What’s the Difference Between Bipolar & Borderline Personality Disorder?

On the surface, it might seem like there’s not too much of a difference between bipolar disorder and borderline personality disorder. Both mental health disorders can involve mood shifts and problems with impulse control — so much so that even doctors in a clinical setting can sometimes have a difficult time telling the two disorders apart when making an initial diagnosis. Though bipolar disorder involves a series of manic or depressive “mood episodes,” while borderline personality disorder is more about an ongoing pattern of behavior, the extreme ups and downs that sufferers of both disorders must deal with can make them look awfully similar from the outside. If you have questions about a loved one’s unpredictable moods — or even your own — you might have a hard time figuring out which disorder seems more applicable to your situation.