Co-Occurring Disorders

The despair of Borderline Personality Disorder patients is usually associated with self-destructive and impulsive behaviors, and therefore BPD patients almost always have coexisting mental health problems that lead to an exacerbation of the patient's psychological and physical health. These most often include:

• Depression
• Substance abuse
• Eating disorders (anorexia, bulimia, binge eating)
• Anxiety disorders
• Bipolar disorder
• Antisocial Personality Disorder
• Narcissistic Personality Disorder
• Compulsive spending and/or gambling
• Compulsive and risky sexual behavior
• Suicidal ideation
• Deceptiveness

It is therefore important to note that any treatment center or professional used to help a patient with borderline personality disorder should have training and expertise in these co-existing disorders as well.

Helpful links to sites that provide direct information on these individual conditions are listed below:

Depression:

The Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance (DBSA) www.dbsalliance.org

A helpful article on depression published by the National Institutes of Mental Health can be found by clicking
http://www.nimh.nih.gov/HealthInformation/Depressionmenu.cfm

Substance Abuse:

The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University www.casacolumbia.org

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration www.samhsa.gov

Eating Disorders:

The National Eating Disorders Association www.nationaleatingdisorders.org

A helpful article on Eating Disorders published by the National Institutes of Mental Health can be found by clicking:
http://www.nimh.nih.gov/Publicat/eatingdisorders.cfm

Anxiety Disorders:

The Anxiety Disorders Association of America www.adaa.org

A helpful article on Bipolar Disorder published by the National Institutes of Mental Health can be found by clicking:
http://www.nimh.nih.gov/HealthInformation/anxietymenu.cfm

Bipolar Disorder:

The Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance (DBSA) www.dbsalliance.org

A helpful article on Bipolar Disorder published by the National Institutes of Mental Health can be found by clicking: http://www.nimh.nih.gov/HealthInformation/Bipolarmenu.cfm

Suicide:

The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention www.afsp.org

A helpful article on Suicide published by the National Institutes of Mental Health can be found by clicking: http://www.nimh.nih.gov/publicat/harmaway.cfm