Autism Spectrum Disorder vs Borderline Personality Disorder

In this video I'll be detailing the similarities and differences between Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD).
TIMESTAMPS:
0:00 Intro
1:02 What is Autism Spectrum Disorder?
1:22 Deficits in Social Communication & Interaction
2:04 Absence of Interest in Peers
2:54 Restrictive, Repetitive Patterns
3:42 What is Borderline Personality Disorder?
4:11 Overlap in DSM
4:52 Similarities Between ASD & BPD
5:37 Sensitivity to Abandonment
6:05 Identity Disturbances
7:00 Differences: Looking At The Big 5
8:32 Symptoms VS Motivations
10:06 Outro
RESEARCH:
- Autism spectrum disorder and personality disorders: Comorbidity and differential diagnosis (2021)
- Psychiatric and psychosocial problems in adults with normal-intelligence autism spectrum disorders (2009)
- The overlap between autistic spectrum conditions and borderline personality disorder (2017)
Have you seen my previous video? Check it out » • What is Imposter Syndr...
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Disclaimer: This channel is for general informational purposes only and does not constitute a replacement for the practice of psychotherapy or other professional health care services. The use of information on this channel is at the user’s own risk. The content of this channel is not intended to be a substitute for professional advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Users should not disregard or delay in obtaining professional advice for any conditions they may have and should seek the assistance of their health care professionals for any such conditions.

[@aletheiajoy3324]

I don't have both. But from age 18-21 or so, I was misdiagnosed as BPD and I read "stop walking on eggshells" and a bunch of other books trying to understand my supposed "abandonment" issues, which didn't actually exist. Didn't figure out I was autistic until I was 28. Whew. Then everything made sense. I'm in my 40s now, I'm autistic with a PDA profile, which is/was commonly misdiagnosed as other things for women my age. Trying to treat oneself as BPD if you are actually not, is pretty damaging, especially if you are really ASD instead. I can't imagine how difficult it must be for someone who really has both, because like the video mentioned, the ways to deal with each one are very different! As a PDAer, I also find cognitive behavioral therapy to be unhelpful and it feels like gaslighting to my ASD, yet it is supposed to be helpful for those who have BPD.

[@GN315-pe6ul]

Late diagnosed AFAB with (likely PDA) autism that has had about every other disorder slapped on me before my ASD diagnosis. I was in CBT for roughly 20 years with virtually no improvement. Since finally being diagnosed ASD and setting boundaries and adjusting my environment to accommodate my ASD, my symptoms have almost completely self-resolved. Two plus decades of talk therapy and over a dozen psychotropic drugs for multiple misdiagnoses did not fix anything. Roughly two years since my formal ASD diagnosis and adjusting my environment and expectations of myself to accommodate my disability, and I am doing better than I ever did during those 20+ years of therapy and drugs.

[@Chucanelli]

PDAer here too, and I love your insight about CBT! Also, my understanding is that DBT is both the gold standard in BPD treatment and is also starting to be used more for ASD struggles. Still looking into DBT for ASD myself, but on its face it makes sense. Fingers crossed we find something that helps!

[@Bella_bella334]

I'm intrigued. I have BPD and I'm curious; how does CBT feel like gaslighting to you? I'd like to get more from your perspective, I love learning about this kind of stuff

[@ellechouinard445]

I think it’s not uncommon to have both, especially if you are dealing with the ongoing trauma of being an unrecognized autistic person whose needs have not been met, Especially if you struggle with communication (a core feature of autism), self-destructive behaviours and extreme emotional outbursts may be your only way to communicate in such a way that people listen. I am not yet diagnosed, but myself and others strongly suspect that I am autistic, and I relate to many of the symptoms and experiences of BPD, like you say, on a surface level. But when you look at the root of these manifestations, they become more distinct, though some things remain somewhat muddled. For example, I have a fear of abandonment, but that is most likely because, due to my difficulty making and maintaining relationships (because of social and communicative differences), most of of my few friends have “left.” It’s not an autistic trait to fear abandonment, but it is the result of the autistic experience. Thanks for the video! I understand that you took a very clinical approach to this video, but I thought I’d add that identity-first language (“autistic person”) is largely preferred by the autistic community, and that we often refer to our defining characteristics as “traits” as opposed to “symptoms.” I appreciate you exploring the link between BPD and ASD, and all the digestible information you have on your channel! ❤️

[@HolyCatastrophe]

“It’s not an autistic trait to fear abandonment, but it is the result of the autistic experience.” Perfectly said.

[@onthelinecommunity]

Thanks so much for this and for shedding light on the preferred terminology within the autistic community! I will take note for future videos 😊

[@zacharyarmendariz1033]

Comorbid rates in behavioral disorders is an idea that haunts me the more I see it come up in topics. It is compelling to think about the tremendous complexity of the 'spectrum' and how overlapping symptoms across unique behavioral disorders indicates some deeper connection between them. The challenge is that the variance of predicted comorbidity rates across studies is so large that the only reasonable assumption is: "diagnosis is hard and misdiagnosis is common". In addition many overlapping symptoms have completely different causes across groups. For instance ADHD and ASD share 'inability to read social cues' as an overlapping symptom. In practice people with ADHD are perfectly capable of reading social cues, but miss them due to their inattention. People with ASD do not understand allistic social cues all together so they just don't understand what is being communicated. The what (symptom) is identical, but the why (cause) could not be more different. When you consider the disparity in diagnosis of BSD in women and ASD in men, the challenge with misdiagnosis becomes clear. Not to say comorbidity doesn't exist, but I think it is far from common. The data indicates that a woman is more likely to be incorrectly diagnosed with BPD than correctly diagnosed with ASD. Which is a little disheartening when you think of the implications of this.

[@amirat8162]

It really is haunting! @@zacharyarmendariz1033

[@eihlr]

Your channel is so underrated. The way you speak so calmly and come off as extremely professional but also caring is admirable. It’s so hard to find respectable resources such as yourself so thank you. Your effort won’t go unnoticed

[@onthelinecommunity]

Thank you for that, I needed that today! ❤️

[@Sun-ng7gj]

I agree! The youtube algorithm needs a little help getting out good content vs most watched content! !

[@IceQueenZoey]

Very interesting and educational, I have ASD and ADHD, and it can sometimes present itself similar to the symptoms of BPD, although I don't have that disorder.

[@IceQueenZoey]

I probably have some mood disorder as well. I have trouble regulating my emotions, and they always fluxuate between non- existent and overwhelming. I often feel completely hollow, and on a flick of a switch I can be full of motivation (and vise versa)

[@onthelinecommunity]

@@IceQueenZoey Thanks for sharing your experience 😊

[@HolyCatastrophe]

Thank you so much for covering this. I’m deeply fascinated by this connection and always looking for references exploring it, but there just don’t seem to be that many yet. Awareness on this connection is so new that even Dr. Fox’s new book on complex BPD doesn’t even mention autism. The thing that really hits home for me is how the chronic rejection from lack of understanding of social cues could lead to a really intense fear of abandonment and difficulty trusting relationships. Combined with the inherent impulsivity and emotional disregulation, you basically already have the recipe for BPD. There is so much overlap here and I think it’s so much bigger and more prevalent than is currently being recognized by the wider mental health community. I’m really looking forward to seeing more research and awareness come out exploring this connection. Thanks again for your take, I’ve actually never seen the similarities and differences covered so clearly.

[@onthelinecommunity]

Of course! Thanks for the insightful comment 😊

[@kalvinwhite733]

Brilliant job as always!🙂 Been looking forward to this one, big thanks for doing it.🙂

[@universinspiredcraftsnmore]

Great video. Recently diagnosed with borderline personality disorder.

[@joellezorzetto4780]

Mmmm... very intersting. Gave me much to think about. Glad to see that both are being studied and thanks for shedding light on these topics.

[@onthelinecommunity]

Merci!! 😊

[@ramisarahman485]

Thank you for making a video on this topic. I've been personally searching upon both of these diagnoses and can't seem to weigh myself on one specifically yet.

[@onthelinecommunity]

Of course! I hope this was slightly helpful for you ☺️

[@rileycorwin9621]

I loved your video! The world of mental health is so crazy and it feels almost like every doctor has a different opinion for what might have. I've had extreme episodes and weird habits ever since I was young and my family always joked I had bipolar. As a kid, I ended up in the hospital over two dozen times and was at multiple residential facilities and missed my entire high-school years. There, every doctor had a different diagnosis from adhd to bipolar, depression,and anxiety, and I even ended up having ect for nearly almost 2 years because my episodes were so bad. Once I turned 18, they diagnosed me with bpd, ptsd, adjustment disorder, and bipolar. I don't feel like i have bipolar and every time I try to ask to see if I might be on the spectrum, all of my doctors refuse because I have too many diagnoses and from what they see I don't act like I'm on the spectrum. But being in those places, they force you to learn how to act 'correctly' like making eye contact, speaking up, working in groups, otherwise you get in trouble. I still have episodes sometimes but now I at least have some dbt and cbt skills to help, but it still is extremely frustrating when it feels like your favorite person doesn't understand or just gets annoyed that you aren't able to communicate the 'right' way.

[@tajanssen]

Well explained 👌

[@obsidianrat2131]

I Got diagnosed as Autistic a week before my 40th birthday, I got diagnosed as Borderline last November (at 42 yo). My life-long question of "what the f--k is wrong with me" got answered & I lost all hope at happiness. That's what it's like.

[@KonjikiKonjiki]

About ten years ago, I began noticing ongoing issues with executive function in my life, and took a long look at ASD as a possible reason for it. I've since learned I have BPD, and pretty much every issue I've ever had falls out in a manner predicted by BPD. nd specific patterns from childhood trauma.

[@onthelinecommunity]

Thanks for sharing your story 😊

[@janeobscure3342]

Hi ! First of all thank you for all the videos you make they have been really helpful in my journey of getting diagnosed between BPD and ASD or both. I just wanted to ask you, if it is not too much asking, could you give insight with concrete examples that you experienced for example that can make you on the quiet BPD range but not ASD for yourself ? I don't know if it's the ASD side of myself but I still struggle to grasp the differences. Thank you so much for reading my comment and maybe give it a bit of an answer that would be so appreciated. Have a great day

[@DRAGONFLYS06]

I was diagnosed with BPD but I don't relate to it. I thought I might have quiet BPD until I learnt about Autism and it fits me better as I only relate to the cross symptoms that relate to ASD only. I am on the long waiting list for an autism assessment. I also had undiagnosed late perimenopause symptoms when I was diagnosed with BPD so that couldn't of helped xxx

[@Raven_Black_252]

What about the quiet subtype of bpd and autism? Those two look much more similar, especially quiet bpd not being outwardly expressive and not being extroverted.

[@MrLeicon]

This is hard. I'm undiagnosed but I tick both boxes for both. Full blown bpd 10 yrs ago but managed to "fix it" for a while. Currently going thru a relapse caused by recent events. It's hard.

[@allinredriskstrategies]

So beautiful!

[@onthelinecommunity]

Thank you!

[@allinredriskstrategies]

@@onthelinecommunity if you like strategy games, then how 'bout you make my day and become one of my Subs ;)

[@jaded9087]

I have had 2 misdiagnosis of bipola and BPD, neither was a proper diagnosis done and it was done by a psych that only met me that day for 25 mins. Later down the track i have had intensive diagnostics done including a MMPI to factor out any cluster B condtions.. i dont, nore am i bipolar but i am asd1 and adhd comp hyperactive/inattentive and i already had a diagnosis prior to all this that was what lead me down this cruel rabbit hole of people labling me without even knowing me as i has a period of depression and PTSD from serviveing a natural disaster that i lost 2 childen in , in my late 30s. Did the MMPI in the treatment of that and you dont just develop bipolar and BPD in your late 30s because a fire burnt down half the state and killed half my community but the psych that decided i had bipolar and bpd , not ptsd and depression forgot she was the one that wrote all this on my medical file, 3 years later after i had my asd and adhd full diagnosis we crossed paths and on a quick reading of my medical file she says " well you definitely don't have bi polar but because you are asd , you definitely will have BPD. Mind you , no one had even told me this was on my medical records , i was never treated or medicated for bipolar or had DBT even suggested in the 3 years i had been seeking treatment for my ptsd, depression , asd and adhd . Ive been seeing a diffent psych now for 8 years and in that time i had been a victim of nasscistic and psychological abuse, on going for 11 years and she believes my PTSD has become CPTSD due to the on going abusive relationship i left 5 years ago after a 6 year relationshit but we havd a child and my ex psycho still is trying to distroy me any way he can for 11 years now and he met me only a year in to my threapy for ptsd from the loss of my childen and the fires that took everything away from me .....and in came prince charming love bombing the hell out of me in my most vounrable state ive been in my whole life. Seems to be a patten of his, he scrowers the autistic mothers fourms like tinder. Been fighting him in court for 5 years in a custody dispute in family law that looks like its never going to end . He has been stalking me since ive left him and every statement to the courts he makes are purely fictitious as i have only laid eyes on him and been in the same court room with him once in 5 years and i have not spoken, emailed, contacted him any more than 3 times in the first 3 months of us splitting to organize mediation and since then its been all " talk to my lawyer " ever since as he was just trying to manipulate me in those 3 times and even meditation has assessed him as to unstable and not suitable for mediation twice yet now he is useing legal abuse to try to carry out the control over my life he had in the abuse i suffered in the relationshitwe where in for 6 years. He stripped me of everything and everyone.. My now psychologist is a clinical and a forensic psychologist that use to work as a court appointed psychologist and she is of the mind that the absolute flagrant legal abuse i am still enduring is the worst case she has ever encounter and he has even tried contacting her to try to manipulate my psychologist too. This man has 0 boundaries. I know i dont have BPD as it would have come up in the on going threapy ive been doing for years with the same psych ive been seeing, diffent than the one that missdiagnoed me in the first place that i doubt she even knew my name , thats how much she knew about me and when doing the 800 question MMPI, i dont suffer any custer b personality conditions but try getting that expunged off my records when the person that put it their believes all women with asd have bpd has been proven that she needs to do it and when she told me i had it on my records i was like " what?, first time ive been told this" so i had my gp pull the records and went back to see her to sort this out but she was hell bent on not admitting she was responsable for 2 missdiagsis and thats when she come up with that pearler of all woman with asd have bpd.... what a quack! Now im having that thrown in my face every time i step in to a court room even though ive been in therapy since 2009 to date and on going but now to appies the courts because he keeps telling them that im doing crazy shit in every court statement over the past 5 years yet we dont even share friends anymore. He knows nothing of my life othet than hacking all my stuff that i dont dare to leave anything that may be used against me I dont even facebook , tiktoc, Instagram, nothing at all but on youtube in an account not in my name. He even hacked my banking less than 12 months ago to try to get my postal address but i have that on a PObox and my google account to get my navi history but google sent me a recipt in his name to my email as he paid my monthy premium with his credit card. Thing is , why are we seen as disordered when the abusers never get looked at . What kind of crazy is the man that is doing this to me . Im back in court for 5 days in may and i just want to get on with my life . Why cant he just let me go ? Its been 5 years and i personally belive he will not be happy untill im either dead or he has pushed me so far over the edge that i become the crazy he claim i am . My psych cant believe just how i have managed to keep sane though this as she feels that even the saneist person would for lost their marbles by now but thankfulky i dont need people ( asd) ive just isolated myself from the world of where he may find me.

[@ajohdeer5450]

This is so helpful! Thank you!

[@onthelinecommunity]

Of course!! 😊

[@stevexie2705]

I think a LOT of undiagnosed ASD people (not just females) of colour are prone to BPD. Especially those who switches between different environments on a regular basis, such as speaking English at school but speaking their native language to parents.

[@Blacksquareable]

Hmmm.... interesting. I do have a colleague who is claiming to be on the spectrum. She is very clever at reading people - I would say better than most - she is always two steps ahead of you. She does misread negative as more exagerated than they actually are, though. Right on about the OCEAN and yes, callousness, that's a thing with her.

[@r.bishop1127]

I think the last guy I dated was BPD. But he said he was autistic. Maybe both. Idk. He was amazing, until he wasnt. I was his favorite person then painted black. It was like 2 different people. Most of his traits match BPD, not ASD. It's so sad.

[@Catlily5]

I have OCEAN scores like BPD and I was diagnosed with BPD in the past. But it was a misdiagnosis and I haven't been diagnosed with BPD for about 7 years. I don't have 5 of the 9 requirements for BPD. I do have emotional deregulation and self harm. My case manager thinks I have autism. So I am looking into that. I have been diagnosed with 15 things in the DSM (over 32 years and at various times). Maybe I just don't fit anything. It is really annoying.

[@onthelinecommunity]

That is the problem with the DSM. It forces people to fit into a box when that’s not the way life is

[@Catlily5]

@@onthelinecommunity They try their best I guess. Things are easier to treat when you have categories like with physical illnesses. The problem is that mental health categories are about 100 years behind physical health categories. So they just don't know enough to make good boxes yet.

[@Catlily5]

@@onthelinecommunity And even they know a lot more boxes will never be perfect.

[@jordandonnellymusic00]

Diagnosed with both first bpd had symptoms but l was not afraid of abandonment at all but had the other symptoms of bpd etc for me I just on some days have a agitation feeling restless and cudnt figure out why was constantly told its bpd triggers I didn't agree as I didn't feel that's how it felt for me I could literally just start feeling agitated and need to be alone coz I feel a meltdown coming if I didn't get to be alone to regulate I could lose it say a bunch of stuff a don't mean just coz am so overwhelmed and this comes across as splitting but in reality it is someitnes but other times in genuinely burning out of asd and I need to be alone and regulate my nervous system but when you say this people think your rude or ignorant did this my whole life drowning it out with alcohol masking all behavior wanting to fit in pretty much destroyed my sense of self had no idea what I liked who I was just did what society deemed the norm and then when I stopped alcohol 5 years ago I learned it I hate crowds hate alcohol infact hate confrontation hate pointless small talk and things never ever look somebody random on the street in the eyes it's like death and av been told my rest face looks angry when I don't actually feel that way so I avoid it all together unless I know you well in hyper verbal and if I trust you never ever shut up talking a joke alot and take the mick and can use sarcasm as a joke so the stereo types of autism not getting sarcasm maybe the case but not with everyone I'm very open minded and always felt misunderstood didn't get why I have no friends had them in school coz your basically forced to in a environment with a bunch of people but once I left not a soul bothered me and I had no idea why I cudnt make any bpd is unstable relationships which the professional told me was me a tryed to explain who the hell wudnt have a unstable relationship with there mam and dad if they were abusive that's just stupid coz they are the only people in my life I'm unstable with I took it literally what they mean as to me that statement made zero sense yet I'm in relationship for 13 years hace child happy home life no problems there these can be conorbid but very misdiagnosed due to trauma yes I read the room wrong alot and just to conclusions and be paranoid but that trauma is also through asd and been took advantage of and having a innocent mind to how that being destroyed and now I'm hyper vigilant as you can see iv probs over stepped the mark and spoke to much haha typical asd but that's my experience hope it helps somebody take care

[@jordandonnellymusic00]

Bpd and asd but I'm a professional chameleon and will mirror others to fit the situation and will wear whatever suit is needed to be invisible basically

[@lilkitty4388]

I love your cats😍😘

[@onthelinecommunity]

Thanks haha 😊

[@deelask3024]

Out of 63 markers I have 32 on the autism spectrum I used to not be able to be alone now I'm married I've been married since 2008 I have ADD BPD I know I don't know what they call that sensory overload thing but I got that I got anxiety disorders Dallas since I've watched that video I've noticed all the different behavioral takes that I have and it's really bothering me I don't know what to do I have absolutely no consistency I'm never the same person twice I don't know what to do about my kids are having troubles to both my daughters seem to be affected the same way except for a y oldest daughter seems to have more autism-spectrum things my son has a few but he is definitely a TD he will not get any counseling my ex-husband was extremely abusive and controlling and we were not allowed to get counseling since he died in 2002-3 whatever it was I'm not very good at dates names I also have a traumatic brain injury I don't know what's wrong with me but I can't seem to get a damn counselor for my life and I know that I don't want to slip back into that psychotic state that I was where I always wanted to die but was too afraid now I want to live I am still too afraid I'm in my forties and time is running out to make good bonds with my children and I can't get my life together I am also a recovering drug and so is my husband I know you're not a counselor I dbt know wat ta do some I'm seriously running out of time to make these bonds with these kids that I have hardly any connection to it's not fair to them and I want to be a grandmother to my grandchildren I just don't know how to get it together I am not good at organization I also am a hoarder there's too much wrong with me wtf I am in limbo and it needs to change I don't take any medications for my mental disorders I am on medication for my addiction I am being brutally honest here which I always try to be having so many things wrong with me at one point in time they labeled me as having Munchausen by proxy under that particular time frame I was being abused by my ex-husband and they thought he was making up symptoms and hurting myself to get attention and I guess because I had to lie I feel stupid putting all this stuff out here for anybody to read but if I can't fix it myself maybe somebody else has some things that could help me I live in Michigan there's a lot of programs or assistance available or even for that matter psychologists and psychiatrists and mental health is kind of hard to get around to and being low-income you don't get to just go wherever you want I have no car and everything is very spread out and there's all these obstacles and I have absolutely no consistency and cannot for the life of me get on a routine even when it comes to trying to exercise to lose weight I can't do it I just everything just falls apart and on top of it I have dumped all of my acquaintances except for two and my husband and my kids I have no friends i😅 don't really have time for them with all the problems I'm trying to deal with anyways but when you're a drug addict you have to cut all your ties so it has kind of had a negative effect on me I even quit my job because he was an enabler to keep me on drugs I feal lots healthy er but it's bean a few years now with very little communications with anybody and very little improvement and if I didn't more and more and increasingly difficult to leave my house even cuz I get overwhelmed. It's like walking outside is my one fear now probably because they don't want to revert back to being a drug addict I think I'm just going to have to muddle through this probably no hope for me to get any help from this but at least I tried

[@jackmcananey2659]

Big question..can you have both? I think i know someone with both..

[@loresavant]

Yes

[@livenotbylies]

Probably not. The appearance of overlap is about misdiagnosis because of a very superficial similarity. Cluster b personalities are manipulative and exploitative. Those are strategies that are basically not even possible for autistics, for neurological reasons

[@gtl1010]

Hi! My BPD ex states she is a spoiled brat that feels entitled and that's why she behaves the way she does. She is used to getting her way including being taken care of. She admits to having been diagnosed with BPD and has been in therapy for 6 years. Is this just her excuse to skirt more serious issues with BPD or should I be surprised that after 6 years of therapy this is the reason for her actions?

[@daniike7563]

BPD is a very serious thing to live with. It usually comes from years of trauma and invalidation. Unfortunately those issues can't be resolved overnight. It is good that your ex is in therapy. Unfortunately many people without BPD underestimate how much work it actually takes to get better. After 6 years she's probably just scratched the surface.

[@eihlr]

Rule of thumb: nothing excuses shitty, abusive, or harmful behaviors. Unless she is actively trying to regulate and help how much pain she feels, I think it’s time to put boundaries up.

[@gtl1010]

@@eihlr Thanks Kate - but how would someone know if "she is actively trying to regulate." She does not communicate well and does not like anyone to bring up BPD which makes me wonder if she is being honest about being in therapy now.

[@eihlr]

@@gtl1010 In my opinion, it’d present in ways such as taking full accountability for her actions, admitting they were harmful without trying to blame. I’m sorry you’re going through this. It seems like a relationship that I would heavily limit. Being exes may not be helping, you know? Best of luck.

[@mistwalker11]

You really should educate yourself more on ASD because a lot of what you have shared when describing it is either inaccurate or incomplete. Shame.

[@livenotbylies]

This is an extremely offensive misrepresentation of autism. You dont understand us, please dont speak on us