Eating Disorders

MIND-BODY CONNECTION

By nature, most eating disorders are driven by being unkind to yourself. Maybe that shows up as harsh self-criticism or holding yourself to much higher standards than you would ever hold your loved ones.

If you think about babies and small children, you might notice they eat when they are hungry, sleep when they are tired, and play when they are full of energy. It’s so simple to babies and small children because they have yet to be immersed by social messaging that tells us to ignore what our body is asking for to fit social standards that are unrealistic and ever-changing.

In eating disorder therapy, we focus on reconnecting your mind and body by healing your relationship with yourself. Therapy includes an in-depth exploration of the roots of your eating disorder, emotion-focused work, and long-term coping mechanisms that will sustain recovery. This powerful work also includes exploring and reframing long-held beliefs about food, exercise, and body image as well as redeveloping healthy relationships with these areas of your life.

GRIEVING THE ABSENCE OF YOUR EATING DISORDER

One thing rarely talked about in the eating disorder community is the grieving process involved in separating yourself from your eating disorder. You might worry that you won’t know who you are without your eating disorder. Maybe you even feel a kinship with it. Overidentifying with your eating disorder is natural because it has offered you comfort, made you feel in control, and has given you the validation you struggled to find on your own.

But not everything that offers you comfort, control, and validation serves a valuable purpose. In recovery, we walk with you through the process of letting go of your eating disorder, finding out who you are outside of it, and discovering what’s next—because there is so much more! We explore other aspects of your identity, values, strengths, and goals so you grow into your own person.

INTUITIVE EATING AND BODY TRUST

Intuitive eating is rooted in listening to what your body wants and needs. Diet culture, the thin ideal, and distorted ideologies tell us that what is “healthy” often reinforces the idea that our hunger cues are wrong. In reality, our bodies are intelligent and resilient. They are constantly communicating with us.

Intuitive eating goes back to the basics of eating when we are hungry and for what we are hungry. Trusting our bodies follows a similar approach of trusting that your body has your best interest in mind. Perhaps you have felt that your body has betrayed you. Or maybe you have lived through an experience that disconnected your mind and body, making it hard to trust yourself in your body. In therapy, we work with you to rebuild this trust and listen intuitively to your body.

HEALTH AT EVERY SIZE®

The Health at Every Size® (HAES) approaches health as something that cannot be defined the same way for every person. Health is a continuum that changes for an individual throughout his or her lifetime. Health is something that cannot be achieved through a specific way of living and is instead affirmed by eating for wellness and moving your body in a meaningful and fun way for YOU.

PRINCIPLES OF HAES

• Weight Inclusivity
• Health Enhancement
• Respectful Care
• Eating for Well-being
• Life-Enhancing Movement

Nutritional science research continues to support HAES despite anti-fatness rhetoric. Health is not defined by weight, body shape or size, age, ability level, or medical condition. HAES strives to shift societal perspectives about diet culture and the thin ideal to create a more inclusive and compassionate way of approaching what it means to live a healthy life. Learn more about HAES at the Association for Size Diversity and Health.