We've never seen a person with borderline personality disorder (BPD) wear a T-shirt that proclaims to the world, "I have BPD!" Okay, there might be one or two of these t-shirts out there somewhere, but they're definitely not common. Come to think of it, maybe we could come up with a T-shirt like this and make millions in sales...Thousands, if not millions, of people live in this world without disclosing their diagnosis to colleagues or even friends. People with BPD don't necessarily stand out in a crowd. They look just like everyone else. After all, they have no outward physical signs of the disorder, and in many situations they behave just like other people. At the beginning of a relationship, people with BPD usually do not experience serious social problems. Moreover, they are often charming and very interesting. Often a person begins to be friends with a person who has BPD, without even suspecting that he has a personality disorder. Subsequently, events and emotional experiences often unfold in completely unexpected directions. In this article, we will look at the first signs of BPD in friendships. Warning Signs of BPD The sooner you detect signs of BPD in your new friend, the better for you. Recognizing a friend's BPD early in a relationship can help you avoid becoming overcommitted and getting sucked into friendships that can drain you. Just in case, the point of this article is not to give you advice on how to avoid dating someone with BPD. Quite the opposite...But I encourage you to learn as much as you can about this disorder and its impact on people suffering from this disorder. If you know what you're getting into before you get into a serious relationship with someone with BPD, you can set boundaries, learn not to take things personally, and decide how involved you want to be in the relationship. So what are the warning signs to look for? in a new friendship? The following telltale signs can help you determine whether a new relationship should be treated with a little more caution than others: Too much intimacy: Your new friend reveals unusually intimate details early in the relationship. Too much flattery: You know you're a good person and that's it. like that, but when a new friend starts pouring in flattery like a cornucopia, you may have problems. Don't be fooled by unfounded and over-the-top praise. Too much time: You enjoy spending a lot of time with your new friend, but you, like most people, have a pretty busy life. Be wary of requests to communicate with you more than all your previous friends combined wanted. Too much texting/calling: Yes, our children, for example, text a lot, and sometimes we do it too. But a new friend with BPD may be prone to texting you 40 times a day. Be careful with this kind of over-communication! Too Nosy: You want to share your life with friends - but not all friends - and trust needs to develop gradually over time. If your new friend asks you too many personal questions early on, pay attention to this warning sign! Unreliability: A person with BPD often cancels or is late to events, dates, meetings, and so on. There's nothing wrong with this as long as it doesn't happen chronically. If your new friend frequently cancels dates, understand that this behavior may show disrespect for your time. Excessive cancellations or lateness can also be a sign of narcissistic personality disorder (but we will talk about this in other articles). Overly Critical: Most people with BPD do not criticize friends excessively at the very beginning of a new relationship. However, if your new acquaintance shows a lot of harsh criticism of their other friends or past relationships, ask yourself if you might be next. Long history of broken friendships: If you seem to be the person's only friend at the moment, and)