By Heidi Petijova, Registered Psychotherapist (RP) | True Roots Therapy
Have you ever felt like your emotions shift faster than you can keep up with? Or that your relationships are always walking a tightrope between connection and collapse? If so, I want you to know this: you’re not alone, and you’re not broken.
I’m Heidi Petijova, a Registered Psychotherapist (Qualifying) at True Roots Therapy. I work with people who live with emotional intensity and often feel like they’re “too much” for the world around them. Many of these individuals are navigating something called Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD), a condition that is frequently misunderstood but deeply human.
Let’s talk honestly about BPD, what it looks like, what it feels like, and how healing is absolutely possible.
What Is BPD, and What Does It Feel Like?
Borderline Personality Disorder is a mental health condition that affects how you relate to yourself and others. But clinical definitions often miss the emotional reality behind the label.
Living with BPD can feel like:
→ Riding an emotional rollercoaster with no off switch
→ Fearing abandonment, even in secure relationships
→ Questioning your identity, struggling to feel grounded in who you are
→ Reacting impulsively, sometimes in ways you don’t understand until afterward
→ Feeling intense shame after conflict or emotional outbursts
→ Switching rapidly from seeing people as perfect to feeling deeply betrayed
It’s not about manipulation, it’s about survival. These responses often stem from early experiences of emotional neglect, trauma, or instability, times when the world felt unsafe, and emotional expression wasn’t supported.
BPD and Relationships: Longing for Closeness, Fearing It Too
If you live with BPD, you might crave deep intimacy but find it hard to trust that others won’t leave. You may find yourself over-sharing early in relationships or pulling away without warning. You might say things in the heat of a moment that you don’t mean, but that cause damage.
Often, the cycle goes like this:
→ A strong connection forms (sometimes fast).
→ Fear of rejection creeps in.
→ A small misstep feels like abandonment.
→ Emotional outbursts or withdrawal happen.
→ Guilt and self-hate set in afterward.
This isn’t a flaw, it’s a pattern shaped by pain. And it can be shifted through therapy, awareness, and skill-building.
The Roots of Emotional Intensity
Many clients I work with didn’t always know they were struggling with BPD. What they knew was that they felt:
→ Unlovable
→ Too reactive
→ Chronically misunderstood
Often, these patterns trace back to early emotional wounds: growing up in homes where feelings weren’t safe to express, where love was conditional, or where neglect or trauma left deep imprints.
This doesn’t mean blaming the past. But it does mean that we can begin to understand your present through a compassionate lens.
Hope and Healing: Yes, It’s Possible
Healing from BPD doesn’t mean becoming “less emotional.” It means learning to relate to your emotions and others, with more safety, self-trust, and groundedness.
Here’s how therapy can help:
💬 Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT)
This gold-standard approach helps you build skills to regulate emotions, reduce impulsive behaviour, and navigate relationships with more ease. It combines acceptance with change, a powerful dual path for BPD healing.
💛 Attachment-Focused Therapy
We explore your relationship patterns and rebuild trust, starting right here in the therapy room. The relationship between therapist and client becomes a safe place to rewire what trust and connection can feel like.
🧘 Somatic Awareness
Emotions live in the body. Somatic work helps you recognize physical signs of distress and bring more regulation to your nervous system, especially when words fall short.
🎨 Creative Expression
Art, journaling, or guided imagery can help process difficult emotions in ways that feel safe and grounded.
Healing is not linear. There will be steps forward and back. But with time, consistency, and a therapist who truly sees you, the emotional chaos can soften, and in its place, you can find clarity, calm, and connection.
You Deserve to Be Seen, Not Judged
So many people with BPD have been told they’re “too much,” “too sensitive,” or “too dramatic.” I want you to know: your feelings make sense in the context of your life. And you don’t have to keep fighting them alone.
In therapy with me, we’ll work at your pace. There’s no pressure to be anything other than exactly where you are. Whether you’re feeling overwhelmed, ashamed, angry, or hopeful, I’ll meet you there.
Let’s Start the Healing Together
If any part of this article resonated with you, if you see yourself in these words, I invite you to reach out.
I’m Heidi Petijova, and I offer therapy for people who are tired of surviving and ready to begin healing. You don’t have to figure it out alone. Whether you’re newly diagnosed, undiagnosed but struggling, or supporting a loved one with BPD, therapy can be a powerful space for change.
🗓️ Book a free 20-minute consultation with me today, and let’s talk about how we can support your journey to emotional balance, self-trust, and connection.
You’re not too much. You’re just enough. And you are worthy of care.