The Buddha and the Borderline

My Recovery from Borderline Personality Disorder Through Dialectical Behavior Therapy, Buddhism, and Online Dating

De: Kiera Van Gelder

Narrado por: Carla Mercer-Meyer

Kiera Van Gelder's first suicide attempt at the age of 12 marked the onset of her struggles with drug addiction, depression, post-traumatic stress, self-harm, and chaotic romantic relationships - all of which eventually led to doctors' belated diagnosis of borderline personality disorder 20 years later.

The Buddha and the Borderline is a window into this mysterious and debilitating condition, an unblinking portrayal of one woman's fight against the emotional devastation of borderline personality disorder. This haunting, intimate memoir chronicles both the devastating period that led to Kiera's eventual diagnosis and her inspirational recovery through therapy, Buddhist spirituality, and a few online dates gone wrong. Kiera's story sheds light on the private struggle to transform suffering into compassion for herself and others, and is essential listening for all seeking to understand what it truly means to recover and reclaim the desire to live.

©2010 Kiera Van Gelder (P)2017 Post Hypnotic Press Inc.

BPD triumph

Her struggles are real and she works really hard to make life worth living.
Totally worth the read.
I couldn't put it down

Paradigm shifting and Inspiring

I have read this book twice in the span of 6 months. It’s like Van Gelder wrote the story of my life. Thank you so much for your contribution to the BPD community and fellow torched souls. I’m inspired to begin again.

So relatable

I suggest this book for those that seek an understanding of borderline and budda

In recovery

One night I was driving for door dash when I needed some enlightenment. I was diagnosed with BPD some time ago, but when the pandemic hit I was able to take a pause for awhile and let myself dissociate all the work I had done thus far. At least this is what I kept telling myself. I had gotten let go from my job at the beginning of 2020 and lived off unemployment for an entire year.
When I knew the unemployment was coming to an end and... the dissociative bliss of laying in bed and telling myself I deserve to be sad and this is nice was also ending. I got a job with USPS where they have me working 6 days a week. I also moved on top of that from another state.
In two months all my symptoms felt like they had came back to me. I felt like I had no control and I was scared of being able to make choices and decisions.
The pressure was there and it was everyday. After listening to this book I started to realize I have so much work to do. Having BPD is an exhausting mental illness. And it’s even more exhausting explaining to others who don’t understand and explaining how to get support when you don’t even know what you need.
This was the first time in my life that I listened to a book and I felt like someone understood me. That I wasn’t alone and that there were more people like me out there. This has inspired my DBT journey and Buddhism journey. This has given me insight to the fact I haven’t gotten the proper help that I’ve needed. I also realized how functional and resilient I am.
I’ve always thought about suicide. I even attempted a few times. But as I’ve gotten more independent... I can’t afford to just go to a mental hospital every time I think about it. Even tho I wish I could. There is this person or “part” inside me that wants the constant affection, safety and support from everyone.
Especially when I’m triggered by something that I can’t get out of my head or control. I know I can’t force the love, but I also can’t go on sleeping my life away outside work. I have to be a functional human of society.
I can’t stop thinking about the analogy of you being in a room with all your parts. Today I was thinking about it and I felt so crowded and honestly overwhelmed and scared. I don’t think people really know or have a grasp of what’s going on inside my head. I’m scared if I tell them or show them they’ll leave me. I tell people I have BPD, but explaining it is difficult. I really enjoyed listening to you navigate your way through different challenges. Thank you for taking the time to write this.
I look forward to going back and re reading this at a later time and to maybe one day write my own story.

Excellent introduction and extremely well written

Such raw honesty with vivid details to really connect with readers, this book is a gift.

Borderline personality disorder exemplified!

Cudos to the author! Great story. Entertaining and educational. A MUST read for anyone effected with borderline personality disorder.

perfect depiction of BPD

enjoyed listening to this story of how BPD is NOT a diagnosis to fear and how Keira learned to manage in a judgmental world thru DBT and buddhism

Very powerful and well written and informative

This book was very powerful, well written, and informative. Someone new to the BPD diagnosis i learned a lot.

Mind blowing.

It was hard to get through the first couple of chapters, but after I made it past, I loved every minute. Thank you for sharing your BPD story.

useful book

So much useful information in the first three quarters of the book. The last bit goes way off track.