When people hear borderline personality disorder (BPD), they often think of bipolar disorder. The confusion is common and understandable, but costly. Part of the confusion is linguistic. The abbreviations sound similar. Another part of the confusion is cultural. “Bipolar” has entered everyday language as shorthand for emotional volatility, or mood swings, while BPD remains less understood. As a result, people with BPD are frequently mislabeled, misdiagnosed, or misunderstood, not only by the...

When people hear that someone is “in recovery,” the reaction is usually relief. There is an assumption that things are getting better, lighter, and easier. Social media does not help either; it often presents recovery as an upward, empowering journey filled with before-and-after photos, glow-ups, and captions about self-love. What rarely gets discussed is how messy, difficult, and non-linear eating disorder recovery actually is. People in eating disorder recovery often move through periods of...

One of the first things people in eating disorder recovery are told is to “be honest” and “seek support.” That sounds simple, even therapeutic. But for many of us who have actually lived it, such advice can feel terrifying. Because honesty, in the world of eating disorders, does not always bring freedom; it can bring scrutiny. When you open up, you risk losing control—the very thing most people with eating disorders fear—not only over how others perceive you, but over how you are allowed to...