Borderline personality disorder (BPD) can affect every aspect of a person’s life because it affects how someone views themselves and behaves around other people.
Common symptoms of BPD can include an unstable self-image, distorted perception of relationships, and challenges regulating emotions and behaviors. BPD is one of 10 personality disorders.
Living with the symptoms of BPD can be challenging, but with the right treatment plan you can reduce your symptoms and live a happy and stable life. The first step is getting an accurate diagnosis.
Who is this quiz for?
This brief, time-saving questionnaire is designed for anyone who thinks they may be experiencing symptoms of borderline personality disorder.
The statements below will help you determine whether you may need additional help and professional support for your symptoms.
A mental health professional can also help you figure out if your issues might be a symptom of BPD and recommend treatment if needed.
Is this quiz accurate?
This online screening is not a definitive tool. It’s not designed to diagnose BPD or take the place of a professional diagnosis.
You can, however, use this test as a self-screening tool to track your moods. It might also show your doctor how your symptoms have changed from one visit to the next.
Only a trained medical professional, such as a doctor or mental health professional, can help you determine the next best steps for you.
Quiz
Instructions
For each statement, indicate how much you agree or disagree. This takes most people about 5 minutes to complete. Try to take your time and answer truthfully for the most accurate results.
Remember that this online screening is not a diagnostic tool. Only a trained medical professional, like a healthcare or mental health professional, can accurately diagnose a mental health condition.
This online screening is not a diagnostic tool. Only a trained medical professional, like a doctor or mental health professional, can help you determine the next best steps for you.
Frequently asked questions
What are the nine criteria of BPD?
There are nine criteria symptoms of BPD. To be diagnosed with BPD, you must display at least five of the following symptoms:
- viewing relationships in extremes (e.g., everything is either all good or all bad)
- challenges controlling anger
- frequent mood changes (i.e., periods of intense anger, depression, or anxiety)
- recurrent suicidal ideation
- chronic feelings of emptiness
- acting impulsively in at least two ways that could be potentially harmful (e.g., spending money, substance use, reckless driving, or binge eating)
- paranoia or dissociation, which is often brief and related to times of extreme stress
- a lack of sense of self (e.g., a dramatic shift in big life aspects such as your career, life goals, or values)
- fear of abandonment
How is BPD diagnosed?
If you think you may have BPD, a healthcare or mental health professional will conduct a psychological evaluation.
This assessment generally involves an interview, multiple questionnaires, and taking a medical history. A physical exam or bloodwork may also be done to rule out other health conditions that could be causing your symptoms.
Can I self-diagnose BPD?
No. Only a healthcare or mental health professional can accurately diagnose a mental health condition.
What can trigger BPD?
There’s no single cause of BPD, which means many different factors can potentially cause it to develop.
Factors involve:
- Genetics. Certain genes may make you more vulnerable to developing BPD.
- The environment. Environmental triggers include experiencing childhood trauma.
- Your brain. Abnormal brain structures may play a role.
- Chemicals. Changes in neurotransmitter levels in your brain, especially serotonin, may be involved.
What is high functioning BPD?
If you have high functioning BPD — aka “quiet” BPD — you may try to hide your symptoms from others. You may direct your thoughts, feelings, and behaviors inward rather than outward so others can’t see them.
Quiet BPD isn’t an official clinical diagnosis but is instead considered a subtype of BPD.
Ready to start therapy? Our Find a Therapist resource may help.
The following screening test has been developed by me to assist in detecting symptoms of a Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) (link: German language article) according to the criteria outlined in the DSM IV manual.
Note: this is as screening test, no diagnostic test – so it can’t replace a medical, psychological or psychotherapeutic diagnosis. A screening test is used to distinguish between individuals who require a detailed examination of certain symptoms and those where it is not required.
The test involves 40 questions and will take about 4 minutes to complete.
After submitting your answers, your results will be displayed (at no cost at all).
Privacy is considered as important by me as a psychotherapist: your answers will be saved for statistical purposes, but without any personal reference which would allow a conclusion about your identity. To avoid abuse of this questionnaire, your IP address will be recorded.
While most of the other tests on my website recommend to answer spontaneously, in view of the particular personality disorder this test screens for, it is recommended you consider whether other persons would share your self-assessment in the responses.
The results of the test will be most accurate if you answer honestly.
Legend
0 1 2 3
I agree
0=absolutely not 3=definitively
1. In my family there was substance abuse (alcohol, prescription drugs, narcotics,..)
AND/OR
I’m a habitual or compulsive user of narcotic drugs / alcohol / prescription drugs /..
0 1 2 3
2. It doesn’t take much for me to fall into anger.
0 1 2 3
3. I still have the same goals and priorities for my life as I had 2-3 year ago, and I also have relatively clear objectives for the upcoming 3 years.
0 1 2 3
4. Sometimes I am falling into deep emotional holes (with feelings of anxiety or depression).
0 1 2 3
5. With some people, I have a quite extreme relationship: I deeply love them, but they can also burn me up.
0 1 2 3
6. Sometimes I feel very lost and lonely, and this can be very hard to bear.
0 1 2 3
7. It is difficult for me to maintain stable and lasting friendships.
0 1 2 3
8.
I occasionally hurt myself on purpose
AND/OR
I am prone for smaller or bigger accidents.
0 1 2 3
9. Sometimes, I find myself in feelings of extreme, paralyzing boredom – although there would actually be enough for me to do.
0 1 2 3
10. “I know who I am.” – This statement applies to me
0 1 2 3
11. Sometimes I’m not sure about my sexual preferences or what direction it really takes me.
0 1 2 3
12. Mostly I find ways and means to achieve my goals. If necessary, I will help for a little.
0 1 2 3
13. Due to psychological problems, I already had contacts with psychiatry (hospitalization, psychological or psychiatri assessment(s) etc.), or it has been recommended to me to see a psychiatrist or psychotherapist.
0 1 2 3
14. In my life, I occasionally had the feeling to to lose control over myself, to “lose it” or to “go ballistic”.
0 1 2 3
15.
I have memories of sexual abuse or violence (very harsh punishments also count), eg by parents, relatives or other people)
AND/OR
I was left in the lurch by my parents in early ages (eg, separation, given away for adoption, to child and youth homes, nonparental supervision, …)
0 1 2 3
16. I’m often spending much more than I planned.
0 1 2 3
17. I often get in intense anger, which in some cases can lead to brawls or fights.
0 1 2 3
18. If I feel very bad, it can lead to such an extent that I am hurting myself (or at least announce to do it).
0 1 2 3
19. Sometimes I use actions or make decisions without thinking enough about the consequences.
0 1 2 3
20. I am a person with severe mood swings.
0 1 2 3
21. I tend to “black and white painting”, to statements as “that’s so..”/”that isn’t..” or “You/they always…”/”You/they never…” with no gray area – without closer considerations.
0 1 2 3
22. When I talk to other people, it often happens that they find it difficult to follow my train of thought.
0 1 2 3
23. I quickly lose my equilibrium when things go awry / different to what I expected.
0 1 2 3
24. I have already taken significantly more on a drug than prescribed.
0 1 2 3
25. If I fall into anger, it takes some time, until I calm (or let someone calm myself).
0 1 2 3
26. Some people say/said about me that I was manipulative and sneaky.
0 1 2 3
27. Within the last 2 years, I had recurrent thoughts of suicide.
0 1 2 3
28.
When I’m alone,
AND/OR
When I have nothing to do,
I easily get ‘cabin fever’ / start climbing the walls – boredom or the feeling of emptiness burden me above average.
0 1 2 3
29. Occasionally, I’m stealing something from stores.
0 1 2 3
30. There are periods when I tend to binge eating.
0 1 2 3
31. I’m scared of being alone.
0 1 2 3
32. Wenn I ought to write a three-page essay on what really matters to me in life, I would not think twice, and could immediately start to write.
0 1 2 3
33. I’m very afraid of being abandoned by the people I love.
0 1 2 3
34. If I am under extreme stress, I sometimes have an ominous feeling that I could ‘crack up’, to be swept off my feet, or to completely lose control of myself.
0 1 2 3
35.
I have broken many a time trainings, psychotherapy, medical treatment, school, etc., changed or lost my job more than average
AND/OR
I have more broken relationships behind me than other people my age
0 1 2 3
36.
Some of my friends, I sometimes wonder whether they really are the right ones for me
AND/ORI often wonder whether my relationship partner is the right one for me.
0 1 2 3
37. Sometimes I’m extremely bored.
0 1 2 3
38. I find it not easy to empathize with other people.
0 1 2 3
39.
Sometimes I can’t avoid the feeling that someone pursues me
AND/ORSometimes I have the feeling that certain parts of my body don’t belong to me
AND/ORSometimes, I perceive things (visually or acoustically) of which I doubt that they are real.
0 1 2 3
40. I have fears (eg. of blushing, public speaking, of certain animals, from storms, fear of heights, from dirt, from spreading) that I just can’t get rid of.
0 1 2 3
Sex: male female other
Age:
I live in:
Relationship status:
Do you currently have personal problems bothering you?
If you answered YES to the previous question related to problems:
Do you think that your problems might be related to you having aspects of a borderline personality disorder:
…at work (0=no problems caused by a borderline personality disorder at work 3=serious problems caused by BPD at work):
…privately (relationship, friends) (0=no private issues caused by borderline personality disorder (BPD) 3=serious private problems caused by BPD):
Are you currently undergoing a psychotherapy, sex therapy or counseling?
yes no
Which of the following categories describes your primary occoupation best?
My self-assessment on possibly having aspects of borderline personality disorder:
Click “Analyze!”, after that the result will be displayed (if the questionnaire was completed).
Emma Durnford
Owner / CPO
Hello! My name is Emma Durnford and I am excited to be part of your next journey. Passionate about anything outdoors and travel, I am always looking for my next adventure. I am a licensed skydiver, avid hiker and climber and enjoy learning anything that allows me to grow and face my fears. Being in nature, meditation and yoga have really helped me to stay center and grounded. All of this has been a journey, a discovery of myself. But where I am at today is not where I have always been.
I moved to California from a small town in the Midwest after my parents divorced. With these challenging and abrupt life changes, things started spiraling out of control. As a teenager. I started dating a verbally abusive boyfriend who would hit me, kidnapped me, and introduced me to drugs and violence. I allowed that relationship to damage my self-esteem and self-worth. It was his arrest that woke up me. (I cannot be mad at 17-year-old Emma for not knowing better and have forgiven myself since.) Not too long after, my father, grandfather and new boyfriend passed. Overwhelmed with these losses, I left the country for a year, traveling and working abroad.
Regaining my own peace and claiming my life is something I am proud of. And I would love to share my experience with you. This is why I became a certified life coach, reiki healer, and yoga teacher. Through this process, I learned my strengths and weaknesses, and that knowledge has given me the power to make more healthy choices and healthy relationships. Now, I am engaged to the love of my life and living a healthy, balanced life. Of course, there are struggles, but with the tools I have learned, they don’t knock me down like they did before. And, my own self-discovery will never end. Can’t wait to meet you!
