The Eating Disorder Therapist

Themes I'm Seeing Inside the Therapy Room: Part Two

It can be a very lonely experience suffering from an eating disorder. In this episode, I explore common themes that I experience daily inside the therapy room. It will help you feel less alone. I hope that you find it helpful.

 

Harriet's Substack: https://substack.com/@theeatingdisordertherapist

 

Harriet Frew's current offers: -

Online 10 Steps to Intuitive Eating Course https://www.theeatingdisordertherapist.co.uk/online-courses.html

Online Breaking Free from Bulimia 

https://www.theeatingdisordertherapist.co.uk/bulimia-nervosa-online-course.html

Eating Disorders Training for Professionals

https://www.theeatingdisordertherapist.co.uk/eating-disorders-training-with-harriet-frew.html

Body Image Training for Professionals

https://www.theeatingdisordertherapist.co.uk/body-image-training-with-harriet-frew.html

 

But I Can’t Possibly Be Hungry, I’ve Just Eaten

‘I can’t possibly be hungry; I’ve only just eaten,’ is a phrase I have heard many a time in the therapy room.

When you’ve overridden your body’s signals unwittingly to well-meaning diet and wellness plans, it’s no surprise that trusting hunger can feel like a dubious phenomenon.

Feeling hungry may even feel downright wrong and shameful. You associate hunger with greediness and impulsiveness.

You forcefully push the feeling down again and again.

Unsurprisingly, you’re no longer attuned to your body’s signals.

It’s a jumbled knot. What is hunger? What is emotion? What is something else entirely? You don’t know.

This episode dives into hunger and helps you to reconnect with your body again. I hope that you find it helpful.

 

Harriet's Substack: https://substack.com/@theeatingdisordertherapist

 

Harriet Frew's current offers: -

Online 10 Steps to Intuitive Eating Course https://www.theeatingdisordertherapist.co.uk/online-courses.html

Online Breaking Free from Bulimia 

https://www.theeatingdisordertherapist.co.uk/bulimia-nervosa-online-course.html

Eating Disorders Training for Professionals

https://www.theeatingdisordertherapist.co.uk/eating-disorders-training-with-harriet-frew.html

Body Image Training for Professionals

https://www.theeatingdisordertherapist.co.uk/body-image-training-with-harriet-frew.html

 

Eating Disorders in your 40's, 50's, 60's and Beyond

You might assume that eating disorders are mostly a young person’s predicament, tangled up with puberty, exams stressors and the turbulent transitions of entering adulthood.

And yes, young people are extremely vulnerable to struggling with food and body image concerns, but eating disorders impact people of all ages, and this shows up in the therapy room with clients from 16 to 70 years old (I work with adults mainly).

This podcast talks specifically about some of the triggers behind eating disorder development post 40 years and some of the unique challenges and perspectives seen by the more mature person. I hope that you find it helpful.

 

Harriet's Substack: https://substack.com/@theeatingdisordertherapist

 

Harriet Frew's current offers: -

Online 10 Steps to Intuitive Eating Course https://www.theeatingdisordertherapist.co.uk/online-courses.html

Online Breaking Free from Bulimia 

https://www.theeatingdisordertherapist.co.uk/bulimia-nervosa-online-course.html

Eating Disorders Training for Professionals

https://www.theeatingdisordertherapist.co.uk/eating-disorders-training-with-harriet-frew.html

Body Image Training for Professionals

https://www.theeatingdisordertherapist.co.uk/body-image-training-with-harriet-frew.html

 

 

Feeling Stuck in Eating Disorder Recovery? 7 Ways to Boost Recovery Motivation

On the eating disorder recovery road, your motivation for change will ebb and flow.

Sadly, it is not a beautifully linear journey with marked destination posts and defined milestones. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if it was!

Prochaska and DeClemente’s Cycle of Change offers a model for explaining the precarious change road with its inevitable ambivalence and turbulence.

The model is not only for eating disorder recovery but can be applied to a myriad of transformation processes.

This episode dives into the Cycle of Change and also explores 7 ways to boost recovery motivation. I hope that you find it helpful.

 

Harriet's Substack: https://substack.com/@theeatingdisordertherapist

 

Harriet Frew's current offers: -

Online 10 Steps to Intuitive Eating Course https://www.theeatingdisordertherapist.co.uk/online-courses.html

Online Breaking Free from Bulimia 

https://www.theeatingdisordertherapist.co.uk/bulimia-nervosa-online-course.html

Eating Disorders Training for Professionals

https://www.theeatingdisordertherapist.co.uk/eating-disorders-training-with-harriet-frew.html

Body Image Training for Professionals

https://www.theeatingdisordertherapist.co.uk/body-image-training-with-harriet-frew.html

 

Healing Your Inner Child in Eating Disorder Recovery

Healing your inner child can be a valuable step in your recovery journey.

But what exactly does this mean?

Inner child work is a process of recognising, understanding, validating and healing emotional wounds that you experienced in your childhood and that continue to unconsciously impact your adult life.

If you are experiencing challenges in your adult relationships or with regulating your emotions, then it’s highly likely that you have some inner child work to do. It’s true for most of us.

This episode dives into inner child healing. What is it? How to do it? The benefits of this work.

I hope that you find it helpful.

Harriet's Substack: https://substack.com/@theeatingdisordertherapist

 

Harriet Frew's current offers: -

Online 10 Steps to Intuitive Eating Course https://www.theeatingdisordertherapist.co.uk/online-courses.html

Online Breaking Free from Bulimia 

https://www.theeatingdisordertherapist.co.uk/bulimia-nervosa-online-course.html

Eating Disorders Training for Professionals

https://www.theeatingdisordertherapist.co.uk/eating-disorders-training-with-harriet-frew.html

Body Image Training for Professionals

https://www.theeatingdisordertherapist.co.uk/body-image-training-with-harriet-frew.html

 

Tools to Create a Wise Recovery Mindset in Eating Disorder Recovery

Your mindset can make or break your healing journey.

With 60,000 plus thoughts per day swirling through your mind and many being repetitive, you can see the power of your thoughts to potentially affect your mood and behaviour. Repetitive thoughts can become entrenched beliefs, which create habits, which ultimately shape your life.

As Lao Tzu aptly said: -

‘Watch your thoughts, they become your words; watch your words, they become your actions; watch your actions, they become your habits; watch your habits, they become your character; watch your character, it becomes your destiny’.

Your thoughts can be hugely impactful in your eating disorder recovery.

In this episode, I explore practical tips to support you on your journey. I hope that you find it helpful.

 

Harriet's Substack: https://substack.com/@theeatingdisordertherapist

 

Harriet Frew's current offers: -

Online 10 Steps to Intuitive Eating Course https://www.theeatingdisordertherapist.co.uk/online-courses.html

Online Breaking Free from Bulimia 

https://www.theeatingdisordertherapist.co.uk/bulimia-nervosa-online-course.html

Eating Disorders Training for Professionals

https://www.theeatingdisordertherapist.co.uk/eating-disorders-training-with-harriet-frew.html

Body Image Training for Professionals

https://www.theeatingdisordertherapist.co.uk/body-image-training-with-harriet-frew.html

The Psychology of Bulimia: The Shiny Outer and Messy Inner World

As a recovered bulimic, I am deeply fascinated by the psychology of this eating disorder.

The interest goes way beyond the surface symptoms and food focus.

Although I stopped binge eating and purging over twenty years ago, it has been an ongoing healing journey to work on the deeper psychology which plays out in relationships, self-worth and emotional regulation.

As eating disorder recovery is a holistic healing process. It’s not just about food.

Symptom removal is an invaluable step in the right direction, but true healing runs far deeper.

When I think about bulimic behaviours, these are not only restricted to people who binge and purge through vomiting.

The following patterns are also relevant:

Normal eating and purging.

Chewing and spitting.

Binge eating and over-exercising.

Binge eating and restriction.

Any pattern is relevant that follows the ingestion and expulsion cycle.

If you are neurodiverse, particularly if you have ADHD, you may find that the themes I talk about are even more amplified for you.

Before, I dive in, as always, I am generalising here, and your experience may not fit neatly into my observations. Always value your own truth and take what is helpful and ignore that which does not resonate with you).

I hope that you find it helpful.

 

Harriet Frew's current offers: -

Online 10 Steps to Intuitive Eating Course https://www.theeatingdisordertherapist.co.uk/online-courses.html

Online Breaking Free from Bulimia 

https://www.theeatingdisordertherapist.co.uk/bulimia-nervosa-online-course.html

Eating Disorders Training for Professionals

https://www.theeatingdisordertherapist.co.uk/eating-disorders-training-with-harriet-frew.html

Body Image Training for Professionals

https://www.theeatingdisordertherapist.co.uk/body-image-training-with-harriet-frew.html

The 7 Deadly Signs of Disordered Eating and What is Normal Eating Anyway?

How do you know if you have a healthy relationship with food and your body?

This is an acutely challenging question to answer, as the culture normalises extreme eating practices and body image preoccupation as the norm.

Maybe you feel that you don’t have a full-blown eating disorder or you’re not thin enough to properly struggle with food?

I would argue that is your eating is causing you distress, it may be worth taking a closer look at it.

In this podcast, I’m going to explore different disordered eating behaviours and then suggest some thoughts about what a healthy relationship with food might look like. I hope that you find it helpful.

 

Harriet's Substack: https://substack.com/@theeatingdisordertherapist

 

Harriet Frew's current offers: -

Online 10 Steps to Intuitive Eating Course https://www.theeatingdisordertherapist.co.uk/online-courses.html

Online Breaking Free from Bulimia 

https://www.theeatingdisordertherapist.co.uk/bulimia-nervosa-online-course.html

Eating Disorders Training for Professionals

https://www.theeatingdisordertherapist.co.uk/eating-disorders-training-with-harriet-frew.html

Body Image Training for Professionals

https://www.theeatingdisordertherapist.co.uk/body-image-training-with-harriet-frew.html

BONUS EPISODE! Food, Fear, & Sensory Overload: Making Sense of ARFID & ARFID Plus - with Dr. Marianne Miller

This is a bonus episode where Dr. Marianne Miller is guesting to talk all about ARFID. I hope that you find it helpful.

 

Dr Marianne's ARFID course:

https://www.drmariannemiller.com/arfid

$100 off with code HARRIET

 

Harriet's Substack: https://substack.com/@theeatingdisordertherapist

 

Harriet Frew's current offers: -

Online 10 Steps to Intuitive Eating Course https://www.theeatingdisordertherapist.co.uk/online-courses.html

Online Breaking Free from Bulimia 

https://www.theeatingdisordertherapist.co.uk/bulimia-nervosa-online-course.html

Eating Disorders Training for Professionals

https://www.theeatingdisordertherapist.co.uk/eating-disorders-training-with-harriet-frew.html

Body Image Training for Professionals

https://www.theeatingdisordertherapist.co.uk/body-image-training-with-harriet-frew.html

 

Could Intermittent Fasting Work For You? Research and Anecdotal Experience from the Therapy Room

Intermittent fasting (IF) is wellness cool again.

Its benefits are celebrated widely on many a credible health podcast and it consistently trends on social media, described as an elixir to youth and offering benefits such as improved memory, blood sugar control, cardiovascular health, fat loss and autophagy. What’s not to love?

IF involves eating during specific time windows and there are various ways to practice this. The less-intense approach involves a 12-hour fast and 12-hour eating window, whereas, more hardened fasters might restrict their eating, to only 8, 6 or even 4 hours.

Alternatively, you may also have heard of the 5:2 diet, popularised by the late Dr. Michael Mosley, where fasters eat ‘normally’ for five days of the week, whilst fasting on the remaining two (limiting calories to less than 800 on the fasting days).

Like most wellness practices, fasting is a tool. For some people it is life enhancing and for others not so.

In this episode, I explore IF as a tool and how it can interlink with eating disorders and disordered eating. I hope that you find it helpful.

 

Harriet's Substack: https://substack.com/@theeatingdisordertherapist

 

Harriet Frew's current offers: -

Online 10 Steps to Intuitive Eating Course https://www.theeatingdisordertherapist.co.uk/online-courses.html

Online Breaking Free from Bulimia 

https://www.theeatingdisordertherapist.co.uk/bulimia-nervosa-online-course.html

Eating Disorders Training for Professionals

https://www.theeatingdisordertherapist.co.uk/eating-disorders-training-with-harriet-frew.html

Body Image Training for Professionals

https://www.theeatingdisordertherapist.co.uk/body-image-training-with-harriet-frew.html