The Eating Disorder Therapist

A Bite Size episode. Many people struggling with eating disorders are also empaths. This can be a super-power but also emotionally overwhelming and difficult to manage at times. The emotional cost can sometimes be managed through a food or a body image focus, as a maladaptive but understandable means of finding distraction, escape and control. In this episode, I explore 7 signs that may indicate t...

Today I’m talking to Matthew Campling. Matthew has, throughout his career, combined writing with his therapeutic interests.  He has been working with clients since 1994, gaining a Diploma in client-centred therapy, a BA honours in client-centred therapy, and a Masters Degree in general psychotherapy.  He also has post-graduate qualifications in EI (Emotional Intelligence) and CBT for Anxiety and D...

A Bite Size episode. In this podcast, I talk about the Minnesota Starvation Study - it wouldn't be ethical today(!) but it remains one of the most profound and interesting scientific experiments to date. It is particularly helpful as a psycho-education tool for anyone suffering from an eating disorder.  I hope that you find it interesting. This week's sponsor: WeShape - Katie Bramlett:    http://w...

Today is a conversation between me and Ciandra Birnbaum, the passionate and empathetic eating disorder recovery coach behind “Flourish with Ciandra”. Ciandra possesses a unique blend of personal experience and professional training, She helps individuals navigate the journey to recovery with understanding, resilience, and positivity. Overcoming her own struggles with an eating disorder, Ciandra em...

A Bite Size episode. I think that it's a cliche to say that eating disorders are all about control. I guess it is a cliche for a good reason - an eating disorder can be a coping strategy and life-raft to cling to, when life throws its unpredictable turbulence at your door. In this podcast, I talk about an eating disorder as a coping strategy, exploring feeling in control and out-of-control and sug...

In this episode, I talk about 9 reasons why you might be binge eating, whilst sharing tips and strategies to deal with this. I explore busyness, restriction, alcohol, sleep, people pleasing, perfectionism, inner critic, catastrophising blips, and good and bad foods. Lots packed into this episode! I hope that you find it helpful.   This week's sponsor: WeShape - Katie Bramlett:    http://www.weshap...

A Bite Size episode.  Trying to be body positive can often feel like an unattainable and unrealistic goal. However, body neutrality can offer a path towards body acceptance and greater peace. In this episode, I explore the difference between body positivity and body neutrality; I look at what body neutrality means and how to become more body neutral in your daily life. I hope that you enjoy the ep...

This is a re-share of an old podcast episode that has proved to be very popular. Understanding why you might be in patterns of control, neglect and self-sabotage around your eating. Your early relationships in life will impact the way you care for yourself, the way you interact with others and also your relationship with food and your body. Patterns of over-control, conditional acceptance, emotion...

A Bite Size episode! In this episode, I do a whistle-stop tour of different eating disorders, including anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, binge eating disorder, OSFED (Other Specified Feeding and Eating Disorder), Orthorexia and ARFID (Avoidant Restrictive Food Intake Disorder) and talk about general disordered eating too. I hope that you find it helpful. Do visit the BEAT website for more compre...

Today I’m speaking to Amber Romaniuk who is a returning guest to the Eating Disorder Therapist Podcast. Amber is an Emotional Eating, Digestive and Hormone Expert who helps professional women achieve optimal health through mindful eating, self-care and overcoming self-sabotage with food. ⠀ ⠀ Her podcast “The No Sugarcoating Podcast” has a million downloads, over 400 episodes and is listened to, in...

A Bite Size episode! It is incredibly common for people with eating disorders to struggle with 'all or nothing thinking'. This frequently leads to 'good phases' and the contrasting, wholly chaotic and distressing 'bad phases' and this approach doesn't support balanced mental and physical well-being. In this episode, I talk about 'all or nothing thinking'. I discuss the ways that it can be so detri...

Today, I’m talking to Kristi Koeter. Kristi is a former journalist and personal trainer, marketer, and now author, based in the Austin, Texas, area. Two of Kristi’s three children have had anorexia nervosa, and both completed Partial Hospitalisation Programs in the U.S. Her oldest daughter, now 19, has been stable in her recovery for several years, whilst her youngest, 14 years old, is still early...

A Bite Size episode! The Body Mass Index (BMI) has rightly come under increased scrutiny in recent years. It is outdated, not relevant for many individuals and can actually encourage disordered eating behaviours and poor body image. However, it continues to be used in eating disorder recovery and as a general marker of health, albeit a weight-focused one. In this episode, I explore the history of...

Today I'm talking to Lilia Bogoeva. Lilia is a somatic practitioner of Myobeat somatic coaching, musician, and coach, who developed her mind-body practices after struggling with anorexia, bulimia, addiction, and depression. She is dedicated to teaching people how emotional trauma hurts your body and explores how to heal. She uses body-centred therapeutic practices to teach anyone struggling with e...

Today I am talking to Victoria Ying, Victoria is a critically acclaimed author and artist living in Los Angeles. She started her career in the arts by falling in love with comic books, this eventually turned into a career working in animation and graphic novels. She loves Japanese Curry, putting things in her shopping cart online and taking them out again and hanging out with her husband and furry...

In this episode, I share 5 tips on how to manage comparisons with others. You may be always noticing others who are thinner or have 'better' bodies. You may put others on pedestals. You may feel inferior or not good enough. I explore where comparisons are rooted; how to bring awareness to the habit of comparing; noticing where you are doing it and some strategies towards stopping! I hope that you...

Today I am talking to Marcelle Rose, founder of Marcelle Rose Nutrition. Marcelle specialises in helping women beat binge eating, bulimia, emotional eating and yo-yo dieting so they can make peace with their body and heal their relationship with food. She acknowledges that for many women that this is a transformational experience, so they can reclaim their life. Marcelle is a BANT registered nutri...

The Bite Size episode is out today and my guest episode will be coming on Wednesday! Apologies for the change. In this podcast, I talk about how to deal with food intolerances or being told that you have to reduce your food intake in someway AND you are also struggling with an eating disorder. This is challenging! I suggest some tips for coping. I hope that you find it helpful. Do let me know furt...

Officially a Bite Size episode, but actually quite long! I talk about how to cope with feeling full and tips to practice in this relearning this process. I talk about the necessary steps to help with this: - managing hunger, breaking out of cycles of overeating or restriction, regular eating and stablising blood sugar, mindful eating and more. I hope that you find it helpful.   Harriet Frew's curr...

Today I’m talking with Julia Trehane who is an anorexia, orthorexia and compulsive exercise recovery coach. Julia has overcome 40 years gripped by eating disorders and is now passionate about instilling hope for change in others. Julia Trehane is a podcast host, eating disorder coach, food freedom advocate and anti-diet culture campaigner.  Julia uses her wealth of scientific understanding, applie...

In this episode, I explore getting started on the recovery road. It can be daunting and overwhelming to even think about acknowledging the existence of an eating problem to yourself, let alone taking steps to manage it. I talk you through some initial steps to support you and offer the opportunity to understand food issues from a psychological perspective. I hope that you find it helpful. Harriet...

People that develop eating disorders tend to be sensitive souls, who feel their feelings very deeply. Ultimately this is a super-power and means that individuals are hugely empathetic, kind and compassionate beings. But it also means that the world can feel overwhelming and tricky to navigate at times. It can exacerbate issues with low self-esteem, people pleasing, perfectionism and in managing em...

A Bite Size episode. Underneath an eating disorder is often a deep sense of shame. In this episode, I explore shame, with the loneliness and isolation that accompanies it. I talk about the perceived envy and sense of competition you might feel from others and the associated shame with this. I normalise shame as a universal feeling that we all experience, and explore strategies to overcome it. I ho...

This episode was released in 2021 and has been one of my most popular downloads, so I thought that I would share it again, whilst I head off for few days holiday. I’m talking about food and feelings. I explore how our early relationship with food develops, the emotional environment at home and how this all intertwines to influence the food and feelings connection. I explain how you can begin to tu...

A Bite Size episode exploring comparisons and competitiveness in people with eating disorders. It’s very common that people with eating disorders can feel competitive with one another. Eating disorders are very destructive illnesses and you can almost feel that you are never sick enough. I think the competitive/comparing phenomenon is also rife in daily life with social media etc. It is easy to lo...