The Eating Disorder Therapist

5 Tips for Coping with Christmas in Eating Disorder Recovery

This is a bite-size bonus episode! I'm exploring some of the key struggles that you may face over the Christmas period and some suggestions in navigating through this.

1. The overwhelm of social events.
2. Comments from others about your body.
3. Managing Christmas dinner.
4. Navigating tricky relationships.
5. Thoughts on how a family member can support someone struggling.

I hope that you enjoy it.

Eating Disorder Healing and Writing the Book She Needed in Recovery, with Brooke Heberling

Today I’m talking to Brooke Heberling, author of the bestselling novel Protecting Her Peace. Brooke is a teacher, advocate, and eating disorder survivor who wants to use her story of recovery to help others know, that there is hope in fighting for freedom from the disorders and addictions that hold us hostage. 

Brooke worked with Jessica Flint and her team at Recovery Warriors from 2017-2020 as Editor and Chief-Social-Media Director, and top writing contributor.

She received the Humanitarian Award for her advocacy work in the eating disorder community from The Manna Fund in 2022, while also donating $13,000 to the Fund that helped her pay for her own eating disorder treatment in 2016 when she ran out of money but still needed time to heal. 

Brooke is also an ex-ultramarathon runner who almost lost her life to exercise addiction and anorexia. She decided to get help when she saw her own two children beginning to use behaviours around food that she wished repeatedly that she’d never learned. Brooke went to inpatient treatment for seven weeks at The Carolina House in Durham, North Carolina in February of 2016, followed by further treatment at Atlanta Centre for Eating Disorders. It took Brooke eight months of treatment, but with hard work and hard truths, she came out a survivor. 

Following her own journey, Brooke was determined to create the book that she needed at the start of her eating disorder journey. She recognised that there were already many non-fiction resources out there, but her heart needed to see proof from the survivors who paved the way before her in recovery.

In Brooke’s book, Protecting her Peace, her main character, Ruby Blue, lives a story of perseverance and grit to encourage anyone suffering - that there is a way out of an eating disorder, while also enlightening the depths of the disease to those who may not understand it. It is a book that hits all the topics that many women face on a daily basis: marriage, motherhood, friendship, anxiety, depression, addiction, disordered eating, and disordered exercising.

In this conversation, Brooke shares the ups and downs of her tumultuous journey in eating disorder recovery, and how she navigated through to find a place of true healing. She also talks about her book, the motivation behind this and how it can be a great source of information and support to anyone suffering with an eating disorder, and their families. I hope that you enjoy the episode

To find out more about Brooke:-

Instagram: @authorbrookeheberling 

Book: ‘Protecting Her Peace’ by Brooke Heberling https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0BJNWT67Q/ref=ewc_pr_img_1?smid=A3TJVJMBQL014A&psc=1

 

This week's sponsor: Amber Romaniuk amberapproved.ca 

Eating Disorder Recovery, Finding your Why for Change, Intuitive Eating and Body Image Tips, with Sabrina Magnan

Today I’m talking to Sabrina Magnan, a Food Freedom & Intuitive Eating Coach, based in Montreal, Canada. She helps chronic dieters heal their relationship with food & their bodies, and develop realistic and lasting health-promoting habits. Sabrina has been on her own food healing journey through her battle with orthorexia, disordered eating, body dysmorphia and yo-yo dieting. Having experienced this for many years, she deeply understands what it’s like to have your entire life revolve around food & your body. After discovering what actually works in recovery, to stop feeling out of control around food and understanding the psychology of behaviour change, Sabrina now supports women all over the world to help them find true health, free from obsession & guilt. In this episode today, Sabrina talks about the ups and downs of her healing journey, including a holiday to Italy which kickstarted recovery and the beginnings of developing a joyful relationship with food. She talks about finding motivation and exploring your ‘why’ for change. Sabrina untangles the myths around health equating thinness and finding your own peaceful place with your body. She also shares her effective body image tips, which she has utilised in her own journey and now shares with her clients today. I hope that you enjoy the conversation.   To find out more about Sabrina: - Food Freedom Academy (Enrolment for January 2023 Group Currently open): www.sabrinamagnan.com/academy Instagram: @Sabrina.magnan.health : https://www.instagram.com/sabrina.magnan.health/ Podcast: www.sabrinamagnan.com/podcast 

Healing Eating Disorders and Problems with Over-Exercise in Athletes, Sports-persons and in Fitness, with Brooke Carlson

Today I’m talking to Brooke Carlson, an eating disorder therapist and Licensed Professional Clinical Counsellor, working primarily with adolescents and young adults and based in Minnesota, USA. Brooke has worked for a nationwide eating disorder treatment centre for three years called The Emily Program. Brooke was an outpatient therapist and partial hospitalisation program coordinator during that time,  also whilst running a recovery support group. Prior to this, Brooke worked at a university counselling centre, where she  found her passion for working with students with eating disorders 

 

Brooke now works in private practice as an eating disorder expert and sees clients all day with the hope of creating an Intensive Outpatient Programme in the future. She is also an eating disorder ambassador for the state where she helps with social media and petitioning for congress, and legislation for more resources and care for eating disorders in the state. Brooke has never personally suffered with an eating disorder, however she has struggled with her own disordered eating and body image distress. She brings this experience with compassion and understanding to her therapy work. 

 

In this episode today, Brooke talks about over-exercise in eating disorders – looking particularly at athletes and sports persons, and also expanding this out to anyone who may be struggling with over-exercise.

 

If you’re an athlete or have a passion for sports or exercise, this can be a real risk factor for a tricky relationship with food and poor body image. It’s hard sometimes to notice when this has become disordered with the pressures to train, to improve times and ability, and to compete and perform. Brooke shares her valuable skills and tips in how to address a problematic relationship with exercise and to move towards finding a balanced place. I hope that you enjoy the conversation.

 

Contact details for Brooke: -

https://allintherapyclinic.com/team/brooke-carlson/

ALL IN Therapy Clinic 1800 Wayzata Blvd Minnetonka, MN 55305 651-271-1665 hello@allintherapyclinic.com

Book recommendations from the episode: -

‘Perfectly Imperfect,’ by Amy Harman

‘Beyond Beautiful,’ by Anoushka Reece

‘Eating in the Light of the Moon,’ by Dr. Johnston

 

This week's sponsor: Amber Romaniuk amberapproved.ca 

Dealing with Diet Culture, Restriction, Binge Eating, Self-Worth and More

Today I explore the challenges of healing your relationship with food, in the culture we live in. Diet culture is pervasive, toxic and sadly normalised. It drives you to focus predominantly on your body as a means of deriving worth. It leads to restriction, bingeing, other disordered eating behaviours and more. And it's incredibly challenging to win and feel wholeheartedly good about yourself, when pursuing this path. In this episode, I talk about how to stay in your own lane in recovery and to navigate the challenges you will face from the external world. I hope that you enjoy the episode.

Eating Disorder Recovery, The Costs of Restrictive Eating, Healing Over-Exercise and Health Coaching, with Joel Frost

Today I’m talking to Joel Frost, an eating disorder survivor and health coach, training to specialise in working with clients with eating disorders. Just over a year ago, Joel fully recovered from an eating disorder that he’d been living with for the previous six years. This all started when Joel left secondary school, when he was teased about his weight. Joel then went onto college and felt as though he didn’t fit in. Both of these factors understandably impacted his self-worth and confidence, and Joel felt he wanted to change his eating and body image to try and feel better.

 

Joel then turned to disordered eating behaviours including skipping meals, purging and over-exercise as a coping strategy. Initially, he didn’t recognise how damaging these behaviours were, but when Covid and the lockdowns hit, Joel’s disordered eating went to a new level. When he returned to university, it was clear that something was definitely wrong and at this point, he bravely reached out for help.

 

In the episode today, Joel talks about his eating disorder recovery, the impact of restrictive eating, healing an addictive relationships to exercise, getting coaching support and his journey into supporting others as a health coach. I hope that you enjoy the conversation.  

To find out more about Joel: - 

Instagram: @wellspace_healthcoaching    

Nutrition Counselling, Meal Plans, Binge Eating and Healing Disordered Eating, with Shannon Western

Today, I’m talking to Shannon Western. Shannon is a nutritionist who specialises in nutrition counselling for disordered eating. She founded Ease Nutrition Therapy because she saw a huge need for compassionate, person-centred care to help people feel better around food. In this episode, Shannon talks about her approach in supporting clients in healing disordered eating. She is particularly passionate about shining a light on binge eating struggles, as this area is still often overlooked in the disordered eating community.

 

Shannon is massively encouraging of supporting her clients to enjoy food for health, satisfaction and pleasure. She shares her thoughts on meal plans, considering if you really need one and if so, who might benefit most. She also dives into self-care and how we can decompress and switch off from the busyness of life. Shannon also explains the importance of getting back in touch with childhood foods and genuine food loves. She talks about why she doesn't care what you eat and how she supports her clients in holistic healing. I hope that you enjoy the conversation.

To find out more about Ease Nutrition Therapy: -

Instagram @ease_nutritiontherapy

Website: https://www.easenutritiontherapy.com/

The Ease with Food Podcast https://www.easenutritiontherapy.com/the-ease-with-food-podcast

 

When You’re Still Binge Eating But You Don’t Know Why

In this episode, I’m going to talk about some of the subtleties that can keep binge eating going. You might have already made some substantial progress in addressing binge eating but you feel frustrated that you have moments of slipping back and wondering how on earth it happened! If you reasonate with what I’m saying, be proud of how far you have come. You’ve probably struggled with your relationship with food for a long time and it is going to take a bit of time to unravel it and stay firmly rooted on the healing path. It is very normal for recovery to be a bumpy ride with one step forward and two steps back. I hope you find this episode valuable and it can support you in shifting further along, in understanding your binge eating and moving further towards healing.   

16 Ways to Actually Love Yourself (When you Have No Idea Where to Begin)

This episode was first published in the summer of 2021 and has proved to be one of my most popular episodes! Apologies for a re-share - I hope that you enjoy it, either for a first listen or a great reminder of how to put self-love into practice. A new episode will be back next week.

Something a bit different for you this week. 16 Ways to Actually Love Yourself (When you Have No Idea Where to Begin)! I'm speaking as someone who has very much walked this path, finding self-worth after being in the very depths of the deepest well. The episode is inspired by an article by Laura Jane Williams who contributed 'The Art of Loving Yourself', to the Stylist book - 'Life Lessons from Remarkable Women'. I'd highly recommend it.  This is not only for females; the strategies are valuable lessons for all. It includes a whole range of inspiring tips that actually make self-love seem that little bit more accessible.

I hope that you enjoy the episode.       

Emotions, Not Feeling Good Enough and the Ego-Syntonic Nature of Eating Disorders

Today I talk more about the psychology of eating disorders and themes seen in the therapy room. I explore my observed differences between people who lean towards a restrictive eating disorder and those who swing between restriction and bingeing or overeating. I discuss the ego-syntonic nature of eating disorders and how this brings much ambivalence about change. I offer hope and encouragement for learning new coping strategies and having a healthy relationship with food, your body and yourself. Previous episodes about the psychology of eating disorders: -

Eating disorder recovery: when you're in 2 minds about change https://harrietfrew.podbean.com/e/eating-disorder-recovery-when-you-re-in-two-minds-about-change/

Understanding why you might be in patterns of control, neglect and self-sabotage around your eating

https://harrietfrew.podbean.com/e/understanding-why-you-may-be-in-patterns-of-control-neglect-and-self-sabotage-around-eating/

Understanding more about the psychology of eating disorders https://harrietfrew.podbean.com/e/understanding-more-about-the-psychology-of-eating-disorders/