There are many common mental health disorder symptoms that can apply to more than one diagnosis. For instance, heightened irritability and social isolation are common symptoms associated with various mental health disorders. When these symptoms overlap, it can be difficult to determine which disorder you should seek treatment for. The good news is that there are quizzes that can help.

Borderline personality disorder and bipolar disorder are two common mental health diagnoses that are often confused for one another. The confusion could potentially lead to a misdiagnosis and untreated symptoms. That’s why you should take borderline personality disorder and bipolar disorder quizzes. You can get a better idea about how you align with each criteria.

Read on to learn about both borderline personality disorder and bipolar disorder before comparing the two. Then we’ll dive into the benefits of taking borderline personality disorder and bipolar disorder quizzes.

The basics of borderline personality disorder

Let’s start off by discussing the basics of borderline personality disorder, or BPD. Borderline personality disorder is associated with self-destructive behavior and emotion dysregulation. This can lead to mood swings and impulsive behavior.

The most common borderline personality disorder symptoms include:

• Severe mood swings
• Fear of abandonment and rejection
• Self-sabotaging behavior
• Black-and-white perception of reality
• Feeling empty
• Difficulty being alone

People with borderline personality disorder have an intense fear of being abandoned. That desire causes them to struggle with their sense of self. This can result in frequent changes to their opinions, goals and values. Constant changes can interfere with interpersonal relationships.

The basics of bipolar disorder

Bipolar disorder is a common mood disorder that was previously known as manic-depressive disorder. Bipolar disorder causes unusual shifts in energy and emotion levels during episodes, which are periods of extreme mood swings. Episodes can cause thought, behavioral and emotional patterns that make it difficult to maintain healthy relationships. It can also be hard to carry out your daily tasks at school, work or home.

Bipolar disorder episodes are a cycle between manic highs and depressive lows. Manic episodes can last up to a week, followed by a depressive episode that can linger for more than two weeks.

Manic episodes can cause symptoms including:

• High energy levels
• Heightened irritability
• Racing thoughts

Depressive episodes can last more than two weeks and cause symptoms including:

• Overwhelming feelings of sadness
• Lack of enjoyment in activities
• Concentration and decision-making issues

There are two main types of bipolar disorder. Bipolar 1 has a high acuity level and may have more frequent shifts between manic and depressive episodes. Bipolar 2 has hypomanic episodes, which have milder symptoms than the manic episodes of bipolar 1. It also has longer periods of emotional stability between episodes.

It’s important to know about the possibility of cyclothymic disorder. Your mental health provider may diagnose you with this disorder if you have more mild episodes that last more than one year. It also means that you don’t fit the criteria of bipolar 1 or 2.

Comparing borderline personality disorder versus bipolar disorder 

Despite the fact that one is a mood disorder and one is a personality disorder, the main reason why bipolar disorder and borderline personality disorder are often confused for one another is because they both cause extreme emotional shifts. But the details of those emotional shifts are what set them apart.

The differences between bipolar disorder and borderline personality disorder include:

• Range of emotions — Bipolar disorder causes episodes that switch between mania and depression. BPD mood changes are often associated with triggers and can cycle throughout the day.
• Length of mood changes — While bipolar episodes can last several weeks, BPD mood swings are much more short lived, often only lasting for a few hours.
• Triggers — While people with bipolar disorder only have emotional shifts tied to their manic or depressive episode,  BPD mood shifts are often associated with triggers that can occur at any time if the individual feels stressed by an interaction with someone else.

The importance of taking borderline personality disorder and bipolar disorder quizzes

When you start to acknowledge your potential disorder symptoms, it can feel overwhelming and nerve-wracking. That’s why it’s important to complete a borderline personality disorder quiz as well as a bipolar disorder quiz so that you can get a better grasp on how your emotional and behavioral patterns align with the criteria for each one.

The benefits of borderline personality disorder and bipolar disorder quizzes include:

• Increased self-awareness
• Gaining a different perspective of your emotions and behaviors
• Validation of your feelings and thoughts
• Opening the door to getting treatment

Once you have taken the borderline personality quiz and the bipolar quiz, it is recommended that you share your results with a licensed professional to determine if you meet criteria for one or both of these disorders.

Find help with BPD or bipolar disorder symptoms at Lightfully Behavioral Health

Whether you decide to take a borderline personality disorder quiz, the bipolar disorder quiz or both, we’re here to help you after the results. We use process-based therapy to provide personalized, holistic treatment in four levels of care: Residential Treatment, Virtual Intensive Outpatient Program (vIOP), Partial Hospitalization Program, also called our Day Treatment Program, and Intensive Outpatient Program.

Change is possible. When you’re ready to take the first step, reach out to our Admissions Concierge Team. We’ll take the next steps together, toward the fullest, brightest version of you.