A couple of beers, one old song, and suddenly I’m right back in the headspace that kicked off Manchester Madness.

But before I even set foot in the UK, there’s a pretty big blind spot in this story that I need to own. This isn’t just my story. It’s also the story of a woman who got pulled into the chaos of my untreated, untamed Borderline Personality Disorder — and wore far more of the emotional fallout than anyone should have had to carry.

I rewind to the lead-up to my student exchange, the Manchester Metropolitan University group chat, and the bigger, louder version of myself I started creating online. Then a psychology student goes from being “someone interesting” to, somehow, “the one”, before we’d even met.

Looking back, the warning signs were everywhere: idealisation, obsession disguised as purpose, intense attachment and a desperate need for connection that I simply didn’t understand at the time.

I also unpack what BPD felt like from the inside, while being brutally honest about some of the more cringe-inducing parts of this story. Because if I’m going to tell Manchester Madness properly, I can’t polish the uncomfortable bits or pretend my mental health only affected me.

This is where the story really begins.

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Created by Elliot Waters — Inspired by lived experience.
Mental health insights, real stories, real conversations.