What does recovery from Borderline Personality Disorder actually look like?

For years, Borderline Personality Disorder was considered chronic and untreatable.
And if you've ever searched for "BPD recovery," you've probably seen two extreme narratives: the hopeless one that says you'll never change, and the oversimplified one that says DBT will fix everything overnight. Neither tells the full story

In this episode, we dive into the messy, non-linear, and deeply human reality of recovery. We explore what the research actually says, and what recovery feels like from the inside.

🌱 Have questions, stories, or something you’d like us to cover? We’d love to hear from you. Email us at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠bpddiariesstoriesandscience1@gmail.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and let’s keep the conversation going.

🎧 Looking for meditations made for emotional regulation, BPD, and more? Check out Empowered Heroes Meditations on ⁠⁠⁠⁠Spotify.

If you’d like more support in your journey toward BPD recovery, Steff offers 1:1 sessions using evidence-based tools from DBT, Schema Therapy, and Mindfulness to help you heal. Email for a free 30-Minute Consultation:

📩 steff@bpdsupport.org or check out the website: www.bpdsupport.org

📚 Referenced Research Includes:

Bateman, A., & Fonagy, P. (2009). Randomized controlled trial of outpatient mentalization-based treatment versus structured clinical management for borderline personality disorder. American journal of Psychiatry, 166(12), 1355-1364.https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.ajp.2009.0904053

Davidson, R. J., & McEwen, B. S. (2012). Social influences on neuroplasticity: stress and interventions to promote well-being. Nature neuroscience, 15(5), 689-695. https://doi.org/10.1038/nn.3093

Gunderson, J. G., Stout, R. L., McGlashan, T. H., Shea, M. T., Morey, L. C., Grilo, C. M., ... & Skodol, A. E. (2011). Ten-year course of borderline personality disorder: psychopathology and function from the Collaborative Longitudinal Personality Disorders study. Archives of general psychiatry, 68(8), 827-837. doi:10.1001/archgenpsychiatry.2011.37

Linehan, M. (1993). Cognitive-behavioral treatment of borderline personality disorder. Guilford press.

Linehan, M. M., Comtois, K. A., Murray, A. M., Brown, M. Z., Gallop, R. J., Heard, H. L., ... & Lindenboim, N. (2006). Two-year randomized controlled trial and follow-up of dialectical behavior therapy vs therapy by experts for suicidal behaviors and borderline personality disorder. Archives of general psychiatry, 63(7), 757-766. doi:10.1001/archpsyc.63.7.757

Ng, F. Y., Bourke, M. E., & Grenyer, B. F. (2016). Recovery from borderline personality disorder: A systematic review of the perspectives of consumers, clinicians, family and carers. PloS one, 11(8), e0160515. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0160515

Zanarini, M. C., Frankenburg, F. R., Reich, D. B., & Fitzmaurice, G. (2010). The 10‐year course of psychosocial functioning among patients with borderline personality disorder and axis II comparison subjects. Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica, 122(2), 103-109. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1600-0447.2010.01543.x

Have you spent years stabilizing your BPD, only to feel like you're unraveling again in your 40s or 50s? What if it's not your therapy failing, it's your hormones? In a medical blind spot affecting so many, perimenopause and menopause can dramatically amplify BPD symptoms, yet almost no one is talking about it.

In this episode, we look into one of the most critical and overlooked intersections in women's mental health: Borderline Personality Disorder through perimenopause and menopause. This isn't about hot flashes, this is about your brain chemistry undergoing its most significant shift since adolescence, colliding with the emotional dysregulation at the heart of BPD.

🌱 Have questions, stories, or something you’d like us to cover? We’d love to hear from you. Email us at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠bpddiariespodcast@gmail.com ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and let’s keep the conversation going.

🎧 Looking for meditations made for emotional regulation, BPD, and more? Check out Empowered Heroes Meditations on ⁠⁠⁠⁠Spotify.

If you’d like more support in your journey toward BPD recovery, Steff offers 1:1 sessions using evidence-based tools from DBT and Mindfulness to help you heal. Email for a free 30-Minute Consultation:

📩 steff@bpdsupport.org or check out the website: www.bpdsupport.org

📚 Referenced Research Includes:

Barth, C., Villringer, A., & Sacher, J. (2015). Sex hormones affect neurotransmitters and shape the adult female brain during hormonal transition periods. Frontiers in neuroscience, 9, 37. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnins.2015.00037

Behrman, S., & Crockett, C. (2024). Severe mental illness and the perimenopause. BJPsych Bulletin, 48(6), 364–370. doi:10.1192/bjb.2023.89

Cohen, L. S., Soares, C. N., Vitonis, A. F., Otto, M. W., & Harlow, B. L. (2006). Risk for new onset of depression during the menopausal transition: the Harvard study of moods and cycles. Archives of general psychiatry, 63(4), 385-390. doi:10.1001/archpsyc.63.4.385

Crowell, S. E., Beauchaine, T. P., & Linehan, M. M. (2009). A biosocial developmental model of borderline personality: Elaborating and extending Linehan’s theory. Psychological bulletin, 135(3), 495. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0015616

Gordon, J. L., Rubinow, D. R., Eisenlohr-Moul, T. A., Xia, K., Schmidt, P. J., & Girdler, S. S. (2018). Efficacy of transdermal estradiol and micronized progesterone in the prevention of depressive symptoms in the menopause transition: a randomized clinical trial. JAMA psychiatry, 75(2), 149-157.

Gunter, J. (2021). The menopause manifesto: own your health with facts and feminism.

Linehan, M. (1993). Cognitive-behavioral treatment of borderline personality disorder. Guilford press.

Maki, P. M., Kornstein, S. G., Joffe, H., Bromberger, J. T., Freeman, E. W., Athappilly, G., ... & Soares, C. N. (2018). Guidelines for the evaluation and treatment of perimenopausal depression: summary and recommendations. Menopause, 25(10), 1069-1085.DOI: 10.1097/GME.0000000000001174

Toffoletto, S., Lanzenberger, R., Gingnell, M., Sundström-Poromaa, I., & Comasco, E. (2014). Emotional and cognitive functional imaging of estrogen and progesterone effects in the female human brain: a systematic review. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 50, 28-52. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psyneuen.2014.07.025

Resources:

The North American Menopause Society (NAMS): www.menopause.org
The International Menopause Society: www.imsociety.org
Menopause Mastery: https://mlrb.net/menopause-bpd/

Why does everything feel so much harder the week before your period?

For many people with Borderline Personality Disorder, the days before menstruation feel brutal. But this isn’t “just PMS.”

If your BPD symptoms seem to sync perfectly with your menstrual cycle, you're not imagining it. This is real, it's biological, and it has a name.

In this episode, we explore the often-overlooked connection between BPD, the menstrual cycle, PMS, and Premenstrual Exacerbation (PME). We unpack the science and share personal stories.

🌱 Have questions, stories, or something you’d like us to cover? We’d love to hear from you. Email us at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠bpddiariespodcast@gmail.com ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and let’s keep the conversation going.

🎧 Looking for meditations made for emotional regulation, BPD, and more? Check out Empowered Heroes Meditations on ⁠⁠⁠⁠Spotify.

If you’d like more support in your journey toward BPD recovery, Steff offers 1:1 sessions using evidence-based tools from DBT and Mindfulness to help you heal. Email for a free 30-Minute Consultation:

📩 steff@bpdsupport.org or check out the website: www.bpdsupport.org

📚 Referenced Research Includes:

Dubey, N., Hoffman, J. F., Schuebel, K., Yuan, Q., Martinez, P. E., Nieman, L. K., ... & Goldman, D. (2017). The ESC/E (Z) complex, an effector of response to ovarian steroids, manifests an intrinsic difference in cells from women with premenstrual dysphoric disorder. Molecular psychiatry, 22(8), 1172-1184. https://doi.org/10.1038/mp.2016.229

Eisenlohr-Moul, T. A., Schmalenberger, K. M., Owens, S. A., Peters, J. R., Dawson, D. N., & Girdler, S. S. (2018). Perimenstrual exacerbation of symptoms in borderline personality disorder: evidence from multilevel models and the Carolina Premenstrual Assessment Scoring System. Psychological Medicine, 48(12), 2085-2095. doi:10.1017/S0033291718001253

Hantsoo, L., & Epperson, C. N. (2015). Premenstrual dysphoric disorder: epidemiology and treatment. Current psychiatry reports, 17(11), 87. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11920-015-0628-3

Linehan, M. M. (2025). DBT skills training manual. Guilford Publications.

Marjoribanks, J., Brown, J., O'Brien, P. M. S., & Wyatt, K. (2013). Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors for premenstrual syndrome. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, (6). https://doi.org/10.1002/14651858.CD001396.pub3

Yen, J. Y., Wang, P. W., Su, C. H., Liu, T. L., Long, C. Y., & Ko, C. H. (2018). Estrogen levels, emotion regulation, and emotional symptoms of women with premenstrual dysphoric disorder: The moderating effect of estrogen receptor 1α polymorphism. Progress in Neuro-Psychopharmacology and Biological Psychiatry, 82, 216-223. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pnpbp.2017.11.013

Yonkers, K. A., & White, K. (1992). Premenstrual exacerbation of depression: one process or two?. The Journal of clinical psychiatry, 53(8), 289-292. PMID: 1500406.

The International Association for Premenstrual Disorders (IAPMD) : https://www.iapmd.org/pmdd?gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=23263234694&gbraid=0AAAAADiCO_rEBChLKw_ciQ6FWaXXP7Hsk&gclid=Cj0KCQiAm9fLBhCQARIsAJoNOcsYFvNRS7luuwgBOogkT-se_5N3LA8F6xjAFeyhJ4A-nSf-xv-AXBIaAqy0EALw_wcB