Differences in phenomenology, family history, longitudinal course, and responses to treatment suggest that this is not the case. Researchers have found "only a modest association" between bipolar disorder and borderline personality disorder, with "a strong spectrum relationship with [BPD and] bipolar disorder extremely unlikely". Benazzi et al. suggest that the DSM-IV BPD diagnosis combines two unrelated characteristics: an affective instability dimension related to bipolar II and an impulsivity dimension not related to bipolar II. Premenstrual dysphoric disorder
Premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD) occurs in 3–8% of women. Symptoms begin during the luteal phase of the menstrual cycle, and end during menstruation. Symptoms may include marked mood swings, irritability, depressed mood, feeling hopeless or suicidal, a subjective sense of being overwhelmed or out of control, anxiety, binge eating, difficulty concentrating, and substantial impairment of interpersonal relationships. People with PMDD typically begin to experience symptoms in their early twenties, although many do not seek treatment until their early thirties.Although some of the symptoms of PMDD and BPD are similar, they are different disorders. They are distinguishable by the timing and duration of symptoms, which are markedly different: the symptoms of PMDD occur only during the luteal phase of the menstrual cycle, whereas BPD symptoms occur persistently at all stages of the menstrual cycle. In addition, the symptoms of PMDD do not include impulsivity. Comorbid Axis II disorders
About three-fourths of people diagnosed with BPD also meet the criteria for another Axis II personality disorder at some point in their lives. (In a major 2008 study—see adjacent table—the rate was 73.9%.)
Another term suggested by psychiatrist Carolyn Quadrio is post traumatic personality disorganization (PTPD), reflecting the conditions status as (often) both a form of chronic post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) as well as a personality disorder. However, although many with BPD do have traumatic histories, some do not report any kind of traumatic event, which suggests that BPD is not necessarily a trauma spectrum disorder.The Treatment and Research Advancements National Association for Personality Disorders (TARA-APD) campaigned unsuccessfully to change the name and designation of BPD in DSM-5, published in May 2013, in which the name "borderline personality disorder" remains unchanged and it is not considered a trauma- and stressor-related disorder. Society and culture
Fiction
Literature
In literature, characters with behavior consistent with borderline personality disorder include Catherine in Wuthering Heights (1847), Smerdyakov in The Brothers Karamazov (1880), and Harry Haller in Steppenwolf (1927).