In this episode, we dive into the fascinating connection between the brain and the gut — sometimes called the second brain. The gut houses about 500 million neurons and communicates constantly with the central nervous system through the vagus nerve. In fact, around 80% of vagus nerve fibers run upward, meaning your gut is sending more messages to your brain than the other way around.

We explore how this “gut–brain axis” shapes mental health conditions like anxiety, depression, and trauma responses, and why disorders like IBS, Crohn’s disease, and ulcerative colitis often flare with stress. For decades, people were told symptoms were “just in their head,” but research shows the gut and brain are locked in a feedback loop that can fuel both physical and emotional distress.

The big takeaway? If we only focus on the brain, we miss half the conversation. The gut has a mind of its own — and understanding that changes how we see both psychiatry and whole-body health.

References & Resources

1. Oka, P., Parr, H., Barberio, B., Black, C. J., Savarino, E. V., & Ford, A. C. (2020). Global prevalence of irritable bowel syndrome according to Rome III or IV criteria: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Gastroenterology, 158(5), 1262–1278.

2. Carabotti, M., Scirocco, A., Maselli, M. A., & Severi, C. (2015). The gut-brain axis: interactions between enteric microbiota, central and enteric nervous systems. Annals of Gastroenterology, 28(2), 203–209.

3. Cryan, J. F., O’Riordan, K. J., Cowan, C. S. M., et al. (2019). The microbiota–gut–brain axis. Physiological Reviews, 99(4), 1877–2013.

4. Mayer, E. A., Tillisch, K., & Gupta, A. (2015). Gut/brain axis and the microbiota. Journal of Clinical Investigation, 125(3), 926–938.

5. Breit, S., Kupferberg, A., Rogler, G., & Hasler, G. (2018). Vagus nerve as modulator of the brain–gut axis in psychiatric and inflammatory disorders. Frontiers in Psychiatry, 9, 44.

In this episode, we strip back the stigma of Borderline Personality Disorder and look at it through the lens of trauma. Instead of a “disordered personality,” what if borderline is better understood as the long shadow of chronic relational wounds—neglect, betrayal, abandonment, or ongoing invalidation?

We’ll explore how many so-called “borderline symptoms”—fear of abandonment, emotional intensity, self-harm, rapid shifts—are the survival patterns of people who endured trauma without safety or repair. Seen this way, borderline isn’t manipulation or brokenness; it’s a set of strategies that once kept someone alive.

This reframing matters, because when psychiatry pathologizes survival, healing gets blocked. When we recognize borderline as chronic trauma, the path forward opens—toward compassion, targeted treatment, and the possibility of rewriting the story from damage to resilience.

References & Resources

1. Bozzatello, P., Morese, R., & Bellino, S. (2021). The Role of Trauma in Early Onset Borderline Personality Disorder: A Biopsychosocial Perspective. Frontiers in Psychiatry.

2. Ford, J. D. (2014). Complex PTSD, affect dysregulation, and borderline personality disorder. Borderline Personality Disorder and Emotion Dysregulation.

3. Pagura, J., Stein, M. B., Bolton, J. M., Cox, B. J., Grant, B., & Sareen, J. (2010). Comorbidity of Borderline Personality Disorder and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder in the U.S. population. Journal of Psychiatric Research.

4. Lavvaf, M., Bagheri-Nesami, M., et al. (2025). Childhood trauma and Axis I disorders in borderline personality disorder. Middle East Current Psychiatry.

5. Kolthof, K. A., et al. (2022). Effects of intensive trauma-focused treatment of individuals with PTSD on borderline personality disorder symptom severity. European Journal of Psychotraumatology. Link

6. Riou, M., et al. (2024). Borderline personality disorder and post-traumatic stress: comparison of adolescent patients with and without PTSD. BMC Psychiatry.

7. Smits, M. L., et al. (2022). Trauma and Outcomes of Mentalization-Based Therapy for Patients With Borderline Personality Disorder. American Journal of Psychotherapy.

8. Bozzatello, P., et al. (2020). Trauma and psychopathology associated with early onset borderline personality disorder. Journal of Psychiatric Research.

9. Tate, A. E., et al. (2022). Associations with psychiatric disorders, somatic illnesses, trauma and adverse behaviors in borderline personality disorder: A Swedish cohort study. Molecular Psychiatry.

10. Zanarini, M. C., et al. (2017). Ten-year course of borderline personality disorder: The CLPS study. BMC Psychiatry.

Benzodiazepines and gabapentin are handed out like candy — for anxiety, for sleep, for nerve pain, for “whatever works.” But the quiet cost often doesn’t make it into the conversation: memory loss, cognitive decline, and even dementia risk.

In this episode, we dig into the science and the stories behind the meds that calm today but may erase tomorrow. We’ll talk about how these drugs affect the hippocampus, why dependency is so hard to break, and what current research says about long-term brain health.

This isn’t about scare tactics — it’s about informed consent. Because your brain deserves more than a prescription that steals it piece by piece.