Adult Children of Borderline Parents: A Trauma-Informed Guide to Recover from a Toxic Childhood and Discover a Healthy Sense of Self

Heal the hidden wounds of growing up with a parent who has borderline personality disorder (BPD), develop a healthy sense of self, and reclaim your full potential.

Did you grow up with a parent who has borderline personality disorder (BPD), or you suspect they did? Was your parent’s behavior unpredictable or scary? Did it seem like they were angry one minute and happy the next? Were your basic needs ignored? If so, it wasn’t your fault. Children raised by a parent with BPD are subjected to a number of unhealthy and damaging behaviors--from uncontrolled anger and abuse, to gaslighting, blame-shifting, lying, and more. As a result of these experiences, you may have developed feelings of guilt, insecurity, and depression that have lingered throughout your adult life.

This compassionate guide offers a trauma-informed approach to help you recover from your toxic childhood and discover the person you were truly meant to be. You’ll learn how to identify emotional and developmental wounds, and discover why interactions with your parents were so harmful to your sense of self. Then, you’ll learn to create strong interpersonal boundaries and overcome feelings of guilt, anger, and low self-worth. Finally, through the act of emotional reprocessing, you’ll reclaim those aspects of yourself that were lost or distorted by your trauma, so you can restart healthy growth processes and become the person you were meant to be.

If you’re carrying the hidden wounds of a toxic childhood, you’re not alone--and you can heal. With this practical and powerful guide, you can finally understand what happened, build a healthy sense of self, and reach your full potential.

Daniel Lobel, PhD, is a clinical psychologist who practices in Katonah, New York. He is an internationally known expert on borderline personality disorder (BPD) and consults with families all over the world who suffer with this disorder. He has taught at Mount Sinai School of Medicine, State University of New York, Hofstra School of Law, and lectures with the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI). He has written four books on the topic of BPD and also writes a blog on the Psychology Today website.