Hi all! I think maybe it is.

I've read articles that say that the diagnosis of Bipolar Disorder (once underdiagnosed) has skyrocketed in recent years (actually over the last decade or so), and this might be because, in some cases, it is wrongly diagnosed.

Now I know that BP and BPD can and do co-exist in some people. But some of the symptoms overlap so much that I think, in the case of some pdocs, they diagnose BP when, in fact, the diagnosis should exclusively be BPD.

Mark Zimmerman has written extensively about BPD and is a proponent that Bipolar Disorder is misdiagnosed in the BPD population: Borderline Personality Disorder and the Misdiagnosis of Bipolar Disorder

I actually think that the two disorders are vastly different (i.e. the core feature of fear of abandonment in the case of BPD, but not BP) Traits such as these make them radically different. But, as the article points out, things like irritability and anger in the BPD population can be mistaken for that in manic and mixed episodes of Bipolar Disorder.

In my opinion, as I've said in other posts, I think the onus is on pdocs to 'watch and wait' before giving a Bipolar diagnosis; starting with BP NOS, for example, until they're sure. My assumption is that if you watch and wait long enough, BPD traits will show themselves, and/or Bipolar episodes will eventually develop. In my opinion, too many pdocs just don't want to wait and see, and sometimes, as well, they're under pressure from patients themselves, eager to get some answers as to why they feel and behave as they do: in other words, to get a diagnosis.

So what do you guys think? Do you think Bipolar Disorder is over-diagnosed
these days? Do you think it is confused with BPD? Do you think pdocs are to blame for this?