Did I just develop borderline personality disorder?

Question: Did I just develop borderline personality disorder?

I am in my 30's and have been in therapy on and off, and with my current therapist for a while. My therapist recently diagnosed me as having borderline personality disorder. Is this something that I just recently developed? Why is she just now diagnosing this?

Answer:

Borderline personality disorder (BPD) is a disorder that is developed over time as a person’s personality develops. Personality disorders are present by late adolescence or early adulthood (early 20’s), when the personality is generally considered to be set.

There are often occasions where a person is not diagnosed until well into adulthood, but this does not mean that the disorder just appeared, only that it was simply not previously diagnosed. It is possible the symptoms and level of dysfunction ebb and flow over time. Often the level of instability and intensity of BPD symptoms level out as a person enters mid- to late adulthood.

A diagnosis of BPD is nothing more than a name that serves to categorize the symptoms and difficulty functioning a person is and has been experiencing. The diagnosis does provide answers to BPs and those who care about them, helping everyone make sense of confusing and painful feelings and experiences. However, the diagnosis does not mean that symptoms have just developed or that a person would not have met the criteria of BPD had she not been diagnosed.

Often the presenting symptoms of BPD are initially seen as symptoms of other mental conditions such as bipolar, depression or anxiety, and the underlying personality disorder is not recognized at all. Clinicians, even those with an understanding of BPD, may not recognize the personality disorder until after a client demonstrates a repetitive pattern of behaviors, over an extended period of time, that can be linked back to personality traits and not to another psychiatric or medical cause. As a result, a diagnosis of BPD may only occur once someone is well into a therapeutic relationship.