Nearly 1 in 3 people with Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) will also experience an eating disorder at some point in their lives. But this connection goes far deeper than food, weight, or appearance.

In this episode, we explore the powerful and often misunderstood relationship between BPD and eating disorders, including anorexia, bulimia, and binge eating disorder.

Why do these conditions so often occur together? What role do emotion dysregulation, impulsivity, identity disturbance, and chronic emptiness play in disordered eating? And what does current research say about the most effective ways to support recovery?

🌱 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, 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:

Cassioli, E., Rossi, E., D'Anna, G., Martelli, M., Hazzard, V. M., Crosby, R. D., ... & Castellini, G. (2022). A 1‐year follow‐up study of the longitudinal interplay between emotion dysregulation and childhood trauma in the treatment of anorexia nervosa. International Journal of Eating Disorders, 55(1), 98-107. https://doi.org/10.1002/eat.23647

Chen, E. Y., Brown, M. Z., Harned, M. S., & Linehan, M. M. (2009). A comparison of borderline personality disorder with and without eating disorders. Psychiatry research, 170(1), 86-90. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psychres.2009.03.006

Fairburn, C. G. (2008). Cognitive behavior therapy and eating disorders. Guilford Press.

Federici, A., & Wisniewski, L. (2013). An intensive DBT program for patients with multidiagnostic eating disorder presentations: A case series analysis. International Journal of Eating Disorders, 46(4), 322-331. https://doi.org/10.1002/eat.22112Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

Khosravi, M. (2020). Eating disorders among patients with borderline personality disorder: understanding the prevalence and psychopathology. Journal of Eating Disorders, 8(1), 38. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40337-020-00314-3

Racine, S. E., & Wildes, J. E. (2015). Emotion dysregulation and anorexia nervosa: An exploration of the role of childhood abuse. International Journal of Eating Disorders, 48(1), 55-58. https://doi.org/10.1002/eat.22364Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

Sansone, R. A., & Sansone, L. A. (2010). Borderline personality and eating disorders: A chaotic crossroads. In Treatment of eating disorders (pp. 217-232). Academic Press. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-375668-8.10013-0

Crisis & Support Resources:

• National Eating Disorders Association (NEDA) Helpline: 1-800-931-2237
• Crisis Text Line: Text HOME to 741741

For many people with Borderline Personality Disorder, night isn’t peaceful.

It’s when the abandonment dreams start.
When shame replays.
When the nervous system refuses to power down.

Sleep isn’t just rest, it’s emotional regulation, impulse control, and survival.

In this episode, we talk about sleep and BPD, from vivid nightmares and insomnia to the emotional hangover that lingers the next day, and how to be better at sleep.

🌱 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, 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:

George, K. C., Kebejian, L., Ruth, L. J., Miller, C. W., & Himelhoch, S. (2016). Meta-analysis of the efficacy and safety of prazosin versus placebo for the treatment of nightmares and sleep disturbances in adults with posttraumatic stress disorder. Journal of Trauma & Dissociation, 17(4), 494-510. https://doi.org/10.1080/15299732.2016.1141150

Gieselmann, A., Ait Aoudia, M., Carr, M., Germain, A., Gorzka, R., Holzinger, B., ... & Pietrowsky, R. (2019). Aetiology and treatment of nightmare disorder: State of the art and future perspectives. Journal of sleep research, 28(4), e12820. https://doi.org/10.1111/jsr.12820

Selby, E. A. (2013). Chronic sleep disturbances and borderline personality disorder symptoms. Journal of consulting and clinical psychology, 81(5), 941.

van Trigt, S., van der Zweerde, T., van Someren, E. J., van Straten, A., & van Marle, H. J. (2025). A theoretical perspective on the role of sleep in borderline personality disorder: From causative factor to treatment target. Sleep Medicine Reviews, 81, 102089. 10.1016/j.smrv.2025.102089 https://doi.org/10.1037/a0033201

Walker, M. (2017). Why we sleep: Unlocking the power of sleep and dreams. Simon and Schuster.

Winsper, C., Lereya, S. T., Marwaha, S., Thompson, A., Eyden, J., & Singh, S. P. (2016). The aetiological and psychopathological validity of borderline personality disorder in youth: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Clinical psychology review, 44, 13-24. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cpr.2015.12.001

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