Dissociative Identity Disorder or Borderline Personality Disorder ?

Hey Justme64.  Yes I had a similar experience where I was diagnosed BPD but then after a couple of years I was told of DID and that my diagnosis was more toward that.  Thing is with both BPD and DID is that there are such similarities so I suppose its just down to which, label you feel more comfortable with.  Try to just see them for that and hopefully you won't feel so confused.  All the best x

Hi i have also just been diagnosed with DID after years of being told i had borderline personality disorder then i was told it was bi polar i am just happy now that the truth is finally out and i can start to try and make sense of my life and not feel that i am going mad and that my carer understands when i genuenlly cannot remember certain things or thing i am lying take care.

BPD is one of the many, many 'suggestions' given to me over the years and I was never satisfied with it. Personality disorders, on the whole, do share a lot of co-morbid traits - more often than not those with them are treated as having one of the lesser symptoms such as depression or anxiety (as in my case) - but DID is quite specific in that you suffer from split personality disorder or you have one or more different personalities, rather than BPD which is you and solely you.

It's difficult to know or offer any advice without knowing exact symptoms (and I mean 'EXACT' symptoms rather than ones you've found) but generally speaking, a person with DID can shift in and out of different personalities, sometimes with different names, even different accents, dress sense, hobbies and interests, without any given notice, and without causing any harm whatsoever, whereas a person with BPD always stays the same person, just has a different mood that reflects their own perception of a situation (usually involving other people).

The problem, however, with all personality disorders is that they cannot be cured - they are a part of who you are; it is your personality, it is something in your mind, it is naturally there. Think of it as a birth-mark that can't be removed. Symptoms can be treated, therapies can be applied, but all of those are there to help you cope rather than cure.

Hi Justme64 - I realise it was over a year ago since the last replies to your question, however I wanted to clarify that often people suffering from Borderline Personality Disorder have a good prognosis - and it is possible, with good treatment, for those with BPD to get to the point that they no longer qualify for the diagnosis (that is, they no longer display symptoms of BPD, and have learned new skills/developed healthy coping resources).  Often people facing a BPD diagnosis struggle with hope and it can be unhelpful to recovery for these people to be treated with the perspective that it is an irrepairable, core part of who they are.  Recovery is possible, and there is certainly hope.