Stop, Collaborate, and Listen

Pregnancy and postpartum can bring enormous changes to someone's body, identity, relationship with food, and mental health. So why do conversations about eating disorder recovery so often leave these experiences out?

In today’s episode, we're joined by Erica Marcum, LMHC, to explore the intersection of perinatal mental health and eating disorders, including the challenges of navigating pregnancy, postpartum recovery, body image, and disordered eating.

You’ll learn how eating disorders can show up during pregnancy and after birth, why symptoms and behaviors may go unrecognized, and how cultural expectations about pregnancy, motherhood, and “bouncing back” can make recovery even more complicated.

Erica also shares clinical perspectives on supporting people through this transition, from preparing for pregnancy while navigating an eating disorder to responding to changes in hunger and fullness cues, body checking, and identity. We explore harm reduction, individualized care, and why healthcare providers need better education and research to support this population.

Things We Yap About:

• The prevalence of eating disorders during pregnancy and postpartum & why they can be overlooked
• Preparing for pregnancy while navigating an eating disorder
• Hunger, fullness, and changing relationships with food postpartum
• Identity shifts and the mental health challenges of becoming a parent
• Cultural expectations surrounding pregnancy, motherhood, and postpartum bodies
• How healthcare providers can recognize concerns and intervene earlier
• Harm reduction and individualized approaches to recovery
• Supporting people when full recovery feels complicated or inaccessible
• The need for better education among clinicians and medical providers
• Research gaps in eating disorders during pregnancy and postpartum
• How clinicians and caregivers can provide more compassionate, effective support

Resources & Mentions:

• Erica’s IG: @ericabrown_lmhc
• Erica’s TikTok: @honestbloomco
• Erica’s PsychologyToday Profile

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What if binge eating isn't a lack of willpower, but a way your brain and body are trying to find relief? In this episode, we're joined by Dr. Jessica Neukam-Helms, PsyD, to explore the connection between high achievement, perfectionism, chronic stress, emotional eating, and binge eating.

We talk about why people who seem to have everything together on the outside can struggle with food behind the scenes, how dieting can offer the illusion of control, and why rigid rules can sometimes contribute to the very eating patterns we're trying to escape.

Dr. Jessica shares insights into the mental models and behavioral loops that can keep binge eating going. We explore nervous system regulation, neuroscience, and how parts work and how Internal Family Systems (IFS) can help us approach binge eating with curiosity instead of shame. And, we discuss practical ways to build more joy, calm, and flexibility into everyday life—including Jessica's five-by-five method, rethinking movement, and learning to give ourselves permission to rest.

Things We Yap About:

• How perfectionism and high achievement can contribute to vulnerability around binge eating
• Why chronic stress can make food feel like an easy source of relief
• Emotional eating, nervous system regulation, and coping
• The role of autonomy, restriction, and the “rebellion loop”
• Understanding binge eating through parts work and IFS
• How mental models and neural pathways influence food behaviors
• Jessica's binge pattern assessment and understanding underlying loops
• How diet culture can keep old food rules alive
• Using curiosity and self-compassion when familiar patterns return

Resources & Mentions:

• Jessica’s Practice: Peaceful Presence Psychological Services LLC
• The Finding Food & Body Freedom Formula
• Dr. Jessica’s IG: @finding_food_and_body_freedom
• Dr. Jessica’s Free Emotional Eating & Binge Eating Facebook Group

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When we talk about postpartum mental health, postpartum depression is often the first, and sometimes only, thing that comes to mind. But perinatal mental health is so much bigger than depression.

Today on Stop, Collaborate, and Listen, we’re joined by Ashley Hogan, PMHNP-BC, PMH-C, a psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner, for an honest and educational conversation about perinatal mental health, pregnancy anxiety, postpartum depression, intrusive thoughts, postpartum OCD, medication, and the transition to motherhood.

Ashley helps us look beyond the most obvious signs of perinatal mental health struggles and talk about the experiences that can be easy to dismiss or hide, including anxiety, overwhelm, intrusive thoughts, perfectionism, and the pressure to appear like you're handling everything just fine. We also yap about the gaps in postpartum care, including the reality that support is often reduced to a single six-week checkup, and why ongoing mental health support matters throughout pregnancy and the postpartum period.

Things We Yap About:

• What perinatal mental health actually encompasses
• Less obvious signs of perinatal mental health concerns
• The pressure new mothers feel to be “fine”
• The transition to motherhood and its impact on mental health
• Gaps in postpartum care and follow-up
• The difference between having an intrusive thought and acting on a thought
• How to have informed conversations about medication risks and benefits
• The importance of support systems and community
• Early intervention and recognizing when something feels off
• How partners, family members, and providers can offer support
• Resources for parents navigating perinatal mental health

Resources & Mentions:

• Connect with Ashley: https://www.hermindpsychiatry.com/ 
• Postpartum Support International: https://postpartum.net/
• Goodwill Nurse & Family Partnership: https://www.goodwillindy.org/health/

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What if the name we’ve been using for PCOS has actually been part of the problem? We are so excited to chat with one of our favorite RD’s to talk about the rebrand from PCOs to PMOS, and what this could mean for how we understand, diagnose, and treat this complex condition.

PCOS has historically been framed primarily around reproductive health and fertility—but there’s much more to the picture. PMOS aims to better reflect the hormonal, metabolic, and reproductive factors involved, while also opening the door to a broader understanding of who is affected and what supportive care can look like.

We dig into why the name matters, how lived experience can inform healthcare reform, and why moving beyond weight-centered approaches could lead to better care. We also explore the complicated intersection of PMOS, eating disorders, insulin resistance, diet culture, weight bias, and the pressure to pursue weight loss as the default treatment strategy.

Things We Yap About:

• Why PCOS is being reconsidered as a name and framework
• What PMOS means and how it broadens the conversation
• The hormonal, metabolic, and reproductive components of PMOS
• Why PCOS/PMOS is about more than fertility
• How body diversity can contribute to missed or delayed diagnoses
• The importance of early diagnosis across the lifespan
• Misconceptions about insulin resistance and weight
• The connection between PMOS, eating disorders, and disordered eating
• How diet culture and weight bias can influence medical care
• Why treatment doesn't have to center on weight loss
• Supplements, emerging research, and ongoing questions

Resources & Mentions:

• Megan’s S1 PCOS Episode
• PCOS Nutrition Center
• Rene Jay & Women’s Health Series on TikTok
• Ovasitol Inositol Powder Supplement
• pcos.nutritionist
• pcosnutrition

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What happens when “healthy eating” becomes so rigid that food stops being joyful—and starts controlling your life?

In this episode, we’re joined by Jason Wood, Executive Director of ANAD, for an honest conversation about orthorexia, men’s body image, eating disorders, vulnerability, and recovery.

Jason shares his personal experience with orthorexia and what it was like to recognize that his relationship with food had become increasingly rigid and consuming. We talk about how diet culture can shape men’s relationships with food and their bodies, why eating disorders in men can be difficult to recognize, and how the pursuit of “health” can sometimes become another way an eating disorder hides in plain sight.

We also dig into something that can be especially complicated for men: vulnerability. Jason talks about the pressure many men experience to keep pain to themselves, the power of telling our stories, and how peer support and community can create safer spaces for people to seek help

Things We Yap About:

• What orthorexia can look like—and why it can be difficult to recognize
• How diet culture influences men’s body image and relationships with food
• Why eating disorders in men are often overlooked or misunderstood
• The connection between “healthy eating,” rigidity, and disordered behaviors
• Masculinity and the pressure to keep emotional pain to yourself
• The role of vulnerability and storytelling in recovery
• The importance of peer support and community care
• Creating safer spaces for men to talk about eating disorders

Eating disorders don't always look like restriction, weight loss, or a desire to be smaller. Sometimes they can hide behind the pursuit of health, fitness, discipline, or “clean” eating. And sometimes, finding the language to talk about what's happening is the first step toward getting support.

Resources & Mentions:

• ANAD: https://anad.org/
• ANAD Book Corner: https://anad.org/learning-library-old/book-recommendations/ 
• Slip: Life in the Middle of Eating Disorder Recovery by Mallory Tenore Tarpley
• Starving for Survival: One Man’s Journey with Orthorexia by Jason Wood
• Running in Silence: My Drive for Perfection and the Eating Disorder That Fed It by Rachel Steil

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What does an eating disorder look like when you don't see yourself represented in the stories you're told about eating disorders? Today, we are joined by Elijah Smith and Derek Savick-Hesser for an honest conversation about eating disorders, body image, mental health, masculinity, queerness, and recovery.

Elijah and Derek share their personal experiences with disordered eating and eating disorder recovery, including the complicated relationship between gastrointestinal issues, food fears, ARFID, and body image. They also discuss what it was like to seek help as men, the importance of receiving a diagnosis that makes sense of your experience, and how community and representation can change the recovery process.

From theater and the arts to queer community and supportive relationships, we explore the many forms that healing can take—and why recovery doesn't have to mean navigating these experiences alone.

Things We Yap About:

• Men's experiences with eating disorders and body image
• How GI issues can complicate relationships with food and eating
• ARFID, food fears, and the intersection of physical and mental health
• The impact of masculinity and societal expectations on eating disorders
• Queerness, body image, and identity
• What it can be like to seek eating disorder treatment as a man
• The role of community, representation, and being seen
• How theater and the arts can support healing and self-acceptance
• The importance of patience and self-compassion in recovery
• What men struggling with body image or disordered eating should know about asking for help

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ARFID isn’t just about "picky eating." But avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder is far more complex—and understanding it requires us to look beyond rigid diagnostic criteria and one-size-fits-all approaches to treatment.

In this episode, we're joined by Kevin Green for a conversation about ARFID, neurodivergence, queerness, harm reduction, food access, and the limitations of traditional eating disorder treatment. We explore what ARFID can look like, why sensory needs and food preferences deserve to be taken seriously, and how clinicians and caregivers can support people without turning treatment into another experience of lost autonomy.

We yap about food hierarchies, trauma-informed care, the limitations of the DSM, and why understanding someone as an intersectional human being—not simply a diagnosis—matters.

Things We Yap About:

• What ARFID is and how it differs from "picky eating"
• The different presentations of ARFID
• The relationship between ARFID and neurodivergence
• How trauma and lived experience can influence eating
• Why the DSM doesn't always capture the full picture
• ARFID and the intersection of queerness and neurodivergence
• The limitations of traditional eating disorder treatment models
• Harm reduction approaches to eating disorder recovery
• Food hierarchies and the moralization of food
• Supporting autonomy and self-advocacy
• Practical ways to make eating more accessible
• Food safety and access for marginalized communities
• Trauma-informed and noncarceral approaches to care

Resources & Mentions:

• ENOF Powder: https://simplyenof.com/ / use code kevin15 for 15% off your order
• Finch App: https://finchcare.com/
• Hurts So Good: The Science and Culture of Pain on Purpose by Leigh Cowart
• RDs for Neurodiversity: https://www.rdsforneurodiversity.com/ 
• Harm Reduction Episode: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/ep-9-harm-reduction-in-ed-care-controversial-or-compassionate/id1830467596?i=1000727474010 

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Eating disorders are often portrayed as a problem that primarily affects women, and that stereotype can leave countless men feeling invisible, misunderstood, and unable to recognize that they need help.

In the first episode of our Men's Health and Eating Disorders series, we're joined by Eric Pothen, advocate and creator behind Embracing You, to explore men's experiences with eating disorders, body image, masculinity, and recovery.

Eric shares both his lived experience and professional insights into why eating disorders in men are so often missed or misunderstood. Together, we discuss how gender stereotypes can impact recognition, diagnosis, treatment, and recovery—and why creating more inclusive conversations about eating disorders matters. We also explore the role of social media, masculinity norms, LGBTQ+ experiences, vulnerability, and representation in shaping men's relationships with their bodies and mental health.

• Why eating disorders in men are often overlooked or misdiagnosed
• Common misconceptions about men and eating disorders
• How societal expectations around masculinity impact help-seeking
• Body image concerns and social media pressures
• The role of vulnerability and emotional expression in recovery
• Less frequently discussed eating disorder behaviors, including chewing and spitting
• Barriers men may face when accessing eating disorder treatment
• LGBTQ+ experiences, body ideals, and body image
• How clinicians and caregivers can create more welcoming treatment environments
• Why representation and community matter in recovery
• The importance of hope and harm reduction

Resources & Mentions:

• Instagram: @ericpothen
• Website: Eric Pothen
• Podcast: Embracing You

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What if some of what we experience as body image distress is actually grief? In this episode, we're joined by Bri Campos of Body Image With Bri and Cilla Moore-Massey for a conversation about body grief, body image, trauma, and what it means to build a different relationship with your body in a culture obsessed with appearance.

We explore the many ways body grief can show up—including grieving changes in our bodies, identities, abilities, or the ways we once moved through the world. We also unpack why body image is about much more than whether you like what you see in the mirror.

We talk about radical body acceptance, self-trust, somatic and embodiment work, systemic oppression, fatphobia, and the complicated process of taking up space in a world that often tells us to make ourselves smaller.

• What body grief is and the different ways it can show up
• Why body image is about perception, thoughts, feelings, and behaviors—not just appearance
• How trauma and lived experience shape our relationship with our bodies
• The difference between body confidence, body acceptance, and body relationship
• Why healing doesn't require loving your body every day
• How diet culture and societal expectations contribute to body grief
• The role of systemic oppression, fatphobia, and intersectionality in body image
• Why community, witnessing, and support can be powerful parts of healing
• How somatic and embodiment practices can help build safety and self-trust
• What it can mean to take up space as an act of autonomy and resistance

Resources & Mentions:

• Bri's 7 Step Guide
• Bri’s Website
• Bri’s Podcast
• Bri’s Instagram

• Cilla’s Website
• Cilla’s Instagram

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Today's episode is a little different. We are giving you a sneak peek at our monthly YouTube Series: Diet Culture Dumpster Fire!

This month, we dig into food safety outbreaks, the rebranding of nicotine as a "wellness" tool, military policies around gender-affirming care and hormone testing, and the broader systems that allow misinformation to spread faster than evidence.

Rather than focusing on individual choices, we explore the bigger questions: Who benefits from these narratives? What happens when ideology outweighs science? And how can we become more thoughtful consumers of health information?

• The latest Cyclospora outbreak and what it reveals about food safety systems
• Why foodborne illness isn't simply about "making better choices"
• How funding cuts impact food safety and public health
• The growing trend of marketing nicotine as a wellness or productivity tool
• Military policies around gender-affirming care and testosterone testing
• Why quick fixes often distract us from addressing systemic problems
• How diet culture and wellness misinformation thrive in environments of fear and uncertainty

Our goal isn't to tell you what to think—it's to help you ask better questions when the next wellness headline inevitably lands in your feed.

Subscribe to our YouTube Channel to get the latest updates and watch the June edition: https://www.youtube.com/@StopCollaborateandListenPod

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