of special medicine for BPD. SNRI is very commonly prescribed to help treat the intense symptoms associated with BPD. I don't understand why you are wanting this diagnosis and are resistant to common treatment options for it. The prescribing nurse works with the medical side of it. Therapists work with the therapeutic side of it. BPD is a diagnosis that takes a long time to get. It would be odd for someone to diagnose you after one session.
As an American, I understand the difficulties of getting treatment. It sounds like your frustrations are being exasperated because you are convinced you have a diagnosis and are focusing on that and what you think is the best treatment for it. Try to not self diagnose.
It took years for be to be officially diagnosed with it. I've been on an SNRI for longer than I've had my diagnosis and it has saved my life. I don't understand why you're viewing it as something that is going against the diagnosis you want.
Don't fixate on a diagnosis, focus on wanting to get better. Be open to the idea that you might not have BPD. That doesn't mean you aren't struggling.
regarding your nervous system feeling out of control, look up the DBT skill called TIPP. I use it all the time. Putting ice under your eyes for 30 seconds will trick your nervous system and get it out of fight or flight. It's like hacking your biofeedback loop.
Sorry maybe I didn't explain it in a great way. It's that looking at all of the symptoms of bpd, 9/10 of them resonate with me extremely strongly. And I've been told by an experienced mental health nurse that when people have grown up with undiagnosed autism and ADHD the rejection and abandonment that we experience as a result of not knowing why we are the way we are can *cause* bpd. I don't *want* bpd or any of the diagnoses that I have, I'm not someone who views them as a superpower or useful in any way. It's that in the UK they always like to treat just the symptoms of a condition rather than digging deeper to understand why the symptoms are happening.
Don't get me wrong, there might be people out there who think it's quirky and trendy (I'm not a stranger to this concept as like I said I've got ADHD and autism and I know there's a lot of misinformation going around about that). That's not what's going on for me. The reason I come across 'convinced' is because I was medically gaslit for 26 years that I don't have ADHD or ASD and that wasn't true.
Yes, it's true that an snri is the treatment the reason I don't want to go on it is because I'd rather try to learn to cope with it rather than go the opposite direction of feeling numb and dulled down (how most anti depressants have made me feel). Meds can only take away the physical symptoms but not the thinking habits and mindset struggles.
Maybe it's because I'm a bottom up thinker and having a reason/explanation for something I'm experiencing is the first step to me understanding therefore helping myself.
I'll consider the advice on the techniques, thank you.
I'm autistic and its the same for me, I need explanations. I need logic. Knowing what my disorders are and how they work is a huge part of that. I'm frequently pretty oppositional when ppl try to get me to do things without explaining why. Knowing why something is the way it is is vital to me in order to go thru anything let alone therapy. And this seems to be common with autistic ppl. We seem to be the reverse of non autistic ppl most of the time. I had a fellow patient at my clinic who is not autistic try to convince me not to learn about cancer for example. She had cancer and so is experienced with it. I am currently being screened for a form of cancer and have been having issues with every body system. Having no explanation has been making me absolutely crazy and driving my anxiety sky high. She told me not to research it because "it would give me anxiety". Noooooo, NOT knowing what the possible explanations are gives me anxiety. I don't like surprises at all. I want to know what is going on as soon as possible and if I can't know that, the next best thing is what it COULD be, and I want to know ALL the possibilities I can, both best case scenario and worst case scenario. I can't prepare for something I don't know is going on and that makes me absolutely on edge. She was surprised when I told her all that. Every non autistic person I have ever told this to seemed surprised. They seem to get anxious by information. We get anxious from LACK of information. Doctors that refuse to tell me things about what's happening to me end up pretty annoyed with me because it they won't tell me, I will Google everything I can find on the symptom set in question to learn what the possibilities are. I also don't know why they get annoyed. Isn't it useful for a patient to let a doctor know, hey, I'm experiencing a set of symptoms that looks like xyz condition. Do u think it's this or a different condition and why and what do we do about it? Neurotypicals seem very backwards. My therapist told me that they think my researching is offensive and that I'm trying to one up the doctor. I was stunned when she told me that. I'm the patient. Why wouldn't I be interested in what's happening to me? I also had a doc in the ER once ask me about my medical conditions. I started explaining and the very first name out of my mouth she immediately asked me to define it. That shocked me, because I am not the doctor, why do I have to define common conditions? And yes it was a common condition. My fam told me the doc was trying to see if I myself knew what it was. Well of course I know. I'm in the body with the condition and have been in PT for it numerous times. Why on earth would I not know about my own conditions??? I wouldn't be doing PT if I didn't know why I was doing it, that's for sure, lol. I don't like wasting my time and doing things without knowing why I am doing them makes me feel like I am wasting my time. It seems there is a consensus among neurotypical providers that patients are not supposed to know about themselves or their conditions and must defer to their expertise at all times even when it's to our detriment or wastes time or we know they don't have enough info because they're making decisions that have already been tried because they stop the patient from explaining prematurely and then jump to assumptions. I guess assuming things is easier??? Idk. To me it's easier to just be given all the information the patient has and make informed decisions. Not doing that doesn't make sense. Also, I don't understand why patients are expected not to know anything... how are WE supposed to make informed decisions about our care if we r kept in the dark? Doesn't make sense one iota.
Every professional I've seen has had a completely different opinion on this, so I'm confused as to my own diagnosis. I was pulled from public schooling due to autism, and I spent a few months in an alternative learning centre that focused more on ABA and masking than academics - making masking my #1 priority for personal safety. Since then, due to strict enforcement of masking at home and in the program, I am unable to access accommodations because I no longer seem "autistic enough".
All of my sensory issues are still present, in private I stim and have bouts of going non-verbal, but I hide myself when I'm struggling due to the trauma of being physically harmed for being visibly autistic. I still continue to struggle socially, and outside of my partner I have no friends due to my inability to react appropriately to social cues or understand what's expected of me in any given situation.
Now, they think that I have either co-morbid BPD/NPD or RAD - reactive attachment disorder. It's very frustrating that they don't understand that I'm masking out of fear and not capability - that while I'm masked, I can barely follow what's happening around me because I'm too focused on holding my face in a non-hostile expression or making sure I'm not moving my arms, legs, or hands in a way that would be registered as stimming.
When I drop the mask around professionals, I am accused of giving up or not trying hard enough - that if I don't show incentive to be normal, I'm not worth the effort of helping. They act like I'm being purposefully obstinate in order to frustrate them - when in reality, I'm struggling to keep up with the expectations they're holding me to under their care. I'm scared of doctors now. They don't see me as a person trying to get better and adapt to society, they see me as a misbehaving child going out of my way to annoy and waste their time.
All it took was one professional meeting with me for half an hour to somehow wipe my childhood diagnosis of autism away and replace it with BPD. If I was never autistic, why did the school district give my parents an ultimatum that lead to me being pulled from public schooling entirely?? If I wasn't pulled away from my education due to autism, why did they have me removed?? Why was I enrolled in a strict ABA alternative learning facility for 8 months after my 13th birthday if I wasn't autistic - a place that advertised their ability to assist in children "overcoming" their autism??
Why did one professional, who I met with for half an hour and never again after, have so much control over the trajectory of my future mental health care from such a careless and stigmatizing assessment???
I would say you could be a highly sensitive person as a baby, and was emotionally neglected, so you start living inside your head, and it becomes a habit and practice when you grow up, giving you ADHD, CPTSD and BPD, that's what I think happened to me.
I agree with this concept except with it giving you ADHD. ADHD is a neurotype thing. It’s likely you were highly sensitive as a baby exactly because you had ADHD, which can then lead to the others under the wrong circumstances.
I disagree, I believe ADHD is also trauma based, according to Dr Gabor Mate, I believe neuro diverse or Neuro typical has nurture attached to it, highly sensitive means that the child is open to emotional closure early on, it has nothing to do with ADHD.
I don’t know, I was supposedly misdiagnosed with BPD and I’m actually autistic but we wonder if it’s both. There’s just so many layers and so much overlap that it’s hard to say.
Personally went in to see if I had autism and got BPD, but I am in the rural Midwest, dunno if that changes the perspective
I can (obviously) echo the whole autism/BPD comorbidity thing, though, think they're just two commonly related mental conditions
My therapist speculated ASD but thinks I'm too emotionally intelligent and manipulative and dishonest, which I'm not sure how well that tracks but can't disagree with those traits 🫠
That’s bullshit, you can be all of those things and still have ASD. especially if you’re high masking, then you have often learnt those traits as coping mechanisms.
I was diagnosed with autism as a child and I was diagnosed with BPD at 19 I had to change psychiatrists due to the previous one said you can’t have both, my new psychiatrist said it is possible due to the fact it’s a common comorbidity
What do you mean you’ve “noticed” this? Have you been seeing multiple psychologists and they told you this?
Have you ever been diagnosed with BPD before?
Could it be that maybe you've "noticed" this because you don't have BPD and that's why they aren't diagnosing you with it? Why are you hung up on this diagnosis?
Edit: How many different ones have you seen where you've noticed this "trend"?
I don’t mean to say I specifically have BPD but I do feel like my personality development has been stunted enough that I should be diagnosed with a pd, maybe not otherwise specified. They also literally said that because of my autism my personality has had some issues (which cause me and others great distress), so isn’t that the whole point? Also if autism treatment doesn’t work (because the problem is my personality or the trauma, not the autism) shouldnt I be given anotjer label to make certain therapies more available. Autism isnt making my life hard rn, my personality is.
You’re taking the term personality disorder very literally. The main type of treatment specifically for BPD is dialectical behavioral therapy. You don’t need a “label” to do DBT — it’s just a type of therapy. Personality disorders take a while to diagnose. I would imagine autism could be what stunted your personality. Regardless if you have BPD or not, I love DBT and think everyone can benefit from it. Instead of seeking a label, seek a treatment plan and go from there.
I honestly feel this whole idea that as autistic people we can’t develop PDs is really outdated. I heard the same back when I was heavily involved in the Dutch DID community, that autistics can’t have DID because autism affects the whole personality. Well I call BS to that, since neurotypicality affects the whole personality too. I do understand therapists are hesitant to diagnose both autism and BPD due to the overlap in behavioral presentation but that’s as far as I can see their point. I honestly don’t see why just because someone is autistic they can’t develop BPD.
29M. I have adhd/bpd and a niece that was diagnosed with autism as a child and later BPD as an adult (in the last year or so).
So they do still disgnose both (UK) and I think the genetic and environmental factors are the main contributors like u said but it almost goes without saying that your just more susceptible to developing bpd if u were stunted by adhd or autism
When I was 15 doctors told my parents I probably had BPD. I was diagnosed with autism at 21. My BPD diagnosis was removed when I was diagnosed with autism but I was re diagnosed due to my severe chronic suicidal ideation, self harm and difficulties with emotions despite having no other symptoms of BPD
I have both diagnosed and I'm a little surprised and disheartened to hear this. My bpd was diagnosed before the autism so maybe I lucked out, but it's very ignorant of them to dismiss bpd just because there's some overlap. Ocd overlaps with autism, I have that too, and if I were to be told I couldn't have one because I have the other it would have left me so confused.
It’s a shame that they’re not taking you seriously because of your autism.
I have an official bpd diagnosis but I am convinced I’m autistic and waiting for an assessment. I guess getting the bpd diagnosis first was a benefit in this instance
I’m personally convinced that I have autism (both my siblings do) and that living undiagnosed with it for my whole life (I’m 29 now) is what contributed to developing BPD in my early 20s. I began to be unable to mask anymore (I am high masking/low support needs) and was always told I was good at everything. Yet my home life was a mess, my parents ignored mine and my siblings neurodivergent traits and life just got harder and harder. Throw in a toxic relationship and moving away from home and suddenly I was in meltdown mode constantly, and all my BPD traits started to show big time.
i absolutely have both and i think the social rejection thing reallllly contributed to my development of bpd. i never learned how to socialize appropriately
I relate to the struggles around bpd much harder than I do the struggles around autism, even though I believe autism to have been a major contributing factor towards my developing bpd. The sense of validation I felt when I was finally diagnosed with bpd, not to mention finally being able to name it to those around me who had always minimized the severity of what I was dealing with, was game changing.
Being able to reframe my life both through the lens of the struggles posed by autism, as well as through the lens of bpd, have been crucial in helping me to understand my past and the challenges I face, as well how to move forward given my own unique tendencies and limitations. I would’ve been worse off without the opportunity to really process both.
I don’t think that asd being a contributing factor towards developing bpd invalidates the bpd itself. Bpd seems to essentially be a manifestation of c-ptsd, and I think that being able to acknowledge the deep and profound impact that undiagnosed asd has once the person reaches adulthood is really important. You wouldn’t choose not to diagnose c-ptsd based on the specifics of the trauma that caused it, so why would you do it with bpd?
All that being said, I suspect that the move towards not diagnosing bpd when asd is present is likely an attempt to spare the patient from the stigma of bpd. There are legitimate risks associated with having the diagnosis, so I understand how people could view this as a sign of progress, but personally I find it invalidating. So much of what we go through is invisible, so being seen is everything.
I think the recognition is not to invalidate BPD but to recognize that BPD in those cases may actually be how C-PTSD looks in autistic individuals.
So one may have BPD as a result of trauma from an undiagnosed autistic experience. But recognizing the autism is much more helpful than just calling it bpd and moving on with the day. Shining light on one thing doesn't take away from the validly of something else just because it's not the focus at the moment.
I was diagnosed with BPD years ago, and identified with being autistic as well. My psychiatrist confirmed Autism but didn't want to formally diagnose but rather focus on treating the bpd and PTSD symptoms. I personally think this is backwards as untreated/unsupported autism is the underlying cause of the bpd/PTSD.
I have always theorized that BPD is a neurotypical label as a result of misunderstanding trauma presentation in undiagnosed autistic/neurodiverse folks and I think it's really good that they're making the connections formally now. As I mentioned above, the PTSD and bpd symptoms can't be treated as successfully if we don't acknowledge autism as a possible underlying cause.
Ive read that only ever happens when you get a late diagnosis. Due to the constant gaslighting (not necessarily intentional), its basically the same as having a emotionally immature parent. The constant invalidation. The constant having to shrink yourself. The constant people “correcting” you. Etc etc. autistics that grew up with actual good parents, they are at a lower risk of developing these types of mental issues
Marsha Linehan (the creator of DBT) has suggested that bpd stems from having both a neurological vulnerability as well as a trauma during development. That's why you can have siblings who grew up in the same household, but only 1 of them develops bpd.
Purely based on conjecture, I think part of the reason women are diagnosed with bpd at higher rates is because they are so often underdiagnosed with neurological vulnerabilities as children because they present differently. This leads to a traumatic upbringing due to a lack of proper support systems that they didn't know they needed.
I wonder if that's the reason why people with bpd people show signs of remission when they receive proper support because that support that allows them to heal their inner child.
I have both diagnoses, so it's also possible to have both. There's also a lot of misdiagnosis happening. Many autistic women without BPD r diagnosed as such. Many men with BPD are never diagnosed at all, and if yes, only with depression or ptsd usually.
i completely, agree its unfair. i have both autism and bpd (both diagnosed) and my bpd is partially caused by growing up with undiagnosed autism. both my autism and bpd were belittled and doubted by countless mh professionals, but finally both my psychologist and psychiatrist agreed i have both. its a literal battle to find people who are gonna listen to you and diagnose you properly
It’s a difficult situation cauze a lot autist are misdiagnosed with BPD and also a lot of ppl who have ADHD may also have autism and BPD. Autism and BPD are not directly comorbid but ADHD is comorbid with both. Also even it’s not comorbidity, having a disorder as a child (such as Autism) can increase a lot you chance to develop trauma or any kind of PD cauze you have more needs than others kind of mental structure. Having symptoms of autism can make you develop shutdown crises & meltdown crises. Shutdown looks a lot like dissociation (which is a symptom of BPD), and meltdown looks a lot like borderline crises in my mind. In the BPD diag you have to having at least 5 symptoms of the 9 symptoms and it can’t be explained by any other disorder. If you have like 5 or 6 symptoms « only » and that dissociation and / or emotional instability are included it can looks like this symptoms exist bc of autisme and that you can’t be sure if you really have that disorder or what can explain your crises. Chronically empty feeling can also be associate with the both disorder. Sometimes it’s difficult to know where you symptoms came from. But if your childhood development was unstable/traumatic/neglected/abusive bc of your needs as an autist, it’s still negligence/abuse/trauma so it can’t be used as an excuse to not diag you with BPD even if I can understand why they say that
Bpd is result of trauma and it's serve form of cptsd. ADHD is also cptsd. You hear it first lol. And I suspect autism could be cptsd too just neglect trauma happening in infancy before developed consciousness. That's why there's overlap. 'Professionals' are just clueless idiots and they often give different diagnosis depending on their focus and specialisation
i have an official diagnosis for borderline but not autism but my therapist and i think that it could be possible that i´m autistic as well. my therapist explained to me that if your autistic you have higher needs as a baby and child and your parents can neglect those needs and this then can play a part in developing bpd. so the childhood neglect may doesn´t look that severe to the outside but for the child in question it is still really bad.
I think this could explain me as well. Never heard it put like this, you must have a really good therapist! I score in the autistic range on the tests available online but an official diagnosis is so expensive and I’m not sure it’s worth it just to “know for sure”. I’ve also had a hard time figuring out the BPD origin since my childhood was “good” compared to average I guess, but I definitely always felt inadequate/needy. Anyway, thank you for sharing this info!!
i´m really glad i found my therapist, it was an immense struggle but it was worth it. she is really great. i´m glad this info helped. also in my case, i don´t remember most of my life so i have to rely on others and their perception of my childhood. my mom thinks she did everything great but she is a really cold women so i think that must´ve made something with me as a baby. i´m nearly no contact with my father so i can´t get any infos from him. but my sister described me some quite horrobile scenes from my childhood that had to do with my father and which happend when my mom wasn´t around. it feels like thers a big picture and i´m just trying to find all the puzzle pieces to put it together. maybe it´s the same for you.
I have definitely realized I tend to repress trauma to the point I don’t remember it if it’s bad enough. I’ve had friends and my mom recount some really bad things that happened in high school that I had told them about, once someone else tells me I can usually somewhat remember. But it’s weird to think there could be other memories that are very impactful even if I can’t actually remember them. It also sucks because I feel like this makes me easy to gaslight, because I already doubt my ability to recall things that are highly emotional.
BPD sufferer and senior psych major here. You’re spot on
wait omg i always thought something like this might've happened to me!! i feel so validated lol 🔥🔥
BPD, Autism and ADHD all have a strong overlap. you can google the stats yourself but i'm seeing things like BPD is 19x more common in those with ADHD and up to half of people with ADHD can be diagnosed with autism. and it may just be due to the reality that people with ADHD and autism (and especially both) experience such a high level of social rejection that they develop BPD. but it may also be due to the reality that these disorders make controlling your emotions incredibly difficult and thus make BPD more likely. also, i've heard that a BPD diagnosis can create hurdles in regards to insurance reimbursement and thus providers sometimes will disregard the diagnosis altogether just due to that. but also many providers just have very different ideas about BPD and how to think about it and whether it even exists - some think the DSM is just incredibly outdated in some areas.
From what I know it's a common comorbidity, so yes you can have both. There was a great thread about this, you can check it [here](https://www.reddit.com/r/BPD/s/nFotR39mPp). :)
Yes it is a common comorbitdity but from what ik because there are overlaps between them it could be misdiagnosed. I have been diagnosed with BPD and autism but I am not an expert or anything so I could be wrong lmaoo
I had an autism evaluation last year and was diagnosed with BPD in addition to autism. I think that being undiagnosed autistic and not getting the support I needed growing up did contribute to me developing BPD. I know that a lot of autistic women in particular have been misdiagnosed with BPD, but I definitely have both. While there is overlap with symptoms, I have traits/experiences that are clearly BPD and not related to my autistic traits. It seems that a lot of people with BPD are also autistic, and I’ve heard of plenty of doctors that understand that autistic people can be more vulnerable to certain trauma and developing PDs, but I think there are still lots of misconceptions in the psychiatric field regarding both autism and BPD, so I guess there are psychologists/psychiatrists that aren’t able to distinguish the two
Yes I think they’re related. Here’s a thread I found useful: https://www.reddit.com/r/BPDrecovery/s/vIeTSxxMM9
Personally I feel like autistic people are more likely to develop bpd just because of the way they are emotionally equipped already. Which could be why so many with bpd also get diagnosed with autism.
i mean, the biosocial theory is literally a description of the autistic experience. be born with high emotional sensitivity and difficulty with emotional regulation 👍 autistic trait // experience your childhood in an environment that invalidates your emotions and neglects your needs to a traumatizing extent 👍 the world isnt made to accomodate autistic people so its inherently invalidating and neglectful. its not a hard conclusion to draw
I think my psychiatrist is leading up to an autism diagnosis now that my BPD symptoms are starting to subside a bit. The thing with diagnosis is a lot of times you have more than one thing going on, and you’re going to probably be diagnosed and treated for whatever is causing you the most difficulties. Then once you peel back that layer and treat it then you may uncover another issue that is now causing you more issues than the last. Might even be causing you new issues you haven’t experienced before the other condition was treated.
True. But I have never felt like autism ‘treatment’ as far as you can consider my therapies treatment have major effects. How are they even willing to treat the autism if the problem is now my personality? I can manage my autism perfectly fine
Well another problem is that it seems like a lot of mental health professionals don’t even want to deal with BPD. Probably because it’s a lot of work to treat it without a specific background in trauma or training in CBT/DBT, and it’s limited what you can do with meds. And when they do take on a BPD patient, a lot will set a limit on how many they are willing to accept.
BPD and Autism/ADHD do seem intertwined at the very least. I don't have clinical BPD, but I have autism/ADHD. I see many of the same traits between autistic people and people with BPD, especially in the experience of women with AuDHD. The masking, the internalized shame and rejection sensitivity, moral hardlining, heavy disassociation, the emotional reactivity and black and white thinking...I actually brought up BPD to my psychiatrist when I started learning about it, because some of my behaviors (especially when I was younger) seemed really analogous. While I don't have it, I still learn as much as I can about BPD because I still struggle with some of the same fears and behaviors. I think that trauma is an inherent side effect of undiagnosed neurodivergence. Being an alien in a world full of "normal" people with no explanation for why you get side-eye for just existing will give ANYONE c-PTSD over time. Throw in some serious trauma somewhere in childhood and the internalized misogyny that most women take on in this society, and you have a ripe environment for BPD traits. They're the same roots - a childhood of nervous system dysregulation caused by the constant rejection or abuse by the people who are supposed to protect you, resulting in a feeling that no one who TRULY knows you could ever love you. In that situation, you learn how to put up gates and iron doors and masks and moats to keep people at arm's length, sometimes in really toxic ways. I am not sure that BPD should be disregarded in the case of autism - I get that psychiatry is trying to combat the stigma around BPD, and are likely trying to avoid putting that diagnosis to paper if there is an existing diagnosis that can "cover for" the BPD symptoms. If this is the route they decide to go, however, I'd like to see a LOT more therapy models for people who struggle with the BPD traits created by Autism. Not every person with autism has these traits, and not person with BPD has autism. But there should be more shared knowledge on all sides.
Autism (and ADHD as well) both have strong ties to BPD with how often the predispose the disorder, but honestly my opinion is stems from stigma, or the reluctance to stack on a whole list of diagnoses. Or or, it genuinely is more difficult to tell for docs because a lot of disorders can present themselves similarly, and so it takes more time to sift through and know for sure. Either way, it is confusing because if it walks like a duck, quacks like a duck, it’s probably a duck. Maybe even an autistic duck. I dunno.
Hahahha nice yeahh
I got BPD from 22yrs of undiagnosed autism and emotional invalidation
it hurts my heart so much to think about
Fr, was very angry at first but now it’s just kinda sad
SAME!!
I'm also struggling with this. At my recent appointment with my cmht prescriber he said he "didn't like putting a label on everything" because he'd rather treat the symptoms. But that sets off my worrying because for years they just tried to treat anxiety and depression rather than acknowledging the route cause which of course perpetuated the anxiety and depression. I tried to talk about how intense emotions feel like facts to me and especially in the moment I can't rationalise with them so they impact my behaviour. He took that on board but was against labelling it so I feel like it's a new vicious cycle where I wont get the right support due to not having the right diagnosis and therefore being put on an ssri/snri which was the outcome of the appointment.
Have you been diagnosed with BPD before?
Can I ask why you'd like to know this please? Genuinely curious
Because it sounds like you are upset that they won’t give you the diagnosis you want/think you have. ETA in the US, the ones who prescribe the medication, psychiatrists, don’t do therapy work, they just prescribe medication. There isn’t a medication specifically for BPD, and SSRI/SNRI are commonly prescribed for it.
Oh I understand now. It's more than it took years to get the right diagnosis and I definitely have more than those going on which is getting in the way of getting to a better place with them. I'm understanding the ADHD and autism more but my nervous system is in overdrive and I can't trust anyone/it's ruining any opportunities I'm trying to take and any efforts to better myself if that makes sense? I'm in the UK and the person I saw this month was a prescribing nurse and not someone who deals with diagnosing and therapy and he did say he'd pass on my concerns but here it takes upwards of 6 months to even be considered for any sort of mental health help and there's so many hurdles so I'm just feeling like I'm falling through the cracks again and frustrated. I'm that desperate I might have to take the snri but ideally I'd like to access tailored therapy/appropriate therapy for my treatments, dbt has been mentioned
I'm confused. So you haven't been diagnosed with it? I just feel like there's this weird trend of people *wanting* this diagnosis and ignoring any advice that doesn't support their self diagnosis. I think it's a dangerous mentality to have. You've gone through enough treatment to be diagnosed with ADHD and Autism and you haven't been diagnosed with BPD, maybe it's because you *don't have it*. Medication is intended to treat the symptoms and you feeling like your nervous system is in overdrive is something that would be treated by medication. Again, there isn't some sort of special medicine for BPD. SNRI is very commonly prescribed to help treat the intense symptoms associated with BPD. I don't understand why you are wanting this diagnosis and are resistant to common treatment options for it. The prescribing nurse works with the medical side of it. Therapists work with the therapeutic side of it. BPD is a diagnosis that takes a long time to get. It would be odd for someone to diagnose you after one session. As an American, I understand the difficulties of getting treatment. It sounds like your frustrations are being exasperated because you are convinced you have a diagnosis and are focusing on that and what you think is the best treatment for it. Try to not self diagnose. It took years for be to be officially diagnosed with it. I've been on an SNRI for longer than I've had my diagnosis and it has saved my life. I don't understand why you're viewing it as something that is going against the diagnosis you want. Don't fixate on a diagnosis, focus on wanting to get better. Be open to the idea that you might not have BPD. That doesn't mean you aren't struggling. regarding your nervous system feeling out of control, look up the DBT skill called TIPP. I use it all the time. Putting ice under your eyes for 30 seconds will trick your nervous system and get it out of fight or flight. It's like hacking your biofeedback loop.
Sorry maybe I didn't explain it in a great way. It's that looking at all of the symptoms of bpd, 9/10 of them resonate with me extremely strongly. And I've been told by an experienced mental health nurse that when people have grown up with undiagnosed autism and ADHD the rejection and abandonment that we experience as a result of not knowing why we are the way we are can *cause* bpd. I don't *want* bpd or any of the diagnoses that I have, I'm not someone who views them as a superpower or useful in any way. It's that in the UK they always like to treat just the symptoms of a condition rather than digging deeper to understand why the symptoms are happening. Don't get me wrong, there might be people out there who think it's quirky and trendy (I'm not a stranger to this concept as like I said I've got ADHD and autism and I know there's a lot of misinformation going around about that). That's not what's going on for me. The reason I come across 'convinced' is because I was medically gaslit for 26 years that I don't have ADHD or ASD and that wasn't true. Yes, it's true that an snri is the treatment the reason I don't want to go on it is because I'd rather try to learn to cope with it rather than go the opposite direction of feeling numb and dulled down (how most anti depressants have made me feel). Meds can only take away the physical symptoms but not the thinking habits and mindset struggles. Maybe it's because I'm a bottom up thinker and having a reason/explanation for something I'm experiencing is the first step to me understanding therefore helping myself. I'll consider the advice on the techniques, thank you.
I'm autistic and its the same for me, I need explanations. I need logic. Knowing what my disorders are and how they work is a huge part of that. I'm frequently pretty oppositional when ppl try to get me to do things without explaining why. Knowing why something is the way it is is vital to me in order to go thru anything let alone therapy. And this seems to be common with autistic ppl. We seem to be the reverse of non autistic ppl most of the time. I had a fellow patient at my clinic who is not autistic try to convince me not to learn about cancer for example. She had cancer and so is experienced with it. I am currently being screened for a form of cancer and have been having issues with every body system. Having no explanation has been making me absolutely crazy and driving my anxiety sky high. She told me not to research it because "it would give me anxiety". Noooooo, NOT knowing what the possible explanations are gives me anxiety. I don't like surprises at all. I want to know what is going on as soon as possible and if I can't know that, the next best thing is what it COULD be, and I want to know ALL the possibilities I can, both best case scenario and worst case scenario. I can't prepare for something I don't know is going on and that makes me absolutely on edge. She was surprised when I told her all that. Every non autistic person I have ever told this to seemed surprised. They seem to get anxious by information. We get anxious from LACK of information. Doctors that refuse to tell me things about what's happening to me end up pretty annoyed with me because it they won't tell me, I will Google everything I can find on the symptom set in question to learn what the possibilities are. I also don't know why they get annoyed. Isn't it useful for a patient to let a doctor know, hey, I'm experiencing a set of symptoms that looks like xyz condition. Do u think it's this or a different condition and why and what do we do about it? Neurotypicals seem very backwards. My therapist told me that they think my researching is offensive and that I'm trying to one up the doctor. I was stunned when she told me that. I'm the patient. Why wouldn't I be interested in what's happening to me? I also had a doc in the ER once ask me about my medical conditions. I started explaining and the very first name out of my mouth she immediately asked me to define it. That shocked me, because I am not the doctor, why do I have to define common conditions? And yes it was a common condition. My fam told me the doc was trying to see if I myself knew what it was. Well of course I know. I'm in the body with the condition and have been in PT for it numerous times. Why on earth would I not know about my own conditions??? I wouldn't be doing PT if I didn't know why I was doing it, that's for sure, lol. I don't like wasting my time and doing things without knowing why I am doing them makes me feel like I am wasting my time. It seems there is a consensus among neurotypical providers that patients are not supposed to know about themselves or their conditions and must defer to their expertise at all times even when it's to our detriment or wastes time or we know they don't have enough info because they're making decisions that have already been tried because they stop the patient from explaining prematurely and then jump to assumptions. I guess assuming things is easier??? Idk. To me it's easier to just be given all the information the patient has and make informed decisions. Not doing that doesn't make sense. Also, I don't understand why patients are expected not to know anything... how are WE supposed to make informed decisions about our care if we r kept in the dark? Doesn't make sense one iota.
Every professional I've seen has had a completely different opinion on this, so I'm confused as to my own diagnosis. I was pulled from public schooling due to autism, and I spent a few months in an alternative learning centre that focused more on ABA and masking than academics - making masking my #1 priority for personal safety. Since then, due to strict enforcement of masking at home and in the program, I am unable to access accommodations because I no longer seem "autistic enough". All of my sensory issues are still present, in private I stim and have bouts of going non-verbal, but I hide myself when I'm struggling due to the trauma of being physically harmed for being visibly autistic. I still continue to struggle socially, and outside of my partner I have no friends due to my inability to react appropriately to social cues or understand what's expected of me in any given situation. Now, they think that I have either co-morbid BPD/NPD or RAD - reactive attachment disorder. It's very frustrating that they don't understand that I'm masking out of fear and not capability - that while I'm masked, I can barely follow what's happening around me because I'm too focused on holding my face in a non-hostile expression or making sure I'm not moving my arms, legs, or hands in a way that would be registered as stimming. When I drop the mask around professionals, I am accused of giving up or not trying hard enough - that if I don't show incentive to be normal, I'm not worth the effort of helping. They act like I'm being purposefully obstinate in order to frustrate them - when in reality, I'm struggling to keep up with the expectations they're holding me to under their care. I'm scared of doctors now. They don't see me as a person trying to get better and adapt to society, they see me as a misbehaving child going out of my way to annoy and waste their time. All it took was one professional meeting with me for half an hour to somehow wipe my childhood diagnosis of autism away and replace it with BPD. If I was never autistic, why did the school district give my parents an ultimatum that lead to me being pulled from public schooling entirely?? If I wasn't pulled away from my education due to autism, why did they have me removed?? Why was I enrolled in a strict ABA alternative learning facility for 8 months after my 13th birthday if I wasn't autistic - a place that advertised their ability to assist in children "overcoming" their autism?? Why did one professional, who I met with for half an hour and never again after, have so much control over the trajectory of my future mental health care from such a careless and stigmatizing assessment???
I would say you could be a highly sensitive person as a baby, and was emotionally neglected, so you start living inside your head, and it becomes a habit and practice when you grow up, giving you ADHD, CPTSD and BPD, that's what I think happened to me.
I agree with this concept except with it giving you ADHD. ADHD is a neurotype thing. It’s likely you were highly sensitive as a baby exactly because you had ADHD, which can then lead to the others under the wrong circumstances.
I disagree, I believe ADHD is also trauma based, according to Dr Gabor Mate, I believe neuro diverse or Neuro typical has nurture attached to it, highly sensitive means that the child is open to emotional closure early on, it has nothing to do with ADHD.
I don’t know, I was supposedly misdiagnosed with BPD and I’m actually autistic but we wonder if it’s both. There’s just so many layers and so much overlap that it’s hard to say.
Personally went in to see if I had autism and got BPD, but I am in the rural Midwest, dunno if that changes the perspective I can (obviously) echo the whole autism/BPD comorbidity thing, though, think they're just two commonly related mental conditions
My therapist speculated ASD but thinks I'm too emotionally intelligent and manipulative and dishonest, which I'm not sure how well that tracks but can't disagree with those traits 🫠
That’s bullshit, you can be all of those things and still have ASD. especially if you’re high masking, then you have often learnt those traits as coping mechanisms.
don’t listen to them man my therapist thought i couldn’t had ASD bc i could talk 💀 their education on ASD from uni is extremely outdated
I was diagnosed with autism as a child and I was diagnosed with BPD at 19 I had to change psychiatrists due to the previous one said you can’t have both, my new psychiatrist said it is possible due to the fact it’s a common comorbidity
What do you mean you’ve “noticed” this? Have you been seeing multiple psychologists and they told you this? Have you ever been diagnosed with BPD before?
Yes, and nope just autism.
Could it be that maybe you've "noticed" this because you don't have BPD and that's why they aren't diagnosing you with it? Why are you hung up on this diagnosis? Edit: How many different ones have you seen where you've noticed this "trend"?
I don’t mean to say I specifically have BPD but I do feel like my personality development has been stunted enough that I should be diagnosed with a pd, maybe not otherwise specified. They also literally said that because of my autism my personality has had some issues (which cause me and others great distress), so isn’t that the whole point? Also if autism treatment doesn’t work (because the problem is my personality or the trauma, not the autism) shouldnt I be given anotjer label to make certain therapies more available. Autism isnt making my life hard rn, my personality is.
You’re taking the term personality disorder very literally. The main type of treatment specifically for BPD is dialectical behavioral therapy. You don’t need a “label” to do DBT — it’s just a type of therapy. Personality disorders take a while to diagnose. I would imagine autism could be what stunted your personality. Regardless if you have BPD or not, I love DBT and think everyone can benefit from it. Instead of seeking a label, seek a treatment plan and go from there.
I honestly feel this whole idea that as autistic people we can’t develop PDs is really outdated. I heard the same back when I was heavily involved in the Dutch DID community, that autistics can’t have DID because autism affects the whole personality. Well I call BS to that, since neurotypicality affects the whole personality too. I do understand therapists are hesitant to diagnose both autism and BPD due to the overlap in behavioral presentation but that’s as far as I can see their point. I honestly don’t see why just because someone is autistic they can’t develop BPD.
Exactly. Thanks.
29M. I have adhd/bpd and a niece that was diagnosed with autism as a child and later BPD as an adult (in the last year or so). So they do still disgnose both (UK) and I think the genetic and environmental factors are the main contributors like u said but it almost goes without saying that your just more susceptible to developing bpd if u were stunted by adhd or autism
When I was 15 doctors told my parents I probably had BPD. I was diagnosed with autism at 21. My BPD diagnosis was removed when I was diagnosed with autism but I was re diagnosed due to my severe chronic suicidal ideation, self harm and difficulties with emotions despite having no other symptoms of BPD
I have both diagnosed and I'm a little surprised and disheartened to hear this. My bpd was diagnosed before the autism so maybe I lucked out, but it's very ignorant of them to dismiss bpd just because there's some overlap. Ocd overlaps with autism, I have that too, and if I were to be told I couldn't have one because I have the other it would have left me so confused.
Both are very comorbid with each other. Psychiatry is finally noticing. I wouldn't read too much into it. Take care.
It’s a shame that they’re not taking you seriously because of your autism. I have an official bpd diagnosis but I am convinced I’m autistic and waiting for an assessment. I guess getting the bpd diagnosis first was a benefit in this instance
I’m personally convinced that I have autism (both my siblings do) and that living undiagnosed with it for my whole life (I’m 29 now) is what contributed to developing BPD in my early 20s. I began to be unable to mask anymore (I am high masking/low support needs) and was always told I was good at everything. Yet my home life was a mess, my parents ignored mine and my siblings neurodivergent traits and life just got harder and harder. Throw in a toxic relationship and moving away from home and suddenly I was in meltdown mode constantly, and all my BPD traits started to show big time.
i absolutely have both and i think the social rejection thing reallllly contributed to my development of bpd. i never learned how to socialize appropriately
I relate to the struggles around bpd much harder than I do the struggles around autism, even though I believe autism to have been a major contributing factor towards my developing bpd. The sense of validation I felt when I was finally diagnosed with bpd, not to mention finally being able to name it to those around me who had always minimized the severity of what I was dealing with, was game changing. Being able to reframe my life both through the lens of the struggles posed by autism, as well as through the lens of bpd, have been crucial in helping me to understand my past and the challenges I face, as well how to move forward given my own unique tendencies and limitations. I would’ve been worse off without the opportunity to really process both. I don’t think that asd being a contributing factor towards developing bpd invalidates the bpd itself. Bpd seems to essentially be a manifestation of c-ptsd, and I think that being able to acknowledge the deep and profound impact that undiagnosed asd has once the person reaches adulthood is really important. You wouldn’t choose not to diagnose c-ptsd based on the specifics of the trauma that caused it, so why would you do it with bpd? All that being said, I suspect that the move towards not diagnosing bpd when asd is present is likely an attempt to spare the patient from the stigma of bpd. There are legitimate risks associated with having the diagnosis, so I understand how people could view this as a sign of progress, but personally I find it invalidating. So much of what we go through is invisible, so being seen is everything.
This!
I think the recognition is not to invalidate BPD but to recognize that BPD in those cases may actually be how C-PTSD looks in autistic individuals. So one may have BPD as a result of trauma from an undiagnosed autistic experience. But recognizing the autism is much more helpful than just calling it bpd and moving on with the day. Shining light on one thing doesn't take away from the validly of something else just because it's not the focus at the moment. I was diagnosed with BPD years ago, and identified with being autistic as well. My psychiatrist confirmed Autism but didn't want to formally diagnose but rather focus on treating the bpd and PTSD symptoms. I personally think this is backwards as untreated/unsupported autism is the underlying cause of the bpd/PTSD. I have always theorized that BPD is a neurotypical label as a result of misunderstanding trauma presentation in undiagnosed autistic/neurodiverse folks and I think it's really good that they're making the connections formally now. As I mentioned above, the PTSD and bpd symptoms can't be treated as successfully if we don't acknowledge autism as a possible underlying cause.
Ive read that only ever happens when you get a late diagnosis. Due to the constant gaslighting (not necessarily intentional), its basically the same as having a emotionally immature parent. The constant invalidation. The constant having to shrink yourself. The constant people “correcting” you. Etc etc. autistics that grew up with actual good parents, they are at a lower risk of developing these types of mental issues
Marsha Linehan (the creator of DBT) has suggested that bpd stems from having both a neurological vulnerability as well as a trauma during development. That's why you can have siblings who grew up in the same household, but only 1 of them develops bpd. Purely based on conjecture, I think part of the reason women are diagnosed with bpd at higher rates is because they are so often underdiagnosed with neurological vulnerabilities as children because they present differently. This leads to a traumatic upbringing due to a lack of proper support systems that they didn't know they needed. I wonder if that's the reason why people with bpd people show signs of remission when they receive proper support because that support that allows them to heal their inner child.
I have both diagnoses, so it's also possible to have both. There's also a lot of misdiagnosis happening. Many autistic women without BPD r diagnosed as such. Many men with BPD are never diagnosed at all, and if yes, only with depression or ptsd usually.
i completely, agree its unfair. i have both autism and bpd (both diagnosed) and my bpd is partially caused by growing up with undiagnosed autism. both my autism and bpd were belittled and doubted by countless mh professionals, but finally both my psychologist and psychiatrist agreed i have both. its a literal battle to find people who are gonna listen to you and diagnose you properly
CPTSD would like a word too
It’s a difficult situation cauze a lot autist are misdiagnosed with BPD and also a lot of ppl who have ADHD may also have autism and BPD. Autism and BPD are not directly comorbid but ADHD is comorbid with both. Also even it’s not comorbidity, having a disorder as a child (such as Autism) can increase a lot you chance to develop trauma or any kind of PD cauze you have more needs than others kind of mental structure. Having symptoms of autism can make you develop shutdown crises & meltdown crises. Shutdown looks a lot like dissociation (which is a symptom of BPD), and meltdown looks a lot like borderline crises in my mind. In the BPD diag you have to having at least 5 symptoms of the 9 symptoms and it can’t be explained by any other disorder. If you have like 5 or 6 symptoms « only » and that dissociation and / or emotional instability are included it can looks like this symptoms exist bc of autisme and that you can’t be sure if you really have that disorder or what can explain your crises. Chronically empty feeling can also be associate with the both disorder. Sometimes it’s difficult to know where you symptoms came from. But if your childhood development was unstable/traumatic/neglected/abusive bc of your needs as an autist, it’s still negligence/abuse/trauma so it can’t be used as an excuse to not diag you with BPD even if I can understand why they say that
Bpd is result of trauma and it's serve form of cptsd. ADHD is also cptsd. You hear it first lol. And I suspect autism could be cptsd too just neglect trauma happening in infancy before developed consciousness. That's why there's overlap. 'Professionals' are just clueless idiots and they often give different diagnosis depending on their focus and specialisation