Key BPD breakthroughs: the impact of insecure attachment and childhood trauma

Among the symptoms of borderline personality disorder (BPD), insecurity in one's sense of self and relationships is often seen as a core feature. Fearing abandonment, alternating between idealizing and devaluing others (splitting), and rapidly shifting between moods, people who identify with BPD seem to share some of the basic elements of individuals with what’s known as an "insecure attachment style."In this episode, I had the opportunity to sit down with Jen Roters, a doctoral candidate of psychology at Brock University, where she has dedicated over ten years of her life to the study of childhood adversity related to attachment and personality disorder development.Questions answered in this episode:■ How different attachment styles influence borderline personality disorder■ What are DBT skills and how can they be used for BPD recovery?■ Can men have BPD?■ How to help someone with BPD during an episode■ What is an anxious attachment style?■ What is emotional invalidation?■ The role of childhood trauma and adverse childhood experiences in the development of BPD■ BPD in teenagers■ The Biosocial Theory of Borderline Personality Disorder■ The Relationship Between BPD and DissociationRecommended resources: Film | The Dhamma Brothers (documents the stories of a group of prisoners as they enter a meditation program)Book | Healing the Shame that Binds You by John BradshawBook | Get Out of Your Mind and Into Your Life: The New Acceptance and Commitment Therapy by Steven HayesBook | Building a Life Worth Living: A Memoir by Marsha Linehan🦋 UNLOCK PREMIUM PODCAST ACCESS AND JOIN THE BFTB COMMUNITY ON PATREON: https://www.patreon.com/backfromtheborderline.By becoming a patron, you’ll gain access to my private podcast, “My Stupid Walk for My Stupid Mental Health” (4 episodes released each month), and my monthly newsletter, where I share articles, YouTube videos, podcast episodes, and book recommendations. You’ll also get to interact with other listeners of the podcast.Disclaimer: information contained in this podcast episode is for educational purposes only and is not intended as a substitute for treatment or consultation with a licensed mental health professional. To unlock BFTB bonus content, visit https://plus.acast.com/s/back-from-the-borderline. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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I don’t want to talk to your personality; I want to talk to your soul. Imagine if your most painful and debilitating mental health symptoms and self-sabotaging behaviors aren’t evidence of 'disorder' or 'dysfunction', but adaptive strategies that once kept you safe. My goal is to help you shift from asking ‘What’s wrong with me?’ to ‘What happened to me?’The word ‘borderline’ in this podcast has nothing to do with psychiatric labels. It has everything to do with coming back from the inner psychological brink we all experience. Everyone has found themselves on the edge, in that liminal space where the old self falls apart and the new Self emerges. Here, we explore what it means to undergo true emotional alchemy: that ancient and primordial process of falling apart, confronting the underworld of our psyche, and falling back together into someone stronger, wiser, and more whole.Many highly sensitive people who identify with the seemingly never-ending list of diagnostic mental health labels contained within ‘the bible of psychiatry’ (the DSM) share the same underlying sense of being irreparably broken, disconnected from their intuition, and paralyzed by life’s existential questions. I believe the resulting—and perfectly understandable—chronic feelings of emptiness and spiritual starvation are the TRUE causes of our current collective ‘mental health crisis.’Together, we’ll dive into depth psychology, mythology, human consciousness, critical psychiatry, and the impact of trauma to help you begin the process of emotional alchemy. This exploration will help you get to the root cause of your suffering and free yourself from the toxic shame, limiting beliefs, and mental programming that have kept you locked in the chains of your past.In an era where mental health and spirituality are too often commercialized, I’m not here as a guru with a quick fix to sell you. I don’t believe anyone is ever truly ‘healed’ or ‘cured.’ There is no return to some mythical state of pre-trauma purity, but rather a continuous spiral of unbecoming, unlearning, and transformation. As a fellow seeker, I will be there in your ear, walking alongside you on your path toward wholeness as a sort of parasocial big sister. That, I can promise.By integrating the concepts we explore together, you’ll begin to see that anyone—even you—can come back from the borderline.CRAVING MORE? Visit backfromtheborderline.com to dive into my universe, connect with me, access my Patreon, and discover more about my journey and work. Don’t forget to follow Back from the Borderline so new episodes on Tuesdays and Thursdays automatically drop into your podcast feed. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.