One mental illness that gets an even worse stigma than Borderlines, they are Narcissist. NPD or Narcissistic Personality Disorder and Borderline Personality Disorder can and often are comorbid, 40% of Borderlines also fit under the diagnostic criteria for NPD. Narcissism is characterized by traits such as: an inflated sense of self-importance, a need to receive constant admiration and external reinforcement from others. Both BPD and NPD are not genetic, and you are not born with these conditions. Narcissistic Personality Disorder is a spectrum disorder affecting both men and woman however, 50%- 75% were born male. Behavior that is observable in NPD is: sense of self-importance, preoccupation with power, beauty and success, they come off as entitled, like to be seen with important or special people, they enjoy speaking highly of themselves, can be arrogant, lack empathy, they feel worthy of admiration, they are full of envy and feel others should be envious of them.

Both BPD and NPD are primarily caused from external sources of ongoing trauma and neglect. People with NPD are experts at masking their less than desirable traits. Although NPD and BPD begin the same way, they end up almost opposite. Borderlines tend to believe everybody is inherently good and they normally see the best in others. NPD believes people are naturally deceitful selfish and have allterior motives. NPD like BPD is said to develop in someone's teens to early adult years. People may show signs much earlier, but for many reasons, they won't likely diagnose someone until they feel it is an appropriate time.

Narcissistic people generally do not seek treatment, because people who believe they are better than most, have no desire to change this. They truly believe nothing is wrong with them and it is all the other people who have the issues. BPD and NPD have similar issues within their relationships. They both tend to move very fast as well as feel much more intense emotions than other relationships. One of the biggest differences between BPD and NPD is the belief behind the behaviors are drastically different. Example: The narcissists child brings home a report card with all A's, the parent is pleased. The borderlines child comes home with A's on their grade card, the difference is that the borderline parent is proud of the child, recognizing the effort it took and is proud of their child for having what it took to overcome any obstacle and achieve their goal. The narcissistic parent is also proud of the A's however, it's for a different reason. They are proud of the A's because their child is a reflection of them, they most certainly got their abilities from them, and now others can see what a good job the child is doing representing the parent and their parenting skills.

People with BPD and those with NPD, often do find one another for relationships, why is that?! For the individual with BPD, they see everything they can't do, or struggle to do, in the narcissist behavior and it feels like they are the perfect counterbalance to their own insecurities and the emotional dysregulation of BPD only amplifies this effect. People who are willing to admit they are more narcissistic than others, probably are. Many narcissists are proud of the fact. You can even ask them directly, because they won't see it as a negative quality, as they honestly believe they are superior to others and are fine saying that publicly. If someone with BPD is in a relationship with someone who had NPD, it can work out as they do tend to balance one another out, but treatment is really necessary. Both people would need to be self-aware, and receive treatment, I say that because it's difficult to maintain a relationship for those with BPD and NPD if you haven't received treatment and you aren't self-aware. Treatment changes a borderline who wants to get better. Depending on the type of treatment they receive, someone with BPD has up to a 99% chance of going into remission (meaning they no longer have symptoms of BPD or no longer fit into the diagnostic criteria). NPD has a remission rate for those who receive effective treatment closer to 50%. Treatment (DBT therapy) is recommended to anyone with BPD wanting a successful long-term relationship.