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A Clinician’s Guide to Differentiating ADHD and Borderline Personality Disorder
Borderline personality disorder (BPD) — characterized by unstable interpersonal relationships, self-image and identity issues, and impulsivity — shares many traits and features with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), a comorbidity that is largely under-appreciated despite its significant clinical implications.The ADHD-BPD overlap comes into focus when we look beyond the core symptoms of ADHD — inattention, hyperactivity, and/or impulsivity — and consider the full effect of ADHD and its related features, like dopamine deficiency and emotional dysregulation, on various domains of life. Through this lens, we can recognize how ADHD presents in ways that may resemble the symptoms of BPD, and how misdiagnosis may occur.In addition to sharing symptoms, BPD and ADHD can co-occur and influence each other’s presentation.