We know that the onset of eating disorders very typically begins in the teenage years and that teens are particularly vulnerable to disordered eating… so how can we create an environment that fosters a healthy relationship with food and body for teens?

Whether you are a teen, have a teen, or just want to understand your teenage self, Danielle Swimm, LCPC, provides enlightening answers for us.

Danielle is a good friend of mine and is a certified eating disorder specialist in Annapolis, Maryland. She has a group practice, Collide Behavioral Health, that focuses on helping women heal their relationship with food and their body.

She's really into mental health and female empowerment, and she's a business coach for therapists – which is the coolest! When she's not working, she's doing yoga or outside with her toddler and puppy (and her puppy is pretty adorable!).

It's really important to talk about this stuff because so often teens are left struggling without getting help. But when we do have someone who reaches out for help sooner, recovery is so much more likely.

What we've noticed is that over the pandemic, the amount of inquiries – especially for teens – skyrocketed. Danielle has a few insights on why that may be and she's sharing them with us. We talk about why eating disorders affect teens, how the pandemic exacerbated it, and how to approach conversations with teens around food and body image. Let's just jump right in!

Tweetable Quotes

"You're trying to set your kid up for a healthy relationship with food… for their entire life. Today, they're 13, 14, 17… but their body's going to continue to change in 10, 20, and 40 years… especially for girls when they're women, and they go through pregnancy and menopause – you have to have these skills, because otherwise, you're totally screwed." – Rachelle Heinemann

"In our culture, that isn't talked about. It's just assumed you go through puberty and your body stays the same for 50 years. It's not accurate at all, and it's very unattainable. The body isn't meant to do that." – Danielle Swimm

"If [a teen] is making comments [about their body], they're asking for help. They want you to know. They're not going to say things to you that they don't want you to know – teens know how to be very secretive – so if they're saying something to you or doing something in front of you, they're waving a flag to say, 'I need some attention in this area.'" – Danielle Swimm

"If they say, 'I'm so fat,' and you say, 'No, you're not' or 'You're so beautiful,' what really you're saying is, 'I actually disagree with your perspective' and that's really invalidating… or you're almost saying 'Yeah, you're fat, but I also think you're beautiful.'" – Rachelle Heinemann

Resources:

Collide Behavior Health, Danielle's practice

Health at Every Size

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You can connect with me, Rachelle Heinemann on Instagram, through my website www.rachelleheinemann.com, or email me directly at [email protected]