back from the borderline: emotional alchemy

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?’

Many highly sensitive people who identify with the seemingly never-ending list of diagnostic mental health labels contained within the DSM share the same underlying sense of being irreparably broken, disconnected from their intuition, and overwhelmed 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.

Jump straight into my most popular multi-episode deep-dives:

★ Childhood Emotional Neglect Series

★ Toxic Shame Series

★ Healing the Mother Wound

★ Healing the Father Wound

★ Family Scapegoating Abuse Series

★ Click here to preview my BPD-focused episodes [available exclusively on Patreon]

Explore the rest of my work and access a wealth of additional resources at backfromtheborderline.com.

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In this episode, we’re taking a hard look at the medical model of mental health—a framework that focuses on diagnosis and medication but often falls short in addressing the true complexities of human suffering. Despite decades of research, psychiatrist and medical historian Dr. Marcos Ramos argues in his article “Mental Illness Is Not in Your Head” that traditional psychiatry has made little progress in diagnosing or treating mental health conditions. He suggests a radical shift in perspective: looking beyond the brain to societal, environmental, and psychological factors as essential elements in understanding and healing mental and physical health. We’ll explore how the medical model often overlooks the root causes of distress, and why it’s crucial to consider a more holistic approach to treatment. This episode invites listeners to question conventional psychiatry and embrace a broader perspective on mental health—one that considers trauma, social structures, and emotional well-being as integral parts of healing.

Topics discussed include:

• The limitations of the medical model in treating mental health conditions
• Why mental health diagnosis and treatment may not have advanced as much as we think
• The importance of addressing environmental, social, and psychological factors for more effective care
• Practical ways to advocate for yourself and loved ones in a system often focused on labels and medication

This episode aims to inform and empower, arming you with knowledge to navigate the mental health system with greater confidence—and perhaps even to challenge the status quo in pursuit of true healing.

Recommended resources:

■ Full article from the Boston Review – “Mental Illness Is Not in Your Head” by Marco Ramos

■ Follow Marcos on Twitter (@mramos_histmed)

Craving more? Become a Premium Submarine. Join an exclusive community and unlock hundreds of hours of members-only content: full-length episodes, deep-dive series, guided meditations, and more—all for the cost of a couple of coffees a month. Start exploring at backfromtheborderline.com.

The information contained in this podcast episode is for educational and entertainment purposes only and is not intended as a substitute for treatment or consultation with a licensed mental health professional.

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Welcome to your free preview of the first in a brand-new Patreon-exclusive series, where we delve into the art of tending to dream symbols and the exploration of the psyche through the wisdom of the tarot. As I’ve previously mentioned, I’m currently in the process of gaining certifications in both Dream Tending and Jungian Tarot Reading, courtesy of my studies under previous BFTB guest Dr. Stephen Aizenstat and Dr. Ken James.

In this episode, we dive into two different dreams from Premium Submarine, Emilia. In the first dream, she encounters a mysterious owl in her childhood garden, leading to a surreal flight and an exploration of personal transformation. The second dream takes us to a desert where Emilia finds crystals that unexpectedly connect to the Greek god Dionysus, opening insights into her journey of self-discovery and change. In this episode, I use Jungian depth psychology and dream symbolism to unpack these dreams. We’ll look at what they might signify about Emilia’s life changes, her rediscovery of creativity, and emerging from a period of personal challenges.

This is not just an interpretation of Emilia's experiences but a chance for all of us to reflect on the symbols and themes that appear in our own dreams. Join me in this unique dive into the subconscious, exclusive to our Premium Submarine community.

✧ WANT YOUR DREAM FEATURED ON A FUTURE EPISODE? ✧

First, you’ll need to be a Premium Submarine on Patreon. To sign up, visit www.patreon.com/backfromtheborderline.

Next, send your dream to [email protected]. Please ensure that the email address linked to your Patreon account is included in your submission. This is crucial for verifying your active, paying membership status. Submissions without this verification will not be considered. By the time I read your email, you must be an active Premium Submarine on Patreon for your submission to be featured.

✧ LEARN MORE ABOUT THE ART OF DREAM TENDING AT https://dreamtending.com/. ✧

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On today’s special bonus episode of the podcast, I will guide you through a cord-cutting meditation practice. Regularly practicing cord-cutting meditation can improve the lives of those struggling with complex trauma and emotion dysregulation that occurs in conditions like c-PTSD and borderline personality disorder.

We are all attached with energetic cords in some way or another. Being energetically attached to someone you love and care about, family ties or long-term friendships, whether they be loving and supportive or challenging is part of the game. But what if you have someone that has come into your life as part of your soul family to teach you self-love through challenge and hurt? The damage has been done, but you just can’t seem to get them off your mind, stop loving them, stop hating them or just stop the ruminating thoughts that destroy any chance at gaining peace of mind. Energy should energize us, not exhaust us. People with BPD and c-PTSD often feel heavy with our negative emotions and sensations. This is when a cord cutting meditation can be a useful aid in reconnecting to our center.

As we go through life, we form attachments to people and things. When those connections feel negative or cause us suffering, cutting “energy cords” can help restore us and make room for more clarity and peace in our lives. We form attachments, physical and emotional, in many ways. Attachments bind us to people, ideas, and things. Energy actively shifts within us every time we experience an emotion related to these bonds. This phenomenon can be detected in the brain.

“Cords” can be positive or negative. Positive “cords” can lace our energy with respect, excitement, courage, and power. Negative cords are easy to detect as we often experience physical symptoms of discomfort due to these lingering connections. This can result in feeling like you have “a pit in your stomach”. You may even experience physical sickness: nausea, indigestion, loss of breath, or emotional flashbacks.

It’s important to realize that this practice isn’t always about negative cords. We make so many connections in our lives that we can also become overloaded. Just as plants with wild branches extending in every direction sometimes need pruning to continue to grow, we need to tend our positive energy ties. A cord may have nurtured an important part of our growth, but we need to trim its tight grip on our thoughts and identities to move forward in our lives.

 Cord cutting meditation practice has helped me open to receiving and giving love again – I hope it can do the same for you.

**To connect with me directly, join the community on Instagram and support the podcast to keep it ad-free, visit www.backfromtheborderline.com **

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Join the BFTB inner circle and unlock my premium content at https://plus.acast.com/s/back-from-the-borderline.

This is part two of our exploration on BPD and fear of abandonment for my premium subscribers! We’re taking what we learned in part one and going even deeper.

💡 Topics explored and questions answered in this episode:

■ The role toxic shame plays in fear of abandonment  

■ Is it possible to be addicted to abandonment?  

■ How we can begin to heal our abandonment issues

📝 Additional premium subscriber resources:  

■ Cognitive behavioral therapy for abandonment anxiety with Doc Snipes (YouTube)

■ How to heal an abandonment wound with Susan Anderson (YouTube)

■ The Journey from Abandonment to Healing by Susan Anderson (Book)

■ To anyone feeling lonely (incredible YouTube essay by Lana Blakely)

■ The art of being alone but not lonely: how to shift your mindset in tough times (YouTube essay by Rowena Tsai)

📲 Follow the podcast on Instagram @backfromtheborderline

Disclaimer: This podcast is for entertainment and inspirational purposes only and is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. If you are suffering from any psychological or medical conditions, please seek help from a qualified professional. The host claims no responsibility for any liability, loss, or damage caused or alleged to be caused directly or indirectly as a result of the use, application, or interpretation of the information presented herein.

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Join the BFTB inner circle and unlock my premium content at https://plus.acast.com/s/back-from-the-borderline.