Understanding Disordered Eating: Eating Disorder Recovery and Body Image Healing

You know when someone says, "Oh, that's normal", but something in your body clearly doesn't feel right? Maybe you've lost your period and brushed it off because you exercise a lot. Maybe a doctor waved it away. Maybe you've been praised for your discipline, your control, your "healthy" lifestyle, even while your body has been quietly asking for more. In this episode, we're having an honest, deeply human conversation about hypothalamic amenorrhea (HA), disordered eating, and the ways diet culture disguises itself as wellness, especially in athletic, high-achieving bodies. Tweetable Quotes "It is not normal to not have a period." - Dr. Nicola Rinaldi "I had prided myself on my body because I thought I was very healthy. What I came to realize was that I was not, and I was abusing my body in a lot of ways." - Gemma Lewis "I told countless people in my life that I didn't have my period, and nobody had ever said that. Nobody had ever asked me, 'Are you not concerned about the long-term implications of this and what you're doing to your body?'" - Gemma Lewis "Our society really encourages that. Our society encourages exercise more, eat less." - Dr. Nicola Rinaldi "I Googled 'how can I get my period back without gaining weight'. There is no good answer out there." - Gemma Lewis "HA can happen to anyone in any body size." - Dr. Nicola Rinaldi "You are more than your body." - Dr. Nicola Rinaldi  Resources Looking for a speaker for an upcoming event? Let's chat!  Now accepting new clients! Find out if we're a good fit!  Dr. Nicola Sykes website Connect with Dr. Nicola Sykes on Instagram No Period, Now What? Period Recovery Community  REVEAL Study Grab my Journal Prompts Here!   LEAVE A REVIEW + help someone who may need this podcast by sharing this episode. Be sure to sign up for my weekly newsletter here! You can connect with me on Instagram @rachelleheinemann, through my website www.rachelleheinemann.com, or email me directly at rachelle@rachelleheinemann.com

January has a way of making everything feel louder. The pressure to start over, "fix yourself", and come back "better" than before. If you've ever felt that quiet panic underneath all the New Year motivation, this episode is for you. Instead of making a New Year's Resolution, we're making an anti-resolution.  Tweetable Quotes "When we're under pressure, it's kind of impossible to make deliberate decisions and to really feel calm about it." - Rachelle Heinemann "You don't need a dramatic reinvention to be worthy of the start of the year or even a 'fresh start'." - Rachelle Heinemann "A lot of food-related resolutions or like body-related resolutions are rooted very much in shame, guilt, comparison, anxiety, fear of not being in control." - Rachelle Heinemann "If you're thinking 'I need to change because there is something terribly wrong about me as a person'… even if it is the best resolution in the world, that is never gonna hold up." - Rachelle Heinemann Resources Grab my Journal Prompts Here! Looking for a speaker for an upcoming event? Let's chat! Now accepting new clients! Find out if we're a good fit!    LEAVE A REVIEW + help someone who may need this podcast by sharing this episode. Be sure to sign up for my weekly newsletter here! You can connect with me on Instagram @rachelleheinemann, through my website www.rachelleheinemann.com, or email me directly at rachelle@rachelleheinemann.com

For so many of us, nighttime feels like stepping into a different version of ourselves. One that feels "fine" all day, but starts to unravel the moment the sun goes down. One who can't stop thinking about snacks, who wanders into the kitchen on autopilot, who feels out of control around food in ways that never show up at noon. It can feel confusing, frustrating, even shameful. Listen to the full episode for the full unpacking and for the practical steps that can help you finally feel at peace when the night comes. Tweetable Quotes "Your body might not be confused or just randomly anxious. It might actually be undernourished." - Rachelle Heinemann "Sometimes we get caught up in what we call healthy habits… and these are like the perfect conditions to breed bingey eating or nighttime food anxiety." - Rachelle Heinemann "At night, usually that's where all the leftovers emotionally show up." - Rachelle Heinemann "Emotional hunger is not fake hunger, it's just a metaphoric hunger." - Rachelle Heinemann "If you're hungry, whether it's metaphoric or otherwise, you're hungry for something." - Rachelle Heinemann Resources Grab my Journal Prompts Here! Looking for a speaker for an upcoming event? Let's chat! Now accepting new clients! Find out if we're a good fit!    LEAVE A REVIEW + help someone who may need this podcast by sharing this episode. Be sure to sign up for my weekly newsletter here! You can connect with me on Instagram @rachelleheinemann, through my website www.rachelleheinemann.com, or email me directly at rachelle@rachelleheinemann.com

Struggling to find motivation in recovery, or trying to make sense of what keeps people pushing through something as painful as an eating disorder, opens a door to a much deeper conversation. This episode steps right through that door. In this episode, we welcome back a longtime favorite guest: Dr. Jeffrey DeSarbo, a neuropsychiatrist and internationally known educator whose work sits at the intersection of brain science, mental health, and eating disorder treatment. If you've heard his previous episodes, you already know that he has a profound ability to make complex neuroscience feel not just understandable, but actionable. This time, he brings something new, something that might seem unexpected coming from a neuroscientist: the science of a bucket list. And no, not the Hollywood version. Not skydiving. Not "visit Paris." Something far more foundational. Tweetable Quotes "It's okay to be skeptical because that's part of it." - Dr. Jeffrey DeSarbo "Recovery kind of involves helping the brain remember how to feel that, that curiosity, pleasure, connection, and flexibility again." - Dr. Jeffrey DeSarbo "When you go places, and you meet different people with different cultures, the one thing I have learned… it has helped tolerability." - Dr. Jeffrey DeSarbo "We're programmed, and we don't even know we're being programmed to think and, more importantly, to react." - Dr. Jeffrey DeSarbo "Your brain is always changing." - Dr. Jeffrey DeSarbo Resources Grab my Journal Prompts Here! Looking for a speaker for an upcoming event? Let's chat! Now accepting new clients! Find out if we're a good fit!  Dr. Jeffrey DeSarbo's YouTube Channel Dr. Jeffrey DeSarbo's Website   LEAVE A REVIEW + help someone who may need this podcast by sharing this episode. Be sure to sign up for my weekly newsletter here! You can connect with me on Instagram @rachelleheinemann, through my website www.rachelleheinemann.com, or email me directly at rachelle@rachelleheinemann.com

Whether you're supporting others or navigating your own process, this episode offers language and perspective to help you sit with the messiness rather than fear it. In this episode, we slow down to explore why ambivalence exists, what it reveals about our experiences, and why it's a doorway rather than a roadblock. We unpack the deeper meaning behind body goals, what thinness represents, the safety it promises, and why those promises feel so powerful even when they aren't rooted in truth. You'll learn how to face fear without bypassing it, and why sitting with discomfort is often the catalyst for real change. Tweetable Quotes "When somebody has an attachment to a certain body size or shape, it's because it means something and it represents something." - Rachelle Heinemann "Ambivalence is when you want two things that contradict each other, where there are opposites at the same time. This is literally the purpose of therapy is to work through ambivalence." - Rachelle Heinemann "The reason why we get stuck is because of ambivalence. It's because we want two things at the same time, and they're contradicting each other, and we cannot move forward." - Rachelle Heinemann "What if we stopped treating body goals as something to take apart or dismantle? And if we started seeing them as something to understand, something to explore?" - Rachelle Heinemann Resources Grab my Journal Prompts Here! Looking for a speaker for an upcoming event? Let's chat! Now accepting new clients! Find out if we're a good fit!    LEAVE A REVIEW + help someone who may need this podcast by sharing this episode. Be sure to sign up for my weekly newsletter here! You can connect with me on Instagram @rachelleheinemann, through my website www.rachelleheinemann.com, or email me directly at rachelle@rachelleheinemann.com

If you've ever wondered why PCOS feels so confusing, why the symptoms don't line up, why the advice is contradictory, why the solutions feel like guesswork, you're not imagining it. That's exactly why I brought back Julie Duffy Dillon, registered dietitian, author, and host of Find Your Food Voice, to cut through the noise. Julie has a rare way of talking about PCOS that immediately makes your shoulders drop: it's science-based, deeply compassionate, and totally free of judgment or quick fixes.  Tweetable Quotes " So many people are led to believe that it's just a problem with their ovaries, but really, PCOS is an endocrine disorder that starts in the brain, not in the ovaries. It's something that someone's born with and they're, they die with it too." - Julie Duffy Dillon "We don't have a lot of research. Doctors don't always have the answers, and there's a lot of weight bias in there, too. And unfortunately, most people just know about the reproductive interventions. They don't know about all the other ones." - Julie Duffy Dillon "I do feel like with PCOS, you have to advocate for yourself more. It's annoying." - Julie Duffy Dillon "PCOS is the number one cause of anovulatory infertility." - Julie Duffy Dillon " If you're eating enough with PCOS, adding movement is something that can really help with your insulin levels. But if you are someone who's painfully tired or your insulin levels are really high, so you have these cravings all the time, adding exercise or movement is just gonna make things worse." - Julie Duffy Dillon Resources Julie's Website: https://julieduffydillon.com/ Free Tools: https://julieduffydillon.com/voice/ Julie's Podcast: https://julieduffydillon.com/podcast/ Book: https://julieduffydillon.com/book/ Book bonus downloads: https://findyourfoodvoicebook.com PCOS Membership: https://julieduffydillon.com/pcos-power-course/ Bergen Mental Health Group Inc. is hiring! If you think you'd be a great fit, check it out! Grab my Journal Prompts Here! Looking for a speaker for an upcoming event? Let's chat! Now accepting new clients! Find out if we're a good fit!    LEAVE A REVIEW + help someone who may need this podcast by sharing this episode! Be sure to sign up for my weekly newsletter here! You can connect with me on Instagram @rachelleheinemann, through my website www.rachelleheinemann.com, or email me directly at rachelle@rachelleheinemann.com

Relapse isn't the end of recovery. It's part of it. There's this moment that happens for so many people in recovery, that sinking feeling when you realize some of those old patterns have crept back in. Maybe it's skipping a meal. Maybe it's the familiar swirl of guilt, shame, or perfectionism. Whatever form it takes, relapse can feel like you've failed. Like everything you've worked so hard for just… disappeared. Listen to the full episode to learn how to meet relapse with curiosity, connect with what it's trying to teach you, and continue forward on your path to healing. Tweetable Quotes "Relapse isn't the end of recovery, guys. It's not the end of the road. It's a moment in it." - Rachelle Heinemann "We're not going to label it as a success or failure, but we're going to explore it." - Rachelle Heinemann "Is the body communicating something that the mind can't yet say?" - Rachelle Heinemann "Even if it feels like you revisit the same old place, you are there with a lot more awareness and capacity than you have in the past." - Rachelle Heinemann "Recovery happens in connection. Recovery cannot happen outside of connection." - Rachelle Heinemann Resources Bergen Mental Health Group Inc. is hiring! If you think you'd be a great fit, check it out! Grab my Journal Prompts Here! Looking for a speaker for an upcoming event? Let's chat! Now accepting new clients! Find out if we're a good fit!    LEAVE A REVIEW + help someone who may need this podcast by sharing this episode. Be sure to sign up for my weekly newsletter here! You can connect with me on Instagram @rachelleheinemann, through my website www.rachelleheinemann.com, or email me directly at rachelle@rachelleheinemann.com Thank you to our sponsors! This episode includes paid endorsements and advertisements for products and services.   Hidden River Healing provides compassionate, residential eating disorder treatment for girls, adolescents, and young women. Their expert clinical team emphasizes family involvement and individualized care in a beautifully designed facility surrounded by nature — a peaceful environment that supports recovery and lasting healing. Program Highlights: Specialized care for ages 8 and up, including a dedicated house for Emerging Adults (21+) and Mid-Life Adults In-network with most commercial insurances Ability to treat NG tube patients Learn more: hiddenriverhealing.com/about-us Follow on Instagram: @hiddenrivertx   NOTE: We will be taking next week off for Thanksgiving. See you in December!

Have you ever looked around and wondered how everyone else seems to have such an easy, peaceful relationship with food? They order what they want at restaurants, stop when they're full, and move on with their day. Meanwhile, you're stuck in your head, negotiating with yourself, worrying about how much you ate, or planning the next meal before you've even finished this one. If that sounds familiar, you're not alone. Listen to the full episode to learn how you can start to rebuild trust with your body, release food guilt, and finally feel more at ease around eating; one meal, one moment, one connection at a time. Tweetable Quotes "Eating is not just a means to nourish yourself. It is a means to connect." - Rachelle Heinemann "The very first thing is you need structure. Because we can't really play around if we're not eating enough. And when we play around with our food, then we play around with our hunger fullness cues." - Rachelle Heinemann "What we're doing is shifting from our bodies and our meal plans as something to control and shifting to our bodies as something to listen to." - Rachelle Heinemann "It's not about getting it right, it's about just rebuilding these lines of communication." - Rachelle Heinemann "Your food choices don't define your worth." - Rachelle Heinemann Resources Bergen Mental Health Group Inc. is hiring! If you think you'd be a great fit, check it out! Grab my Journal Prompts Here! Looking for a speaker for an upcoming event? Let's chat! Now accepting new clients! Find out if we're a good fit!    LEAVE A REVIEW + help someone who may need this podcast by sharing this episode. Be sure to sign up for my weekly newsletter here! You can connect with me on Instagram @rachelleheinemann, through my website www.rachelleheinemann.com, or email me directly at rachelle@rachelleheinemann.com Thank you to our sponsors! This episode includes paid endorsements and advertisements for products and services.   Hidden River Healing provides compassionate, residential eating disorder treatment for girls, adolescents, and young women. Their expert clinical team emphasizes family involvement and individualized care in a beautifully designed facility surrounded by nature — a peaceful environment that supports recovery and lasting healing. Program Highlights: Specialized care for ages 8 and up, including a dedicated house for Emerging Adults (21+) and Mid-Life Adults In-network with most commercial insurances Ability to treat NG tube patients Learn more: hiddenriverhealing.com/about-us Follow on Instagram: @hiddenrivertx

The holidays are a time of joy, connection, and celebration. But they can also stir up difficult emotions, memories, and patterns, especially if you've experienced trauma or struggled with disordered eating. In this episode, we're diving into the complex and often misunderstood relationship between eating disorders and trauma. Joining me for this powerful conversation is Dr. Giulia Suro—a psychologist and author in Washington, DC who specializes in the intersection of eating disorders and trauma.  Tweetable Quotes "Being triggered is great. Like there's nothing wrong with being triggered, right? Being triggered means you're having a response and I want you to learn that you can feel that response and get through it because you're resilient, you're strong, you have agency, you have skills." - Dr. Giulia Suro "All of us are gonna experience traumas over the course of our lifetime. That's baked into the price of being a human being." - Dr. Giulia Suro "I think for many people with eating disorders, the eating disorder behaviors become avoidance behaviors." - Dr. Giulia Suro "Doing eating disorder work is doing trauma work. We're learning how to be in our body." - Dr. Giulia Suro "My biggest fear for anyone with an eating disorder is to sort of settle for three quarters recovery and live a life that's like good enough." - Dr. Giulia Suro "Your feelings can't hurt you. Your thoughts can't hurt you. Memories can't hurt you. Like the hurt has passed, that has passed." - Dr. Giulia Suro Resources Dr. Giulia Suro's website Follow Dr. Giulia Suro on Instagram Bergen Mental Health Group Inc. is hiring! If you think you'd be a great fit, check it out! Grab my Journal Prompts Here! Looking for a speaker for an upcoming event? Let's chat! Now accepting new clients! Find out if we're a good fit!    LEAVE A REVIEW + help someone who may need this podcast by sharing this episode. Be sure to sign up for my weekly newsletter here! You can connect with me on Instagram @rachelleheinemann, through my website www.rachelleheinemann.com, or email me directly at rachelle@rachelleheinemann.com   Thank you to our sponsors! This episode includes paid endorsements and advertisements for products and services. Hidden River Healing provides compassionate, residential eating disorder treatment for girls, adolescents, and young women. Their expert clinical team emphasizes family involvement and individualized care in a beautifully designed facility surrounded by nature — a peaceful environment that supports recovery and lasting healing. Program Highlights: Specialized care for ages 8 and up, including a dedicated house for Emerging Adults (21+) and Mid-Life Adults In-network with most commercial insurances Ability to treat NG tube patients Learn more: hiddenriverhealing.com/about-us Follow on Instagram: @hiddenrivertx

Have you ever felt like your mind just won't shut off about food? You're in a meeting, at school, or out with friends, and instead of focusing on what's in front of you, all you can think about is what you'll eat next, what you shouldn't have eaten, or what you'll allow yourself later. That constant mental chatter, what many call food noise, can be exhausting. Tune in to the full episode to uncover what food noise is really telling you, and what steps you can take to finally quiet it. Tweetable Quotes "Thinking about food and being interested in food is really another sign of physical hunger." - Rachelle Heinemann "Restriction applies to the actual restriction of food not getting in enough, and it applies to the restriction of kinds of foods, types of foods, and the idea that they're off limits." - Rachelle Heinemann "Once you start eating adequately and regularly and consistently, and allowing yourself to have a variety of foods, then you'd be surprised how the food noise starts to quiet." - Rachelle Heinemann "If we still have our good foods and bad foods in different camps, then the food noise will probably be there." - Rachelle Heinemann "The more you avoid sweets and cakes and all these other kinds of fun foods, it's going to hold that power over you." - Rachelle Heinemann "The most important takeaway from today is 'Are you restricting? Is there some dieting going on? Are there lots of food rules?' In which case, you have to address that in order to decrease the food noise that is driving you up the wall." - Rachelle Heinemann Resources Bergen Mental Health Group Inc. is hiring! If you think you'd be a great fit, check it out! Grab my Journal Prompts Here! Looking for a speaker for an upcoming event? Let's chat! Now accepting new clients! Find out if we're a good fit!    LEAVE A REVIEW + help someone who may need this podcast by sharing this episode. Be sure to sign up for my weekly newsletter here! You can connect with me on Instagram @rachelleheinemann, through my website www.rachelleheinemann.com, or email me directly at rachelle@rachelleheinemann.com   Thank you to our sponsors! This episode includes paid endorsements and advertisements for products and services. Hidden River Healing provides compassionate, residential eating disorder treatment for girls, adolescents, and young women. Their expert clinical team emphasizes family involvement and individualized care in a beautifully designed facility surrounded by nature — a peaceful environment that supports recovery and lasting healing. Program Highlights: Specialized care for ages 8 and up, including a dedicated house for Emerging Adults (21+) and Mid-Life Adults In-network with most commercial insurances Ability to treat NG tube patients Learn more: hiddenriverhealing.com/about-us Follow on Instagram: @hiddenrivertx

When it comes to eating disorder treatment, one of the biggest questions people have is simple: What does it actually look like? The reality is that there's no single answer. Every person's story with food, body image, and recovery is unique, which means treatment has to be flexible, supportive, and tailored to the individual. Still, there are common building blocks that show up again and again, and understanding them can make the process feel a little less overwhelming. The number one goal is eating disorder symptom reduction. That means consistent and adequate nourishment as the first and most important goal. Tweetable Quotes "No two eating disorders are going to look alike. No two people's stories are going to look alike." - Rachelle Heinemann "The relationship we have with our people is going to be the catalyst for change." - Rachelle Heinemann "Just because the numbers are good doesn't mean there isn't still an eating disorder." - Rachelle Heinemann "Even if somebody starts to show signs of decreased symptoms, it doesn't necessarily mean that the work is over." - Rachelle Heinemann Resources Bergen Mental Health Group Inc. is hiring! If you think you'd be a great fit, check it out! Grab my Journal Prompts Here! Looking for a speaker for an upcoming event? Let's chat! Now accepting new clients! Find out if we're a good fit!    LEAVE A REVIEW + help someone who may need this podcast by sharing this episode. Be sure to sign up for my weekly newsletter here! You can connect with me on Instagram @rachelleheinemann, through my website www.rachelleheinemann.com, or email me directly at rachelle@rachelleheinemann.com  

Ever feel like nothing in your closet feels good, no matter how many outfits you try on? Or maybe you've found yourself spiraling about what people will think when they see you at a reunion, a wedding, or even just in the office. In this episode of Understanding Disordered Eating, I'm joined by my good friend and colleague, Sydney Green, MS, RD, to unpack the truth about body image: what it really means, how it shows up in daily life, and why it's so intertwined with our relationship to food.  Tweetable Quotes "If you're on outfit seven, nothing's feeling good… can we just go with comfort? Can we just go with, okay?" - Rachelle Heinemann "Body image is the last to go… which again, I don't even know what that means, although it's true, but it doesn't really mean much without unpacking it." - Rachelle Heinemann "The successful woman is looking super chic, and she's really thin, and if I don't look like that, then I'm not successful. I'm not driven. I'm not motivated." - Sydney Greene "A huge salad… our stomach is not meant to digest that. We're not rabbits. It just sits there. We get bloated. It doesn't feel good." - Sydney Greene "Body image is not a symptom. It's like how we feel about ourselves… there's so much more richness to how we feel about our body." - Sydney Greene "There's an actual word for some of this in research, it's called fat talk… women get together and talk about, pick apart their body, kind of like that Mean Girls scene." - Sydney Greene "When somebody is struggling with body image, maybe the point is not to immediately erase it. Maybe we have to see it and acknowledge it and say, you're not alone." - Rachelle Heinemann Resources Connect with Sydney here: https://www.sydneygreenehealth.com/ Find her on Instagram!: @greenehealth Bergen Mental Health Group Inc. is hiring! If you think you'd be a great fit, check it out! Grab my Journal Prompts Here! Looking for a speaker for an upcoming event? Let's chat! Now accepting new clients! Find out if we're a good fit!    LEAVE A REVIEW + help someone who may need this podcast by sharing this episode. Be sure to sign up for my weekly newsletter here! You can connect with me on Instagram @rachelleheinemann, through my website www.rachelleheinemann.com, or email me directly at rachelle@rachelleheinemann.com

What does it really mean to be fully recovered from an eating disorder? For decades, the conversation has been clouded by vague definitions, conflicting philosophies, and the fear that "recovery" might not even be possible. In this powerful conversation, I sit down with Carolyn Costin, a renowned therapist, author, and pioneer in the eating disorder field, to dig into what recovery actually looks like, why she believes full recovery is possible, and how to strengthen the "healthy self" rather than fight against the eating disorder voice. Carolyn Costin MA, MEd., MFT, CEDS, FAED, is a world renowned, highly sought-after eating disorder clinician, author, and international speaker. Recovered from anorexia in her twenties, as a young therapist Carolyn recognized her calling after successfully treating her first eating disorder client. Carolyn was first to publicly take the position that people with eating disorders can become fully recovered. Tweetable Quotes "When you are recovered, you will not compromise your health or betray your soul to look a certain way, wear a certain size, or reach a certain number on the scale." - Carolyn Costin "We are not born with an eating disorder. We were born with this core healthy soul self in there." - Carolyn Costin "Instead of getting rid of the eating disorder self, I help strengthen people's healthy self." - Carolyn Costin "When someone has had an eating disorder, I want to be cautious for a while, but I know so many people now being in this for so long who are recovered and shit's happened in their life… and not slipped back." - Carolyn Costin "I don't weigh myself. It's like a feminist statement." - Carolyn Costin "We have to be careful… but my experience is people who are recovered actually navigate it better because we've already been through all that and it's like we have a bit of a shield up for it." - Carolyn Costin Resources Visit Carolyn's website - www.CarolynCostinInstitute.com Bergen Mental Health Group Inc. is hiring! If you think you'd be a great fit, check it out! Grab my Journal Prompts Here! Looking for a speaker for an upcoming event? Let's chat! Now accepting new clients! Find out if we're a good fit!    LEAVE A REVIEW + help someone who may need this podcast by sharing this episode. Be sure to sign up for my weekly newsletter here! You can connect with me on Instagram @rachelleheinemann, through my website www.rachelleheinemann.com, or email me directly at rachelle@rachelleheinemann.com

Have you ever wondered where the line really is between disordered eating and a true eating disorder? It's not always as clear as we'd like to think. In fact, so much of what we consider "normal" in diet culture—tracking every bite, stressing over body image, or skipping meals in the name of health—can feel harmless at first… until it slowly starts taking over more and more of your life. If you've ever asked yourself, "Is this just disordered eating, or is it something more?", this conversation is for you. Tweetable Quotes "You don't have to have a diagnosable or a life-threatening eating disorder in order to qualify to get help." - Rachelle Heinemann "Think of it like an iceberg. Disordered eating is the part you can see… but an eating disorder is the entire iceberg—this massive, dangerous thing that's hidden." - Rachelle Heinemann "With disordered eating, the rules are upsetting if you can't follow them. With an eating disorder, the rules feel like commands, and breaking them feels like a moral failure." - Rachelle Heinemann "To me, one of the most important pieces to keep an eye out for is how your relationship with food is impacting your life—your work, your friendships, even your ability to leave the house." - Rachelle Heinemann "No matter if you have a full-blown eating disorder or you struggle with yo-yo dieting, there is help out of it. You don't have to wait." - Rachelle Heinemann Resources Bergen Mental Health Group Inc. is hiring! If you think you'd be a great fit, check it out! Grab my Journal Prompts Here! Looking for a speaker for an upcoming event? Let's chat! Now accepting new clients! Find out if we're a good fit!    LEAVE A REVIEW + help someone who may need this podcast by sharing this episode. Be sure to sign up for my weekly newsletter here! You can connect with me on Instagram @rachelleheinemann, through my website www.rachelleheinemann.com, or email me directly at rachelle@rachelleheinemann.com

While we're on summer break, we're bringing back some of the most impactful episodes that deserve a second listen—and this one is just too good to pass up. This is our last re-release for the summer. We will be back with new episodes on September 9th, so be sure to tune back in. In this episode, we're going deep into the neurobiology of eating disorders with Dr. Jeffrey DeSarbo, a renowned psychiatrist and medical director of ED-180, one of the largest private eating disorder treatment centers in the U.S. If you've ever wondered why eating disorder recovery can feel so hard, or what's really going on in the brain beneath the behaviors, this episode will open your eyes and deepen your understanding. Dr. DeSarbo explains the science in a way that's relatable, clear, and deeply compassionate. From the neurological impacts of restriction, binging, and purging to the effects of compulsive exercise and body image distress, we're unpacking it all. This conversation is a must-listen for clinicians, individuals in recovery, and anyone curious about the "why" behind the "what." In this episode, we're talking about: Dr. Jeffrey De Sarbo's unique path from finance to psychiatry, and how he became a leading expert in eating disorder neurobiology. Why eating disorders are "half medical, half psychiatric"—and how this complexity makes them uniquely challenging and important to understand. What neurobiology really means, and how our brains function through electrochemical energy. The role of genetics and epigenetics in eating disorders, and why some people are more biologically predisposed than others. How brain scans show measurable differences in individuals with eating disorders, especially in how different regions of the brain communicate. Why "just eat" or "just stop" is a myth, and how deeply biological factors resist simplistic solutions. How behaviors like binging can physically change the brain, creating patterns that mimic addiction and drive compulsion. What restriction does to the brain, including loss of gray and white matter and cognitive impairment, even when someone appears high-functioning. The dangerous effects of purging, from electrolyte imbalances to cardiac issues, and why "feeling fine" doesn't mean you're medically safe. The neurobiology of compulsive exercise, and how stress hormones and overtraining harm the brain's ability to function and recover. Why body image distress is not just emotional but neurological, with altered blood flow patterns and measurable differences in perception. How neurobiology informs the recovery process, and why rewiring the brain is both essential and entirely possible—with time, persistence, and support. Tweetable Quotes "Eating disorders are not a choice. It's something that happens." - Dr. DeSarbo "Oftentimes, when we work with our eating disorder patients, they have 10,000 plus hours of eating disorder thought processes—so they become experts." - Dr. DeSarbo "Restriction with anorexia nervosa is giving you a compromised brain." - Dr. DeSarbo "You're invincible until you are not—and then it is too late." - Rachelle Heinemann "What percentage of your free thoughts, when you're not busy actively doing something, do you spend thinking about or worrying about food, weight, body image, calories, exercise?" - Dr. DeSarbo Resources ED180  The Brain and Neurobiology of Eating Disorders Translating ED Nora Volkaw Grab my Journal Prompts Here! Looking for a speaker for an upcoming event? Let's chat! Accepting new clients in July - Find out if we're a good fit!   LEAVE A REVIEW + help someone who may need this podcast by sharing this episode. Be sure to sign up for my weekly newsletter here! You can connect with me on Instagram @rachelleheinemann, through my website www.rachelleheinemann.com, or email me directly at rachelle@rachelleheinemann.com

We're diving into the archives this summer to bring you some of our most memorable and impactful conversations — and today's episode is just too good to pass up. While we take a short summer break, we're re-sharing these standout episodes. So stay tuned all summer long for these gems! This week, we're bringing back Episode 27 with Dr. Danielle Novak — a deep and moving conversation that fuses psychoanalytic insight with the complexities of eating disorders. Dr. Novak, a clinical psychologist with over 20 years of experience and currently in psychoanalytic training at NYU, joins us to unpack one of the most elusive and critical aspects of disordered eating: the role of dissociation. This isn't just theory — it's a raw, compassionate exploration of how symptoms aren't random, but deeply protective mechanisms developed from unspoken, often unconscious emotional pain. If you've ever felt disconnected from your body, confused by your reactions, or wondered why food has such a powerful grip in moments of distress, this conversation will resonate deeply.  In this episode, we're talking about: How eating disorders develop and are maintained as protective responses, not simply destructive habits. What dissociation really means and how it can show up subtly or severely in our everyday lives. How trauma — both big "T" and small "t" — plays a central role in dissociation and the onset of eating disorders. The ways emotions get stored in the body and expressed through symptoms when they can't be spoken. How restriction, binge-purge cycles, and overexercise act as coping mechanisms for overwhelming feelings. Why symptoms may provide temporary relief, but ultimately prevent us from connecting with our emotions and others. How building awareness and creating a "pause" between urge and action can begin to reconnect dissociated parts of the mind. The vital role of the therapeutic relationship in healing dissociation and restoring emotional expression. Why treatment often begins with symptom stabilization but must eventually move into deeper emotional territory to be truly transformative. Tweetable Quotes "I tend to believe that eating disorder behaviors are often sort of stand-ins for feelings that cannot be felt as feelings or expressed through words or through other means." - Dr. Danielle Novack "People don't learn how to regulate emotions. Emotions are just put away in a box and not looked at and not dealt with, and become separated from what's conscious." - Dr. Danielle Novack "Often people describe restriction as giving them a sense of like numbness and detachment that often feels preferable and safer than actually feeling their feelings." - Dr. Danielle Novack "Without knowing what's going on in our body, we can't possibly create important connections." -Rachelle Heinemann Resources Dr. Danielle's Website It Takes A Village By Dr. Danielle Novack Grab my Journal Prompts Here  Looking for a speaker for an upcoming event? Let's chat! Accepting new clients in July - Find out if we're a good fit!   LEAVE A REVIEW + help someone who may need this podcast by sharing this episode. Be sure to sign up for my weekly newsletter here! You can connect with me on Instagram @rachelleheinemann, through my website www.rachelleheinemann.com, or email me directly at rachelle@rachelleheinemann.com

While we take a little breather, we're diving into the archives to bring you some of the most powerful, thought-provoking episodes from the past. These conversations are just too good to leave behind—and today's is no exception. We're throwing it back to Episode 57, a deeply moving and intellectually rich conversation with Heather Ferguson, one of the most respected voices in trauma-informed psychoanalysis and eating disorder treatment. Heather's insight into the nuanced connection between trauma and disordered eating is unmatched, and in this conversation, we scratch the surface of a topic that could easily fill a semester-long course. From childhood trauma and body memory to dissociation, shame, and the slow, compassionate path to healing, this episode is a must-listen whether you're a therapist, a survivor, or simply curious about the deeper psychological layers behind disordered eating. In this episode, we're talking about: What trauma really means—including the difference between "Big T" and "small t" trauma—and how it shows up in unexpected ways. How the context and response to a traumatic event can shape the severity and meaning of the trauma. How eating disorders can act as survival strategies: tools for self-soothing, control, and numbing. What it means when an eating disorder serves both soothing and self-punishing functions. Why the healing process must include not just the mind, but the body—and how we create space for that in therapy. How early trauma and misattunement can shape our beliefs about ourselves and our bodies. How intergenerational trauma, secrecy, and silence can pass psychological pain down through families. Why creating a coherent narrative and reclaiming agency are essential to healing. How somatic awareness and slowing down automatic behaviors are key to shifting patterns of disordered eating. How cultural, familial, and historical narratives about food and bodies impact how trauma and eating disorders manifest. Why curiosity, compassion, and shared storytelling are central to transformative healing. Tweetable Quotes "The eating disorder became a self-management tool, a self-regulating tool, a strategy to manage states of hyperarousal and anxiety, to have a sense of efficacy and control." – Heather Ferguson "Most of us with a psychoanalytic frame of mind think about eating disorders serving both functions, that is, they can both downregulate and soothe the nervous system, but it can also be self-harming and self-punishing." – Heather Ferguson "That's part of what gets mapped around trauma – 'I'm bad, I deserve punishment.' It's illogical, it's sort of how the psyche makes sense of this – that you are the bad one, and you somehow induce the traumatic event." – Heather Ferguson "The eating disorder, in a way, can be a window into understanding the trauma." – Heather Ferguson Resources Heather's Website  Heather's email: heatherfergusonlcsw@outlook.com   Grab my Journal Prompts Here! Looking for a speaker for an upcoming event? Let's chat! Accepting new clients in July - Find out if we're a good fit!   LEAVE A REVIEW + help someone who may need this podcast by sharing this episode. Be sure to sign up for my weekly newsletter here You can connect with me on Instagram @rachelleheinemann, through my website www.rachelleheinemann.com, or email me directly at rachelle@rachelleheinemann.com

We're continuing our summer throwback series with a powerful episode that's simply too important to leave behind. While we're taking a short break this summer, we'll be resurfacing some of our most impactful conversations — the ones that made us think, challenged the status quo, and sparked meaningful dialogue. Today's rerun is one of those episodes. Originally aired as Episode 72, this conversation with Jessica Setnick dives headfirst into the controversial 2023 guidelines issued by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP). These guidelines made headlines — and not in a good way. Recommending behavioral interventions and even weight loss medications and surgery for children as young as 2, 12, and 13, respectively, the AAP ignited a firestorm of concern within the eating disorder treatment community. Jessica, a fierce advocate and long-time voice in the eating disorder field, joins me to unpack what these guidelines really say, why they're so troubling, and how they reflect a deeper cultural problem rooted in weight stigma. We question authority, untangle complex motivations (hello, pharma profits), and explore what weight-inclusive, ethical pediatric care should actually look like. In this episode, we're talking about: Why the AAP's new guidelines on pediatric weight management are sparking outrage in the eating disorder community. The alarming recommendations to introduce weight loss medications by age 12 and surgery by 13. The pervasive weight stigma built into these guidelines, including the problematic use of BMI as a screening tool. How profit motives, particularly from big pharma, may be influencing the creation of these "medical" guidelines. The real consequences of these interventions: malnutrition, stunted growth, cognitive impacts, and the risk of lifelong eating disorders. The false logic that shrinking a child's body will reduce weight stigma and why that belief is not just wrong, but dangerous. The importance of separating weight from health, and why any medical concerns should be treated based on symptoms, not size. How weight changes can be relevant when viewed contextually, but should never be the sole focus of medical intervention. Why trusting your gut and challenging medical advice is not only okay, but it might be necessary for protecting your child's wellbeing. Where to find weight-inclusive providers and what to ask when choosing a new pediatrician. Tweetable Quotes "Anyone who works in the eating disorder field at all – and probably many humans – knows multiple people, if not themselves, who have had failed weight loss interventions when they were children that then resulted in bigger problems." – Jessica Setnick "The key is not to just single out the big kids. Any kid with an eating disorder should be evaluated. Any kid with a medical condition should be evaluated." – Jessica Setnick "Shrinking children does not change their medical conditions." – Jessica Setnick "'Does my child have a medical condition, or are you saying my child is too big? Because if it's a medical condition, we'd like to get treatment independent of his size. But if you're saying his size is a problem, that's not a conversation I'm willing to have.'" – Jessica Setnick Resources AAP Clinical Practice Guideline for the Evaluation and Treatment of Children and Adolescents With Obesity News release for the AAP new guidelines Understanding Disordered Eating, Ep. 30: Eating Disorders are the Solution Not the Problem with Jessica Setnick, MS, RD, CEDRD-S Jessica on Facebook  Jessica on Instagram  Jessica Setnick: Understanding Nutrition Jessica's Website Grab my Journal Prompts Here! Looking for a speaker for an upcoming event? Let's chat! Accepting new clients in July - Find out if we're a good fit!   LEAVE A REVIEW + help someone who may need this podcast by sharing this episode. Be sure to sign up for my weekly newsletter here You can connect with me on Instagram @rachelleheinemann, through my website www.rachelleheinemann.com, or email me directly at rachelle@rachelleheinemann.com

We're kicking off our summer throwback series with an episode that's just too good not to share again. While we take a little summer break, we'll be rereleasing some of our most powerful and thought-provoking conversations—and this one tops the list. Originally aired as Episode 73, this conversation with Dr. Judith Brisman is one of those rich, soul-stirring interviews that stay with you long after it ends. Dr. Brisman is an icon in the eating disorder treatment world. With over 35 years in the field and deep roots in psychoanalytic thought, she brings both clinical depth and human compassion to the most complex questions about food, desire, and emotion. In this conversation, we explore why we turn to food to manage our feelings, how disordered eating often becomes the language of our unmet emotional needs, and what happens within family systems when an eating disorder is present. Dr. Brisman helps us understand not just the "what" but the "why" behind it all, offering a compassionate and grounded approach to recovery that emphasizes self-discovery, choice, and relational repair. In this episode, we're talking about: How Dr. Judith Brisman became a pioneer in the treatment of eating disorders by blending behavioral work with psychoanalysis. How food becomes symbolic for desire and the complex ways we try to manage our wants and needs through eating behaviors. The link between emotional regulation and disordered eating, including compelling patient stories that bring theory to life. The role of family dynamics in shaping (and healing) disordered eating patterns. How feelings like anger, helplessness, and fear often get hidden behind food behaviors—and how therapy can bring these to light. Why recovery is not just about stopping behaviors, but about uncovering the inner voices and desires we've been afraid to face. What family-based treatment looks like and how parental roles and patterns can both support and hinder recovery. How to use moments of emotional overwhelm—like the urge to binge or restrict—as doorways into deeper self-understanding. How simple questions like "What do you want to eat?" can begin the process of helping someone find their voice again. Tweetable Quotes "Families all get into patterns, some of which work, some of which don't work. An eating disorder in the family is an opportunity to say, okay, what might need to be changed right now? What might need to be inspected?" – Dr. Judith Brisman "We don't just see a parent in their role, and a child in their role; we see everybody in their roles, and how the dynamics come together." – Rachelle Heinemann "Knowing [your emotions and patterns] allows for choice." – Dr. Judith Brisman "It's not so important to identify the cause of the eating disorder… maybe it's interesting, but that's not going to end all or be the key… It's more about what's happening today, the identification, and what choice that provides." – Rachelle Heinemann Resources Dr. Judith Brisman's Website Surviving an Eating Disorder: Strategies for Families and Friends Grab my Journal Prompts Here! Looking for a speaker for an upcoming event? Let's chat! Accepting new clients in July - Find out if we're a good fit!   LEAVE A REVIEW + help someone who may need this podcast by sharing this episode. Be sure to sign up for my weekly newsletter here! You can connect with me on Instagram @rachelleheinemann, through my website www.rachelleheinemann.com, or email me directly at rachelle@rachelleheinemann.com

Let's be honest—most of us would love to be the kind of person who "lives in the moment." You know, one of those magical unicorns who wakes up excited for the day, mindfully savors every bite of their avocado toast, and breathes through stress like it's non-existent. But instead, we're over here eating lunch in front of our inbox, wondering why we feel like a disembodied ghost hovering somewhere between a meeting and a meltdown. Tweetable Quotes "I just don't wanna feel like I am dissociating my entire life." - Rachelle Heinemann "Food is inherently soothing, and it works because it's distracting and soothing at the same time." - Rachelle Heinemann "Without practicing in very neutral low-stakes moments, it's gonna be almost impossible for us to notice when we're triggered." - Rachelle Heinemann "We really have to think about all of this in the context of our specific lives and what we need so that we can work toward a version of ourselves that lives in however much of the present moment we actually want to live in." - Rachelle Heinemann Resources Bergen Mental Health Group Inc. is hiring! If you think you'd be a great fit, check it out! Grab my Journal Prompts Here! Looking for a speaker for an upcoming event? Let's chat! Now accepting new clients! Find out if we're a good fit!    LEAVE A REVIEW + help someone who may need this podcast by sharing this episode. Be sure to sign up for my weekly newsletter here! You can connect with me on Instagram @rachelleheinemann, through my website www.rachelleheinemann.com, or email me directly at rachelle@rachelleheinemann.com