BPD traits
BPD stands for borderline personality disorder. Only a doctor or another qualified professional can diagnose it, after a full assessment that looks at a person's history and daily life over time, not a single questionnaire.
The traits linked with BPD, like feelings that rise fast, worry about being left or a sense of self that seems to shift, are also things many people notice in themselves at times, especially when life is stressful. The MindScale quiz looks at how often you notice them, in four areas, as a starting point for reflection.
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Your score and full report: $2.95 for 7 days of full access, then $29.95 every 4 weeks until you cancel.
Emotional intensity
How strongly and how quickly your feelings rise and change.
- Toward the high end
- People here often notice feelings that run strong and shift fast.
- Around the middle
- People here notice strong feelings at times, more in some situations than others.
- Toward the low end
- For people here, feelings usually rise gently and settle without much effort.
Worry about closeness
How often you fear being let down or left, and how much your view of people close to you swings.
- Toward the high end
- For people here, closeness often comes with worry: about being left, or about loved ones seeming wonderful one day and hurtful the next.
- Around the middle
- For people here, worries about closeness come up now and then, often when a relationship feels uncertain.
- Toward the low end
- People here usually feel steady in their close relationships, even when there is distance or disagreement.
Shifting sense of self
How often your sense of who you are, what you want and what you value seems to change.
- Toward the high end
- For people here, the sense of who they are often feels unsettled or changes with the people around them.
- Around the middle
- People here have a clear sense of themselves most of the time, with some stretches where it shifts.
- Toward the low end
- People here usually have a steady sense of who they are and what they want.
Acting in the moment
How often strong feelings lead you to act fast and regret it later.
- Toward the high end
- For people here, strong feelings often lead to quick actions they later wish they had not taken.
- Around the middle
- People here sometimes act in the heat of the moment, more when they feel hurt or overwhelmed.
- Toward the low end
- People here can usually feel something strongly without acting on it straight away.
How scoring works
Each statement has five response choices. A response contributes from 1 to 5 points to the scale it belongs to, and the points become a position from 0 to 100. Around 0–33 is the low third, 34–66 is around the middle and 67–100 is the high third.
Looking at the separate positions is more useful than treating them as one overall score: the profile shows where the answers sit on each scale.
What looking at these traits can help with
Seeing the four areas separately can help you put words to what you notice: whether it's mostly the strength of feelings, mostly worry in close relationships, mostly a shifting sense of self or mostly acting fast in the moment.
That description can be useful if you decide to talk to a professional. It is not a result to act on by itself.
These traits in everyday life
These traits often show up most in close relationships and at stressful times. Noticing the pattern, without judging yourself for it, is a first step many people find useful.
If these traits worry you or get in the way of your life, talk to a doctor or another qualified professional. If you are ever in crisis or thinking about harming yourself, contact your local emergency number right away.
How to take the test
MindScale's BPD traits test has 28 statements and no time limit. Choose the response that best matches how you usually are, not how you would like to be.
You can go back and change an answer. When you finish, you can unlock your score and full report: $2.95 for 7 days of full access, then $29.95 every 4 weeks until you cancel.
Your score and full report: $2.95 for 7 days of full access, then $29.95 every 4 weeks until you cancel.
Conclusion
Common BPD traits fall into four areas: emotional intensity, worry about closeness, shifting sense of self and acting in the moment. Noticing some of them at times is common; only a qualified professional can say whether they add up to BPD.
If you'd like to look at how often these traits show up for you, the MindScale BPD traits quiz has 28 statements. It is not a diagnosis or a medical test, and the price is shown before you start.
See your own result
Your score and full report: $2.95 for 7 days of full access, then $29.95 every 4 weeks until you cancel.