A Journey Through Eating Disorders Support & Recovery

When you are living with a mental illness, such as an eating disorder, you are never truly alone, even when the illness tries to convince you otherwise. Eating disorders thrive in isolation and secrecy, making it easy to feel like no one understands your pain. The truth is, recovery begins the moment you realize there is a community of people…

I’ve been a therapist for 10 years– and I’m an eating disorders survivor myself. Three years ago, I had my first child. When I went through the process of pregnancy, I was already in a place of solid recovery for many years, which I consider a huge privilege and am forever grateful for the work I did (alongside my therapist…

When we think about eating disorders, we may picture behaviors involving food, exercise, or body image. What we may not immediately see is what is happening beneath the surface, but an eating disorder is an illness that can profoundly affect the brain. Food is fuel for every organ in the body, including the brain. When someone is experiencing prolonged food…

“Food noise” describes the stream of thoughts around food, meals, cravings, and body image that can sometimes feel overwhelming. While the term has recently gained attention online, these experiences are not new for people navigating eating disorder recovery. A Therapist’s Thoughts on Food Noise Brittany Hayes LCSW, with Eating Recovery Center, explains this concept. She mentions how some level of…

One of the greatest hurdles in eating disorder recovery is the weight of stereotypes. Many individuals fail to recognize their own struggles because of the narrow archetypes imposed by friends, family, and even healthcare providers. Society routinely portrays eating disorders as a monolithic experience affecting only one specific demographic. In reality, these are complex illnesses that can completely blindside people…

Eating disorders affect far more than the individual experiencing them. They often impact parents, siblings, partners, caregivers, and close friends, changing family routines, communication, and relationships. While this can feel overwhelming, it also means that loved ones can play an important role in the recovery process. Family engagement does not mean family members are responsible for causing or "fixing" an…

If you or someone you love is living with an eating disorder, you may already know how much it affects their internal thoughts and emotions. But eating disorders are not just mental health conditions — they are medical illnesses that affect nearly every organ in your body and they can have serious medical complications that may require hospitalization. As a…

Social media has surfaced and popularized fitness and wellness trends that dot the spectrum from fake news to flat-out dangerous. “Looksmaxxing” is an example of a trend that leans toward the more concerning side of that scale. Communities of “looksmaxxers” have gained popularity in recent years, spreading messages that can be damaging to their audiences’ body images and self worth.…

Food and fitness fads evolve quickly and intentionally. Often these fads are only loosely backed by nutrition science. Instead, they rely on people’s hopes and fears about their own health to spread like wildfire. “Protein maxxing” and gym culture are two more recent examples of how wellness trends can have a potentially harmful underbelly. At the surface level, these practices…

The hard truth is that 30 million people will struggle with an eating disorder in their lifetime. This is particularly relevant to college students who are already balancing major life changes. Academic pressures, transitions away from home, and shifting routines can make it harder to manage one’s nutritional needs and care for one’s mental health, especially without access to specialized…