Borderline Personality Disorder Symptoms to Watch for in Teenagers (2023)

FAQs

What does BPD look like in teenagers? ›

Signs of BPD in Teens

Distorted or dysfunctional self-image; a damaged identity. Inability to connect or feel empathy for others, intense narcissism. A persistent fear of abandonment and rejection. Volatile mood changes without clear cause that are lasting.

In other words, about one in every ten adolescents in outpatient mental health treatment has borderline personality disorder, and nearly eight in ten adolescents seeking emergency services for suicidal behaviors have BPD.

According to the DSM-5, BPD can be diagnosed as early as at 12 years old if symptoms persist for at least one year. However, most diagnoses are made during late adolescence or early adulthood.

According to the DSM, borderline personality disorder can be diagnosed in adolescents or even children under age 18 as long as formal criteria are met. Symptoms have to be occurring for more than a year, and they must be “pervasive, persistent and unlikely to be limited to a particular developmental stage.”

Fear of being abandoned and desperate attempts to avoid it. Paranoid thinking. Quickly changing from loving or admiring someone to disliking or criticizing them. Impulsive behavior, such as risky driving, unsafe sex, or alcohol and substance abuse.

Young people with emerging borderline personality disorder may describe many of the following: feeling okay one moment and then feeling deeply despairing, angry, sad or anxious the next. emotions or moods that change very rapidly. feeling out of control of, or overwhelmed by, their emotions.

Your GP will not be able to give you a diagnosis of BPD – only a special mental health professional can do this. But they can refer you to Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) for an assessment and let you know what other support is available to you in your local area.

Several studies have shown that a diagnosis of BPD is associated with child abuse and neglect more than any other personality disorders [7, 8], with a range between 30 and 90% in BPD patients [7, 9]. Adverse childhood experiences are also related to BPD symptom severity [9–11].

What triggers a person with borderline personality disorder? ›

Separations, disagreements, and rejections—real or perceived—are the most common triggers for symptoms. A person with BPD is highly sensitive to abandonment and being alone, which brings about intense feelings of anger, fear, suicidal thoughts and self-harm, and very impulsive decisions.

But borderline personality disorder does not develop as a result of those traumas. Instead, it is a combination of genetic factors and childhood experiences (early environmental influences) that cause a person to develop borderline personality disorder.

As previously mentioned, DSM-5 permits the diagnosis of BPD in patients younger than 18 if symptoms persist for at least 1 year. Symptoms of BPD usually start prior to adulthood and the diagnosis can be made reliably.

While those with BPD are often highly intelligent and creative, symptoms can impair their learning and daily functioning in school. A student impacted by BPD may have a significantly more difficult time than a typical teenager managing relationships, academic pressures or anxiety.

Wide mood swings lasting from a few hours to a few days, which can include intense happiness, irritability, shame or anxiety. Ongoing feelings of emptiness. Inappropriate, intense anger, such as frequently losing your temper, being sarcastic or bitter, or having physical fights.

It is commonly believed that symptoms of Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) lessen with age. For example, the DSM-IV states: “The impairment from the disorder and the risk of suicide are greatest in the young-adult years and gradually wane with advancing age” (1).

Splitting is a psychological mechanism which allows the person to tolerate difficult and overwhelming emotions by seeing someone as either good or bad, idealised or devalued. This makes it easier to manage the emotions that they are feeling, which on the surface seem to be contradictory.

However, contrary to popular mythology and outdated thinking, BPD does not have to be an immutable state. With the right approach and treatment, you can nurture a healthier relationship with your child while giving them invaluable support as they learn to navigate their illness and find true recovery.

Lashing out in anger, a hallmark of BPD, often stems from one basic yet intense and overriding fear — the fear of being alone. People with borderline personality disorder often go into a panic or rage when they feel that they are being abandoned or are left alone, whether that abandonment is real or imagined.

Can BPD be diagnosed before 18? ›

As previously mentioned, DSM-5 permits the diagnosis of BPD in patients younger than 18 if symptoms persist for at least 1 year. Symptoms of BPD usually start prior to adulthood and the diagnosis can be made reliably.

Your GP will not be able to give you a diagnosis of BPD – only a special mental health professional can do this. But they can refer you to Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) for an assessment and let you know what other support is available to you in your local area.

Several studies have shown that a diagnosis of BPD is associated with child abuse and neglect more than any other personality disorders [7, 8], with a range between 30 and 90% in BPD patients [7, 9]. Adverse childhood experiences are also related to BPD symptom severity [9–11].

Young people with emerging borderline personality disorder may describe many of the following: feeling okay one moment and then feeling deeply despairing, angry, sad or anxious the next. emotions or moods that change very rapidly. feeling out of control of, or overwhelmed by, their emotions.

In fact, content analysis of DSM criteria by Geiger & Crick (2001) found five childhood indicators of BPD: hostile or paranoid worldview; impulsivity; intense, unstable or inappropriate emotion; excessively close relationships; and lack of sense of self.

Separations, disagreements, and rejections—real or perceived—are the most common triggers for symptoms. A person with BPD is highly sensitive to abandonment and being alone, which brings about intense feelings of anger, fear, suicidal thoughts and self-harm, and very impulsive decisions.

Borderline personality disorder is also called emotionally unstable personality disorder (EUPD) and emotional intensity disorder (EID). In this factsheet, we call it BPD as this is still the most common term for the condition.

Wide mood swings lasting from a few hours to a few days, which can include intense happiness, irritability, shame or anxiety. Ongoing feelings of emptiness. Inappropriate, intense anger, such as frequently losing your temper, being sarcastic or bitter, or having physical fights.

Are you born with BPD or does it develop? ›

But borderline personality disorder does not develop as a result of those traumas. Instead, it is a combination of genetic factors and childhood experiences (early environmental influences) that cause a person to develop borderline personality disorder.

The exact causes of BPD are not yet known, but most experts believe that BPD develops as a result of biological, genetic, and environmental factors.

It's possible that a combination of factors could be involved. Genetics might make you more vulnerable to developing BPD. Whereas stressful, difficult or traumatic life experiences could then trigger these vulnerabilities.

The dad continues: "The most psychologically damaging thing you can say to a child is a lie that they find out later was not true. If this pattern repeats enough times, it will be very psychologically damaging."

While those with BPD are often highly intelligent and creative, symptoms can impair their learning and daily functioning in school. A student impacted by BPD may have a significantly more difficult time than a typical teenager managing relationships, academic pressures or anxiety.

Somatization, hypochondriasis, and hysteria have often been considered as associated features of the borderline personality disorder.