This video discusses the differences between Borderline Personality Disorder and Narcissistic Personality Disorder.
Borderline Personality Disorder is characterized by a number of potential symptoms including a fear of abandonment, a series of unstable relationships, self-identity changes, stress-related paranoia, risky and impulsive behavior, suicidal behavior or threats, mood swings, empty feelings, and anger. One of key features of Borderline Personality Disorder is the idealization/devaluation cycle, sometimes called the love/hate cycle. This two-stage cycle can sometimes lead to the abandonment that an individual with Borderline Personality Disorder fears. The name of Borderline Personality Disorder was given during a time when the diagnosis was thought to be on the border between neurosis and psychosis, so the name is no longer consistent with our current understanding of the disorder. Borderline Personality Disorder responds to treatment to some degree in many individuals. Potential treatments include Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT), Dialectic Behavior Therapy (DBT), and group therapy. Borderline Personality Disorder is thought of as occurring more in women than in men, but evidence suggests it affects men and women in equal numbers.
Narcissistic Personality Disorder is characterized by a grandiose sense of self-importance, a preoccupation with unlimited success, feeling too special to be understood by regular people, needing excessive admiration, a sense of entitlement, being interpersonally exploitative, having a lack of empathy, being envious and others and believe others are envious of them, and being arrogant. Oftentimes an individual with Narcissistic Personality Disorder wants to be recognized as superior, believes they are so complex and amazing that they can only be understood by special people, has low self-esteem, devalues the contributions of others, and is condescending. Criticism is not well received by most people with Narcissistic Personality Disorder. Comorbid disorders include other personality disorders (e.g. Antisocial Personality Disorder), Anorexia Nervosa, and substance use disorders (especially cocaine use disorder). The prevalence of Narcissistic Personality Disorder is about 1%. Common goals in mental health treatment of Narcissistic Personality Disorder include adjusting behavior to improve relationships, developing skills resolve employment and career issues, and increasing insight. Clinically significant distress is required for a diagnosis of Narcissistic Personality Disorder as stated in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM).
