What disease does Pete Davidson have? What is BPD syndrome?

The Saturday Night Live and King of Staten Island star was diagnosed with BPD in 2017.

Pete Davidson opens up about borderline personality disorder diagnosis

Pete Davidson has opened up about the relief he felt after being diagnosed with borderline personality disorder.

“I’m glad that your sister got a diagnosis,” he said. “I got diagnosed with BPD a few years ago, and I was always just so confused all the time, and just thought something was wrong, and didn’t know how to deal with it.

“Then, when somebody finally tells you, the weight of the world feels lifted off your shoulders. You feel so much better. I hope she feels that way as well.”

Does Pete Davidson have a disability?

Davidson was diagnosed with Crohn’s disease at age 17 or 18, for which he receives intravenous treatment, and uses medical marijuana for pain management and recreationally. On March 6, 2017, Davidson announced on his Instagram account that he had quit drugs and was sober for the first time in eight years.

Pete Davidson Shares What It Was Like to Finally Get His BPD Diagnosis

People often describe feeling a sense of relief when they receive a mental health diagnosis after years of unexplained symptoms. Pete Davidson, who has borderline personality disorder (BPD), is one of them. In a conversation with Glenn Close for the Variety series Actors on Actors, Davidson spoke about what it was like to finally receive his BPD diagnosis in 2017.

“I got diagnosed with BPD a few years ago, and I was always just so confused all the time, and just thought something was wrong, and didn’t know how to deal with it,” Davidson, 27, recalled. “Then, when somebody finally tells you, the weight of the world feels lifted off your shoulders. You feel so much better.”

The actors were discussing the ways in which they could both relate to Close’s new movie Hillbilly Elegy, in which Close plays the mother of a woman with a heroin addiction (played by Amy Adams). “I think it was a very honest view of addiction and the terrible difficulty of getting out of that cycle,” said Close, whose sister dealt with addiction and mental health issues. “Because we weren’t close at the time, I really didn’t know what she was going through,” Close added.

Like Davidson, it took Close’s sister a long time to figure out what was going on. She was finally diagnosed with bipolar disorder at age 50. “If she had been diagnosed sooner, it would have made such a big difference in her life,” Close said. (Her sister, Jessie Close, wrote a memoir about living with the condition titled Resilience, which includes chapters by Glenn.) Davidson said he hopes Close’s sister felt a sense of relief upon receiving a diagnosis to help make sense her experience, the same way that he did.

Davidson had a long road of mental health challenges and unexplained symptoms before he was diagnosed with BPD at age 23. The actor previously said he was “in and out” of inpatient treatment facilities for mental health issues since age nine. In the fall of 2016, he started having troubling episodes of intense emotions, like rage, and then forgetting what happened, on top of serious depression. Thinking his cannabis use might be to blame—Davidson was using the drug to help manage his Crohn’s disease—he went to rehab twice. A bipolar diagnosis was suggested, but the meds he was prescribed didn’t help—and quitting weed didn’t seem to make a difference, either.

Finally, in 2017, one of Davidson’s psychiatrists diagnosed him with BPD. “He was always saying before this big meltdown, ‘You’re probably bipolar or borderline, we’re just going to have to figure it out,’” Davidson has said.

It’s actually pretty common for people to conflate bipolar disorder and BPD, as both conditions cause extreme shifts in mood and behavior. However, the nature and frequency of these changes is different, as SELF explained. And people with BPD usually have a fear of abandonment, an unsteady sense of self, and a history of unstable personal relationships that isn’t typically seen with bipolar disorder.

What is BPD syndrome?

Borderline Personality Disorder

Borderline personality disorder is an illness marked by an ongoing pattern of varying moods, self-image, and behavior. These symptoms often result in impulsive actions and problems in relationships. People with borderline personality disorder may experience intense episodes of anger, depression, and anxiety that can last from a few hours to days.

Signs and Symptoms

People with borderline personality disorder may experience mood swings and display uncertainty about how they see themselves and their role in the world. As a result, their interests and values can change quickly.

People with borderline personality disorder also tend to view things in extremes, such as all good or all bad. Their opinions of other people can also change quickly. An individual who is seen as a friend one day may be considered an enemy or traitor the next. These shifting feelings can lead to intense and unstable relationships.

Other signs or symptoms may include:

Efforts to avoid real or imagined abandonment, such as rapidly initiating intimate (physical or emotional) relationships or cutting off communication with someone in anticipation of being abandoned
A pattern of intense and unstable relationships with family, friends, and loved ones, often swinging from extreme closeness and love (idealization) to extreme dislike or anger (devaluation)
Distorted and unstable self-image or sense of self
Impulsive and often dangerous behaviors, such as spending sprees, unsafe sex, substance abuse, reckless driving, and binge eating. Please note: If these behaviors occur primarily during a period of elevated mood or energy, they may be signs of a mood disorder—not borderline personality disorder
Self-harming behavior, such as cutting
Recurring thoughts of suicidal behaviors or threats
Intense and highly changeable moods, with each episode lasting from a few hours to a few days
Chronic feelings of emptiness
Inappropriate, intense anger or problems controlling anger
Difficulty trusting, which is sometimes accompanied by irrational fear of other people’s intentions
Feelings of dissociation, such as feeling cut off from oneself, seeing oneself from outside one’s body, or feelings of unreality

Not everyone with borderline personality disorder experiences every symptom. Some individuals experience only a few symptoms, while others have many. Symptoms can be triggered by seemingly ordinary events. For example, people with borderline personality disorder may become angry and distressed over minor separations from people to whom they feel close, such as traveling on business trips. The severity and frequency of symptoms and how long they last will vary depending on the individual and their illness.

What are the 9 traits of borderline personality disorder?

The 9 symptoms of BPD

Fear of abandonment. People with BPD are often terrified of being abandoned or left alone.

Unstable relationships.
Unclear or shifting self-image.
Impulsive, self-destructive behaviors.
Self-harm.
Extreme emotional swings.
Chronic feelings of emptiness.
Explosive anger.

What is the life expectancy of someone with BPD?

The mean patient age was 27 years, and 77% were women. After 24 years, more patients with BPD died by suicide than patients with other PD (5.9% vs 1.4%). Similarly, rates of death from other causes were higher in patients with BPD (14.0%) compared with comparison patients (5.5%).

What is Pete Davidson famous for?

Davidson is an American comedian, best known as a current cast member on the late night sketch comedy show Saturday Night Live (SNL). He is currently 28 years old. He was born on 16 November 1993, to father Scott Matthew Davidson and mother Amy Davidson (née Waters).

What is borderline personality disorder (BPD)?

If you’re not sure what BPD is or what symptoms someone living BPD might experience then this animation will be helpful.

How do I know if I’m BPD?

With borderline personality disorder, you have an intense fear of abandonment or instability, and you may have difficulty tolerating being alone. Yet inappropriate anger, impulsiveness and frequent mood swings may push others away, even though you want to have loving and lasting relationships.

How does a person with BPD act?

Many people with BPD act impulsively, have intense emotions, and experience dissociation and paranoia when most distressed. This emotional volatility can cause relationship turmoil. Also, the inability to self-soothe can lead to impulsive, reckless behavior. People with BPD are often on edge.

Is BPD the same as bipolar?

BPD and bipolar disorder have some similar symptoms, but they are very different conditions. BPD is a personality disorder, and bipolar disorder is a mood disorder. BPD can be challenging to treat.