Can Borderline Personality Disorder Be Caused By Add

Attention arrears disorder/attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADD/ADHD) can be a crippling neurological impairment. Information technology's likewise more treatable today than ever before, thanks to new therapies and medications. As with any medical condition, though, the key to effective Add/ADHD treatment is getting an accurate diagnosis—which isn't always easy.

Why ADD/ADHD Can Be Piece of cake to Misdiagnose equally a Personality Disorder

ADD/ADHD is one of the most often misdiagnosed neurological conditions in children and adults. In my own practice, it'due south not unusual for patients to see me for a full battery of brain imaging scans and neuropsychological tests just after they were misdiagnosed with another status, such as a personality disorder.

This problem of misdiagnosis can raise very real obstacles to getting the right treatment. Whether you lot're Mom or Dad trying to accost a kid'south emotional outbursts and acting out at home and school, or you're an developed struggling with anxiety, low, or exaggerated emotions, Add/ADHD may be the explanation for your troubles.

Or, it may not be. Another explanation for the same symptoms could be borderline personality disorder (BPD) or hating personality disorder, both of which commonly involve emotional instability—a frequent feature of Add/ADHD.

Emotional Instability in ADD/ADHD vs. Personality Disorders

Just how hard is it to know whether Add together/ADHD vs. a personality disorder is the issue when emotional instability is a major presenting symptom? An April 2017 study in the journal Molecular Psychiatry pointed to the complexity of making a differentiation. The written report noted that the encephalon changes and symptoms associated with ADHD are similar (merely also different) to the brain changes and symptoms associated with emotional instability disorders such as borderline personality and antisocial personality disorder.

Complicating the diagnostic chore further, roughly 80 per centum of adults with ADHD reportedly have at to the lowest degree one co-occurring psychiatric disorder sometime during their lifetime, and personality disorders often co-occur with ADD/ADHD. It's therefore completely within the realm of possibility that a person has both Add/ADHD and a personality disorder and is non enlightened of it.

How to Become an Accurate Diagnosis of Add/ADHD vs. a Personality Disorder

For individuals and families who desire and need a diagnosis they can trust, having new noesis about the extent of overlap between ADD/ADHD and personality disorders and their frequent co-occurrence can be helpful. Information technology likewise can foster a state of informed paralysis. Take heart. The following advice is intended to reassure y'all that yous can get an authentic diagnosis and volition provide some direction about how to practise that.

Consider age and babyhood history. Be assured that these factors are even so reliable in determining whether the diagnosis is ADD/ADHD or a personality disorder. Some people don't know—and for others, it's like shooting fish in a barrel to forget—that ADD/ADHD is most often diagnosed before the historic period of 12 and is largely a babyhood condition. Conversely, to be diagnosed with a personality disorder, y'all must be 18 or older.

When I diagnose ADD/ADHD in adults, more typically it'due south because they study that during their childhood, their parents and teachers noticed many of the aforementioned symptoms they're currently experiencing:

Poor focus and organization
Impulsivity
An inability to sit down still

These symptoms are much more than likely to be ADD/ADHD if:

they're occurring before the age of 12;
are said to take occurred earlier the age of 12, by an developed experiencing similar symptoms.

Historic period and babyhood history are therefore worth considering in consultation with an appropriate medical professional.

Keep a detailed record of all psychiatric symptoms and behaviors. An accurate diagnosis of Add/ADHD volition largely depend on the behavioral and psychiatric symptoms that you lot or your child may exist experiencing. Here a comprehensive clinical assessment tin be peculiarly helpful at differentiating between Add/ADHD and a personality disorder.

Say, for example, an adult patient is exhibiting poor impulse command— a symptom that can occur in both Add/ADHD and personality disorders. After further exploration of the symptoms, I might notice the patient is also experiencing extreme fears of abandonment and rejection and engaging in cocky-destructive behaviors to avoid these fears. I might also discover that his or her mood fluctuations are severe, take place across fourth dimension frames every bit curt as 1 hour, and are accompanied past pronounced interpersonal instability. These observations would permit me to rule out ADD/ADHD and diagnose BPD with greater certainty.

Consult a licensed neuropsychologist. A neuropsychologist may be able to acquaint you with the tests used to diagnose ADD/ADHD vs. personality disorders. This information could then help you gauge whether an in-depth neuropsychological evaluation will be worth your time.

A comprehensive neuropsychological evaluation should ideally employ a combination of brain imaging technologies and neuro-psych tests to give y'all an accurate picture of what's going on. Expect for these in item:

Quantitative Electroencephalogram (qEEG) – This diagnostic tool measures and records electrical activity in the brain in the course of brain waves. Theta encephalon waves are associated with light slumber or a meditative state. Beta encephalon waves are associated with an awake state of alertness.

Analyzing the theta-beta ratio alphabetize on a qEEG helps u.s.a. diagnose ADD/ADHD with greater accuracy. Typically, a diagnosis of ADD/ADHD will also manifest itself equally dysregulation in the bilateral, prefrontal lobe of the brain— although confront-to-face up evaluations and neuro-psych testing should be done to supplement these findings.

Event-related potential tasks (ERP) – These help the states measure the amplitude of P300 waves when the brain is in an agile state. P300 waves register (on a standard EEG) as very pocket-size voltages in particular brain structures when the brain is actively engaged with specific tasks. For case, I might ask patients to click their keyboard when they hear a certain noise, then simultaneously recall how many times they're clicking.

Greater attention to this task will testify upward as larger P300 waves. On the other hand, reduced P300 amplitude correlates with inattentiveness and poor impulse control and may point to underlying Add/ADHD. (It'southward of import to emphasize here once more that similar the qEEG, ERP results should be considered in combination with findings from in-person testing also.)

Continuous performance job and number sequences – From my feel, the #one way to diagnose ADHD is to administer a "continuous operation task." In this calculator-administered examination, patients click their keyboard whenever an paradigm flashes at the top of the screen. They're instructed not to click if the image flashes at the lesser of their computer screen. A person with Add/ADHD may exhibit increased distractibility, reduced attending, or poor inhibitory control when presented with this task.

Another helpful examination: request someone to verbalize numbers in sequential lodge or recite them backward. Retaining this information long plenty to be able to repeat it is often very difficult for someone with Add together/ADHD, whereas someone with a personality disorder may non struggle when presented with the same task.

Yes, misdiagnoses of ADD/ADHD can be common. (Research into the shared brain changes and symptoms of ADD/ADHD and personality disorders merely confirms this fact.) Withal, the above tips can assistance put yous on the path towards a more authentic diagnosis.

If yous or someone you know experiences mental health problems, information technology is of import to seek help from a qualified professional. Our Resource Specialist tin help you find adept mental health resources to recover in your community. Contact us now for more information on this free service to our users.

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Dr. Antonio Rotondo is a licensed clinical psychologist specializing in neuropsychology at FHE Wellness. Acquire more than nigh how FHE Wellness is using neurorehabilitative services to treat mental health needs in a residential setting.

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