There can be a lot of overlap between the behaviors associated with Narcissistic Personality Disorder, Antisocial Personality Disorder (ASPD), and Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) as well as PTSD or C-PTSD.

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Many trauma specialists believe that PTSD (or C-PTSD) is often misdiagnosed as Borderline Personality Disorder. It's common for a person to get out of an abusive relationship and feel unstable because they've been psychologically abused. They may have a poor self-image because they've been continually told that there is a lot wrong with them. They might display impulsive and risky behavior. They may struggle with normal behavior after living with a crazy-maker or have poor emotional control because they've been traumatized. They may even feel suicidal because they are emotionally devastated and generally have PTSD and fear abandonment as they've been in a relationship with someone who was continually threatening.

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Many narcissists' targets tend to be diagnosed with borderline personality disorder (BPD), which can be devastating if they've only read about extreme stories of BPD behavior (which is usually abusive or dramatic). If they have a BPD diagnosis, they may wonder if the narcissist/abuser was right—that they were the problem all along and somehow deserving of being mistreated. Please know that even if you have BPD or have some mental illness such as bipolar, it is still no excuse for being abused. Borderline Personality Disorder is often treated with Dialectal Behavioral Therapy (DBT), which is based on mindfulness and acceptance techniques that help a person understand and express their feelings.