lessons from the borderline (how BPD is a disorder of relationship, NOT of personality) [preview]

Borderline personality disorder is often stigmatized, with a significant number of professionals within the industry regarding borderline patients with contempt. As one psychiatrist told anthropologist Tanya Lurhmann, “if you’re talking to a patient and it feels like your internal organs are being turned into hamburger meat, she’s probably borderline.” This harsh and dehumanizing perspective is alarmingly common and contributes to the intense stigma faced by individuals given a diagnosis of BPD.But what if we looked at BPD not as a disorder of personality, but as a disorder of relationships? Most people diagnosed with BPD grew up in situations where their very existence as a person with independent thoughts and feelings was invalidated. They overwhelmingly experienced their early lives as involving constant messages that they do not—and should not—fully exist. These invalidating environments shape behaviors that, while once adaptive, become problematic as they carry into adulthood.Join me as I explore these profound insights through the work of anthropologist and psychotherapist Rebecca J. Lester. We’ll uncover how societal and familial invalidation can lead to the behaviors associated with BPD and discuss why clinicians often dread working with these patients. Through compelling quotes and real-life examples, this episode will challenge your understanding of BPD and offer a new perspective on the resilience and struggles of those living with it.By the end of this episode, you’ll gain a deeper understanding of BPD, not just as a clinical diagnosis, but as a complex interplay of personal history and relational dynamics. You’ll learn how relationships can both exacerbate and alleviate the symptoms associated with the BPD label, offering a path to healing and growth. Don’t miss this eye-opening discussion that will change how you perceive mental health, relationships, and the resilience of the human spirit. Tune in to uncover the lessons from the borderline and discover a new perspective on what it means to struggle and survive.UNLOCK THE FULL VERSION OF THIS EPISODE: visit https://www.patreon.com/backfromtheborderline to join the community on Patreon. From here, you'll be able to access all full-length (and ad free!) episodes of BFTB, opening up hundreds of hours of additional bonus content. CONTACT ME CHECK OUT MORE OF MY WORK: To read my Substack articles, access my Amazon book recommendation list, submit a voicemail, or contact me for collaborations, visit backfromtheborderline.com. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Om Podcasten

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.