A Journey Through Eating Disorders Support & Recovery

We all live in diet culture, a society obsessed with thinness and dieting. Weight and food biases permeate the air we breathe, tingeing our thoughts and actions in ways sometimes hard to notice. Providers, patients—none of us—are immune to these biases. They’re often subtle and deeply embedded, and left unexamined and unchecked, they can manifest in interactions between patients and…

Misunderstood and sometimes even normalized, eating disorders affect around 10% of the U.S. population, and rates are on the rise. While often associated with adolescents, clinicians are noticing that eating disorders are being diagnosed in younger and younger children. But what about the other side of the age spectrum? Here, we examine how eating disorders may show up in adults,…

FIf you’ve ever felt pressure to “keep up,” be more productive, or push harder, you’ve experienced hustle culture. Hustle culture ties our self-worth to external output. Rooted in perfectionism and control, it enforces similar values to diet culture and may increase the risk for developing eating disorders. Here, we take a closer look at what happens when unrealistic expectations shape…

Eating disorder recovery can be life-changing for many, but it can also be exhausting. The emotional work of recovery is still work, and that can lead to something that isn’t talked about enough: recovery burnout. Many people entering treatment may feel pressure to “get better” fast or return to normal life, which can create stress, pressure, and emotional exhaustion. Eric…

The connection between alcohol use and eating disorders is more common—and more complex—than many people realize. Research shows that up to half of those with an eating disorder have also struggled with substance use. And for people with a history of substance use challenges, the likelihood of also experiencing an eating disorder is approximately 11 times higher than in the…

In a world where many often value clear answers and a straight path forward, eating disorders – and their treatment – can feel difficult to understand. They develop in response to a mix of genetic, environmental, and social factors that may be different for each individual. Understanding the connections between autism and eating disorders sheds a bit of light on…

You’re a few hours into treatment—or maybe a few days in—when you begin to wonder if you’ve made a mistake. The anxiety you expected to subside has only gotten more intense. "You’re not sick enough for this," it says. "You can handle this on your own." Part of you is already scanning for the exit. This can happen even if…

The road to recovering from an eating disorder isn’t simple. Treatment approaches are constantly refining and providers are learning new techniques to support people along their healing journeys. As we continue to learn more, we aim to make recovery more accessible. In this vein, a treatment paradigm that appears to be imperative is weight-inclusive care. Weight-inclusive care in eating disorder…

At its core, eating disorder recovery is about stepping outside of your comfort zone, facing fears, and repeatedly defying the voice of the eating disorder. This happens again and again, not just at the beginning, but throughout the recovery process. And yet, at some point, whether early on or further along, many people find themselves thinking that they no longer…

College can be an exhilarating chapter. It’s a time of expanding horizons, forging new identities, and building lifelong friendships. Yet for many students, this period can also mark a time of intense internal struggle. Behind dorm room doors, in dining halls, and in the silence between classes, a growing number of young adults are facing one of the most serious…