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Understanding Disordered Eating

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Understanding
Disordered Eating Podcast

 

 

Each week we explore the deeper meaning of our relationship with food and our body. I interview experts in the field of eating disorders and psychoanalysis to bring you the answers about why you do the things you do and bring you one step closer to a healthier relationship with food and yourself.  

 
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Response to Washington Post's "As Obesity Rises, Big Food, and Dietitians Push ‘Anti-Diet’ Advice."

Basically, the gist of the article is that big food companies, like General Mills, are teaming up with anti-diet dieticians to promote what they call "junk food" while discouraging weight loss efforts. Sounds sketchy, right? But here's the thing: this article is missing some crucial nuance.

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Lying, Deception, and Eating Disorders with Tom Wooldridge, PsyD, ABPP, FIPA, CEDS-S

What drives someone to lie? Is all lying inherently bad? How does lying intersect with our internal struggles and vulnerabilities? These are just a few questions I had before my conversation with Tom.

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Postpartum, Body Image, and Eating Disorders with Pam Skop LMHC, CEDS, RYT

As a mother myself, I've experienced firsthand the pressures of bounce-back culture. It's everywhere - from social media ads to casual conversations. The expectation to quickly return to your pre-pregnancy body after carrying a human for 40 weeks and giving birth is, quite frankly, absurd.

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How the ED People Are Pushing the Masses Away

I firmly believe that the key lies in early detection and prevention. Whether you're a psychiatrist pediatrician, therapist, or dietitian, your ability to recognize the early signs of disordered eating and intervene can truly make a world of difference. It's about becoming part of the solution, steering individuals away from the brink of despair, and towards a path of healing and recovery.

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The Beauty Ideal with Nechami Tennenbaum, MBA

When we talk about eating disorders, the conversation often revolves around body image – from the harmful effects of body shaming to the empowering message of body positivity. But there's another aspect of this conversation that often goes overlooked: beauty ideals.

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Ozempic, Wegovy, & Mounjaro with Laura Cipullo

There’s a sea of misinformation out there because medications like Ozempic, Wegovy, and Mounjaro have become so popular. But the real question is why? These aren’t necessarily brand-new medications but lately, we’ve seen them “prescribed” right and left and it leaves us wondering if it’s something we should consider.

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The Comparison Trap and Eating Disorders

But here’s the thing: they are two completely different lifestyles. Both people are in different phases of their lives with perhaps significant differences in resources and personalities (and lots of other things) and are not in a place to compare one another. This is the comparison trap that oftentimes it has an unintended impact on one’s relationship with food and self-esteem.

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Disordered Eating VS Eating Disorder, Which Is It?

Do labels like "disordered eating" and "eating disorder" truly serve us, or do they limit our understanding of individuals and their unique journeys with food? These labels are often misunderstood, which makes it feel like such a hard concept for our peers to grasp. As an outsider, who is curious about your own relationship with food or wants to support someone navigating theirs, knowing the difference in these labels can be beneficial.

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Eating Disorders Don’t Have a Look

Here’s the thing, eating disorders don’t have a look. It’s a myth that eating disorders are typically portrayed by a “skinny” individual. But the reality is far from that stereotype. Eating disorders can affect anyone, regardless of their outward appearance. They don't discriminate based on size, shape, or weight.

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Navigating Parenthood and Eating Disorders with Dina Cohen, MS, RDN, CEDS-C

The unconditional love we have for our families can be incredibly healing, especially for those who have struggled with eating disorders. Parenthood, with its inherent love and acceptance, can serve as a powerful motivator for recovery. Yet, as much as we cherish these moments, we also recognize the challenges they bring, particularly for individuals with eating disorders.

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Weight Loss, Yay or Nay?

We should be exploring questions around the perception that excessive weight is a health problem, the dangers of intentional weight loss, and the conversations that uncover this controversial topic.

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Bariatric Surgery and Eating Disorders with Dr. Marianne Miller

Just last year, The American Academy of Pediatrics put out (terrible) guidelines, that in a nutshell, give the “go-ahead” to evaluate children for weight loss medication and/or surgery. Weight loss surgery is completely irreversible. So why is it being recommended? There are many challenges that individuals will face when deciding to undergo weight loss surgery. Not only the painful physical challenges but the mental and emotional ones as well.

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How To Recover When Everyone Around You Is Dieting

Everyone seems to have an opinion, you've probably encountered unsolicited advice and opinions from well-meaning (or not-so-well-meaning) friends or family. But here's the thing – You are not on a mission to help them see the world the way that you do. You are not on a mission to help them understand intuitive eating and eating disorder recovery.

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What Every Therapist Wished Psychiatrists Knew About Eating Disorders

When we view mental illnesses as medical illnesses, we are going to miss the nuance that is associated with emotions and psychology. There is no official proven line of treatment (I mean meds here) for eating disorders. But typically the individual also has some version of insert mental illness here and meds could be really helpful.

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Highly Sensitive People and Eating Disorders

Someone who is more prone to feeling intolerable emotions is generally more prone to lean into any sort of eating disorder behaviors, substance abuse, or unhealthy coping mechanisms. The feelings they feel are so big and so intolerable, no wonder they’ll want relief from the pain.

So I think the biggest question here is: if you are a person who is highly sensitive, how do you deal with intense emotions?

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Medical Assistance In Dying and Eating Disorders with Dr. Anita Federici

But the question is, why is this a controversial topic? MAID is not a new construct. It has been utilized around the world with different controversies for many years as a way of ethically, compassionately, and humanely allowing people to have a dignified way of dying. In modern-day science or modern psychology, we don’t have a way to alleviate the suffering of someone who is battling a severe mental health condition. While I acknowledge that different medications serve their purposes, the question remains: why is there a difference between “mental illnesses” and “physical illnesses”? Is there even a difference?

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How to Understand and Utilize Your Dreams to Maximize Growth with Jennifer Neely, LCSW-R

Ever wondered why some dreams stick around while others vanish like morning mist? Jennifer shares that dreams we remember are like neon signs from our unconscious, emphasizing an underlying conflict. It turns out, that the more significant the conflict, the greater the unconscious's push to deliver the message through vivid dreams.

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The Root of Your Emotional Eating

While diagnostic criteria, such as those outlined in the DSM (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders), exist for binge eating disorders, it's crucial to prioritize the individual's subjective experience. There is a limitation when it comes to these medicalized classifications and it’s important to recognize the subjective nature of these issues.

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How Anti-Diet Culture Became Like Diet Culture with Jessica Brown

There is no doubt that I disagree with diet culture. But recently I’ve been noticing that a lot of these things that frustrate me with this culture are starting to show up in the anti-diet culture as well. Between the judging, the internal shaming, and the “cult behaviors”, the lines are starting to blur and the cycle we were trying to break has begun to repeat itself.

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What To Do When You Feel Stuck with Sondra Kronberg

Feeling stuck isn't exclusive to one area of life; it can strike at any moment. Whether you're battling with your career, your relationships, or, as is often the case, your relationship with food, that suffocating feeling can be all too familiar. If you've ever grappled with issues related to your relationship with food or have felt trapped in various aspects of life, this discussion is going to be a game-changer for you.

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Meet Your Host

Rachelle is a licensed mental health counselor, eating disorder and analytic therapist. 

Rachelle works with clients in New York City and Brooklyn to make sense of life’s messy emotional experiences.

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