Eating disorders are complex and multi-faceted, but what if they’re far more connected to our emotional experience with the world than we realize?

 

First of all: This is episode 55… our 1 year anniversary! Happy anniversary, guys! 🎉🎉

 

I am SO excited to start another year with all of you. I have loved getting to know all of this past year. I love putting this show together, and connecting with you via emails, DMs, and comments… I’m so grateful for every single one of your listens. ❤️

 

I decided to start the new year with my signature topic… meaning, the way I’ve come to conceptualize eating disorders and therapy based on all the information I’ve gathered. In essence, if you had to boil it down to one idea, it’s how everything connects with our emotional experience.

 

You know me: you know I’m not an emotional, mushy-gushy person. I’m not going to be that person who says, “Hey! Why don’t we talk about how you feel?” Eww, no.  🤷🏻‍♀️

But I guess the way that I approach emotions is probably coming from an emotion, too. Emotions run the gamut from positive to negative, strong to “weak,” and they’re all significant. Emotions drive everything about how we interact with this world. 

 

And if we leave them in code language without really getting to know them, then we let our relationship with our emotions drive every one of our decisions – we aren’t in the driver’s seat if we don’t shed more light on our relationship with our emotions.  

 

Eating disorders are very complex. They’re obviously not just caused by one thing – like, you don’t have one difficult time and that’s the sole cause of the eating disorder.

 

Sure, there are different environmental pressures and genetic predispositions… but in this episode, we talk about how eating disorders are developed and maintained, and how it’s all connected with emotions. We’ll talk about how our desire to dissociate from painful emotional experiences is connected to disordered eating and basically everything we do. 

 

So, let’s dive in!

Tweetable Quotes

“[Emotions] are encoded in us. And if we leave them encoded, then we let our relationship with our emotions – our history – drive every one of our decisions… we are not currently in the driver’s seat if we do not shed more light on our relationship with our emotions.” – Rachelle Heinemann 

 

“We have to zoom out. It’s not just one binge, one desire to restrict, or one workout… it’s more so your overall relationship with food is connected with your overall desire to remove yourself from painful emotional experiences.” – Rachelle Heinemann

 

“If someone has not learned the blueprint of how to navigate difficult emotions, then [those emotions] will become intolerable.” – Rachelle Heinemann 

 

“Our emotions don’t just dissipate. They go somewhere… and so, if we can’t communicate what’s going on internally with our words, our body is going to communicate in some way, shape, or form for us.” – Rachelle Heinemann 

 

“Your emotions cannot possibly last forever. It just doesn’t. They come and go in waves – and if you ride the wave, they will always pass.” – Rachelle Heinemann 

Resources: 

Emotion Wheel

 

Related Understanding Disordered Eating Episodes:

 

1. Understanding the Concept of Psychoanalysis with Meredith Glidden, LCAT, LP

 

1. Utilizing Curiosity to Develop Resilience and Eliminate Harmful Comparison with Jennifer Glass, LCSW

 

1. Using Metaphors to Understand Eating Disorders with Courtney Dowdell, LCAT, CEDCAT, RDT/BCT

 

1. Eating Disorders and the Mind/Body Disconnect with Danielle Novack, Ph.D 

 

1. The Inner Working of Therapy with Jack Heinemann, LCSW-R

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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]