The BPD Bunch

What happens when BPD affects your goals, career choices, and sense of direction in life?In this episode of The BPD Bunch, Xannie, Madhurima, Carys, and Solène talk about self-direction through the lens of the Alternative Model for Personality Disorders.We explore:• why people with BPD may struggle to stick with one job or career• constantly changing direction and starting over• tying your identity to work and what happens when that falls apart• being influenced by other people’s goals or expectations• the belief that if it’s “right,” it should feel easy• how self-direction connects to identity and recoveryIf you’ve ever asked yourself “what am I doing with my life?” and felt like the answer keeps changing, this episode is for you.This is part of our Season 7 series where we’re breaking BPD down through the lens of the Alternative Model of Personality Disorders.In the first two episodes of the season, Dr. Carla Sharp, Dr. Frank Yeomans, and Dr. Alex Stein explained what the AMPD is, how it changes from the current categorical model, and how the BPD diagnosis is changing. In case you missed it, here are the links:Watch part 1 here: https://youtu.be/MD3kL0yQAYUWatch part 2 here: https://youtu.be/KtVhStCqH1A⸻ 🌟 Love what we do? Your support fuels these important conversations on BPD and mental health. Consider joining our Patreon community to help us continue this valuable work and unlock exclusive content. Every contribution makes a difference! 🌈✨ 🔗 Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thebpdbunch ________About Us: The BPD bunch is a YouTube talk show, featuring a panel of people who are in functional recovery from Borderline Personality Disorder. Each week we discuss BPD-related topics to help give you insights into the different ways BPD can be expressed in someone’s life. We also cover the different paths we followed on our recovery journeys to give you hope and direction for your own ❤️ Thank you for being on this journey of healing with us!________Disclaimer:This video is for education only and is not meant to provide professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment.

How do you actually build a sense of self with BPD?
In this episode of The BPD Bunch, Xannie, Carys, Solène, André, and Katja continue the conversation on identity, this time focusing on what’s helped us move toward a more stable sense of self. Still through the lens of the Alternative Model for Personality Disorders (AMPD), we’re looking at identity as something you can actively shape over time.
If you’ve ever felt empty, disconnected, or like you’re constantly reinventing yourself… this is the part where we talk about what starts to change that.
We talk about:
• how chronic emptiness and dissociation connect to identity
• relying on relationships or external validation to define who you are
• the difference between emptiness and boredom (and why that matters)
• finding purpose, values, and small anchors that make you feel more “real”
• learning who you are without labeling yourself as “broken”
• building identity through creativity, feedback, and lived experience
• integrating different parts of yourself instead of rejecting them
• why identity takes time and doesn’t form all at once

This is part of our Season 7 series where we’re breaking BPD down in a more real, human way while also connecting it to newer ways of understanding personality.(In the first two episodes of the season, Dr. Carla Sharp, Dr. Frank Yeomans, and Dr. Alex Stein explained what the AMPD is, how it changes from the current categorical model, and how the BPD diagnosis is changing. )⸻ 🌟 Love what we do? Your support fuels these important conversations on BPD and mental health. Consider joining our Patreon community to help us continue this valuable work and unlock exclusive content. Every contribution makes a difference! 🌈✨ 🔗 Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thebpdbunch ________About Us: The BPD bunch is a YouTube talk show, featuring a panel of people who are in functional recovery from Borderline Personality Disorder. Each week we discuss BPD-related topics to help give you insights into the different ways BPD can be expressed in someone’s life. We also cover the different paths we followed on our recovery journeys to give you hope and direction for your own ❤️ Thank you for being on this journey of healing with us!________Disclaimer:This video is for education only and is not meant to provide professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment.

What does identity instability’s actually feel like in BPD?
In this episode of The BPD Bunch, Xannie, Carys, Solène, André, and Katja, start looking at identity through the lens of the Alternative Model for Personality Disorders (AMPD). It’s a way of understanding BPD that focuses more on patterns and functioning, not just labels.
If you’ve ever had that “who even am I?” moment… yeah. This is that episode.
We talk about:
• what it’s like to feel like you don’t have a solid sense of self
• why you might feel like you don’t know who you are
• masking and becoming whoever you need to be to avoid rejection
• losing yourself in relationships, jobs, or even your diagnosis
• when BPD starts to feel like your whole identity
• how identity struggles show up in everyday life

This is part of our Season 7 series where we’re breaking BPD down in a more real, human way while also connecting it to newer ways of understanding personality.In the first two episodes of the season, Dr. Carla Sharp, Dr. Frank Yeomans, and Dr. Alex Stein explained what the AMPD is, how it changes from the current categorical model, and how the BPD diagnosis is changing. In case you missed it, here are the links:
Watch part 1 here: https://youtu.be/MD3kL0yQAYU
Watch part 2 here: https://youtu.be/KtVhStCqH1A⸻ 🌟 Love what we do? Your support fuels these important conversations on BPD and mental health. Consider joining our Patreon community to help us continue this valuable work and unlock exclusive content. Every contribution makes a difference! 🌈✨ 🔗 Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thebpdbunch ________About Us: The BPD bunch is a YouTube talk show, featuring a panel of people who are in functional recovery from Borderline Personality Disorder. Each week we discuss BPD-related topics to help give you insights into the different ways BPD can be expressed in someone’s life. We also cover the different paths we followed on our recovery journeys to give you hope and direction for your own ❤️ Thank you for being on this journey of healing with us!________Disclaimer:This video is for education only and is not meant to provide professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment.

What does BPD actually look like in real life, and what does recovery really take?
In this episode of The BPD Bunch Brunch, Megan shares her lived experience with Borderline Personality Disorder, including identity struggles, painful relationships, self-deception, emotional chaos, and the communication skills that helped her heal. This is an honest conversation about BPD recovery, relationships, truth, and learning how to feel seen and heard.
In this episode, we talk about:
• What BPD actually felt like in everyday life
• Why relationships can feel impossible with BPD
• The role of self-deception in BPD
• What it means to “stop lying to yourself”
• A communication skill that helped improve relationships
• Why healing from BPD takes longer than people expect
• How pain can become something you use, not just survive
👇 Megan's podcast + socials below.
Podcast: https://istheremoreworld.com/
TikTok: @meganatullyInstagram: @meganatully
UPLOAD SCHEDULE UPDATE: BPD Bunch brunch episodes will now standalone from the season, and will be uploaded the first Sunday of every month!
🌟 Love what we do? Your support fuels these important conversations on BPD and mental health. Consider joining our Patreon community to help us continue this valuable work and unlock exclusive content. Every contribution makes a difference! 🌈✨ 🔗 Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thebpdbunch ________About Us: The BPD bunch is a YouTube talk show, featuring a panel of people who are in functional recovery from Borderline Personality Disorder. Each week we discuss BPD-related topics to help give you insights into the different ways BPD can be expressed in someone’s life. We also cover the different paths we followed on our recovery journeys to give you hope and direction for your own ❤️ Thank you for being on this journey of healing with us!________Disclaimer:Although several of our panelists work in the mental health field, we are all coming to you as people in functional recovery from BPD, and are not here to provide professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment.

Hey…
This isn’t the video we planned for today.
This past week, I lost my dog. And I needed a little more time than I expected to get back on my feet.
I thought about just skipping this upload entirely, but there was something in this experience that felt important to share. Especially when it comes to what recovery from BPD actually looks like in real life.
There’s this idea that recovery means things won’t hurt as much anymore. And I’ve found that it’s not exactly that simple.
A lot of emotional contexts can and do change drastically in recovery, and it's possible to get to a point that feels emotionally stable most of the time.
But one of the universal human truths is that if you care a lot about someone or some creature, losing them will be painful. No amount of recovery will erase the grief process. And there's nothing abnormal or disordered about you if you feel the pain of loss.
So this video is a bit different from the usual, it’s just where I’m at right now and something I didn’t think we talk about enough.
Thank you for being here, seriously. I’ll be back to our regular episodes next week.
If you do want the more in-depth version of what’s been going on, I shared that over on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/posts/i-had-to-put-my-155040984(this one is available to free members as well!)

❤️ Xannie

_____🌟 Love what we do? Your support fuels these important conversations on BPD and mental health. Consider joining our Patreon community to help us continue this valuable work and unlock exclusive content. Every contribution makes a difference! 🌈✨ 🔗 Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thebpdbunch ________About Us: The BPD bunch is a YouTube talk show, featuring a panel of people who are in functional recovery from Borderline Personality Disorder. Each week we discuss BPD-related topics to help give you insights into the different ways BPD can be expressed in someone’s life. We also cover the different paths we followed on our recovery journeys to give you hope and direction for your own ❤️ Thank you for being on this journey of healing with us!________Disclaimer:This video is for education only and is not meant to provide professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment.