This week, I’m joined by the incredible Harriet Parsons, CEO of BodyWhys, the Eating Disorders Association of Ireland.

Harriet is a qualified psychotherapist with over 20 years of experience supporting individuals and families affected by eating disorders. Alongside her clinical background, she’s passionate about education, advocacy, and making services more accessible and compassionate for carers.

Harriet joins us to discuss how services can better support the families, partners, and carers of people living with eating disorders, and why helping “the system around the person” is just as important as direct treatment.

Together, we explore:

• The Pillar Programme and how it builds carer resilience
• How Maudsley Carer Skills can empower families to support recovery
• The myth of the “perfect carer” and why presence > perfection
• The importance of meeting carers where they are emotionally
• Supporting professionals to better understand the carer experience
• How carers can change their approach to support recovery

Timestamps:

• 04:25 – Harriet’s pathway into ED work and psychotherapy
• 08:10 – Understanding the unique needs of carers
• 13:00 – Pillar Programme: what it is and how it works
• 19:15 – Maudsley Carer Skills & emotional coaching
• 24:45 – Why psychoeducation is game-changing
• 30:40 – What Harriet wishes more professionals knew
• 36:00 – Moving from “fixing” to “supporting”
• 41:50 – Final reflections and words of encouragement

⚠️ Trigger warning: This episode discusses eating disorders and caregiving. Please take care while listening.

Resources & Links:

• Visit Bodywshy

Connect with Us:

• Subscribe to the Full of Beans Podcast here
• Follow Full of Beans on Instagram here
• Read our latest blog here

If you enjoyed this episode, don’t forget to subscribe, rate, and share the podcast to help us spread awareness.

Sending positive beans your way, Han 💛

This week, I’m joined by my dear friend George Mycock, a PhD candidate at the University of Worcester, who is studying men’s help-seeking and access to care for Eating and/or Body Image Psychopathology (EBIP)

George is also involved in several projects, including the Mental Health and Movement Alliance at the charity Mind, the steering group for the National Audit of Eating Disorders and the Royal College of Psychiatrists, and co-led a project with the Consider Male Eating Disorders Team from the University of Nottingham and King's College London.

George joins us today to discuss his PhD research, focusing on how to make eating disorder services more accessible for men and his hope for future awareness.

Together, we explore:

• The presence of imposter syndrome in academia and research
• The barriers men face when seeking help for eating disorders
• How services and resources often unintentionally “other” men
• Muscle dysmorphia, body image pressures, and male experiences of disordered eating
• George’s work on developing inclusive guidance for services
• Why hope, awareness, and representation matter for men’s recovery

Timestamps:

• 01:04 – George's PhD research on men and eating disorders
• 10:00 – Why terminology matters (EBIP vs eating disorders)
• 20:00 – Barriers men face in accessing services
• 30:00 – Research on clinician bias and awareness
• 40:00 – Developing inclusive guidance with lived experience
• 55:00 – Why opening up these conversations matters

⚠️ Trigger warning: This episode discusses eating disorders, disordered eating behaviours, and body image concerns. Please listen with care and seek support if you are struggling.

Resources & Links:

• Visit Myominds
• Review paper from George's PhD
• "Touchy subject" paper
• Link to the guidance document

Connect with Us:

• Subscribe to the Full of Beans Podcast here
• Follow Full of Beans on Instagram here
• Read our latest blog here

If you enjoyed this episode, don’t forget to subscribe, rate, and share the podcast to help us spread awareness.

Sending positive beans your way, Han 💛

In this week's episode, Han is joined by Remie Colledge. Remie is a neurodivergent public speaker, trainer and writer, with lived experience of recovery from anorexia. Remie discovered she was autistic many years after her struggle with anorexia began, and she received an even later ADHD diagnosis. Understanding and processing her experiences through a neuroaffirmative lens became a turning point, and a therapeutic part of her recovery journey. Remie is passionate about the value of sharing lived experience in an intentional way, along with working together with others to create a more neuro-inclusive world to live, work and belong, a world that really supports neurodivergent wellbeing.

This week, we discuss:

• How undiagnosed neurodivergence shaped early eating difficulties
• Why ED behaviours can become coping strategies for sensory overload
• How autism & ADHD traits can get entangled with disordered eating
• Letting go of “perfect recovery” and embracing the grey areas
• What eating disorder burnout looks and feels like
• Reconnecting with joy, identity, and special interests in recovery
• Building a life that works with your neurodivergent brain, not against it

Timestamps:

• 04:00 – School transitions, sensory overload & early food struggles
• 12:00 – Control, masking, and the early roots of anorexia
• 17:00 – Autism, perfectionism & the “myth” of linear recovery
• 24:00 – Burnout: neurodivergent & ED-related
• 30:00 – ADHD, hyper-focus, and the illusion of “doing it all”
• 38:00 – Building a recovery that respects your neurotype
• 43:00 – Connection, identity & life beyond the ED

Trigger Warning: This episode discusses anorexia, recovery relapse, diagnostic experiences, and burnout. Please take care while listening.

Links and Resources:

• Connect with Remie on Linkedin
• Visit Remie's website

Connect with Us:

• Subscribe to the Full of Beans Podcast here
• Follow Full of Beans on Instagram here
• Read our latest blog here

Thank you for listening and being part of this important conversation!

If you loved this episode, don’t forget to subscribe, leave a review, and share it with someone who might benefit!

Sending positive beans your way, Han 💛

In this week's episode, Han is joined by James Downs and Marissa Adams to discuss their recent publication exploring the link between eating disorders, late-diagnosed autism and social connectedness.

James is a mental health campaigner, peer researcher and expert by experience in eating disorders. He works to develop collaboration across a range of professional and personal perspectives to improve mental health for all. He is also a musician, movement practitioner, and artist.

Together, James and Marissa recently published research exploring the link between eating disorders, late autism diagnosis, and social connectedness.

This week, we discuss:

• How late autism diagnosis can reframe the story of an eating disorder
• Why one-size-fits-all eating disorder treatment often fails autistic people
• The role of masking, misdiagnosis, and co-occurring conditions in ED development
• Why individualised, neurodiversity-affirming care is essential for recovery
• How social connection looks different for autistic people (small circles, pets, nature)
• The importance of creating safe, validating treatment spaces where people can “re-story” identity
• Why embracing difference can unlock more flexible, compassionate recovery support for everyone

Timestamps:

• 06:30 – Late diagnosis, masking, and misdiagnosis
• 13:30 – Inpatient treatment, relapse, and the need for adaptation
• 18:30 – Making sense of autism post diagnosis
• 25:00 – Untangling autistic traits and eating disorder behaviours
• 31:00 – Social connection, pets, and neurodivergent-friendly community in recovery
• 38:00 – What flexible, individualised treatment can look like
• 45:00 – Identity, acceptance, and embracing neurodivergence in recovery

Trigger Warning: This episode contains discussion of anorexia, bulimia, relapse, inpatient treatment, and diagnostic experiences.

Read James and Marissa's recent paper [here].

Connect with Us:

• Subscribe to the Full of Beans Podcast here
• Follow Full of Beans on Instagram here
• Read our latest blog here

Thank you for listening and being part of this important conversation!

If you loved this episode, don’t forget to subscribe, leave a review, and share it with someone who might benefit!

Sending positive beans your way, Han 💛

In this week's episode, Han is joined by Rachel Egan. Rachel is a mental health campaigner who has personal experience of anorexia, laxative use, depression and anxiety. Rachel is the Strategic Communications and Marketing Manager for Dump the Scales, a trainer and activist who delivers eating disorder training sessions and has appeared on Sky News, BBC News and has her own column on the Huffington Post, all to improve the understanding of eating disorders

This week, we discuss:

• Rachel’s experience of anorexia and laxative misuse
• Why laxative abuse felt like a form of self-punishment
• The serious physical health risks associated with laxative misuse
• Rachel’s concerns about GLP-1 weight-loss drugs being marketed to the general public
• Why GLP-1s could be especially dangerous for people with eating disorders
• The urgent need for regulation, education, and behavioural support alongside medication
• How social media, body ideals, and fatphobia influence our health choices
• Rachel’s optimism about Gen Z and their resistance to appearance pressures

Timestamps:

• 01:00 – Rachel’s experience of anorexia and laxative misuse
• 07:00 – The shame and secrecy around bingeing and purging
• 09:30 – Physical and emotional toll of laxative misuse
• 13:00 – Recovery journey and finding support
• 16:30 – Concerns around GLP-1 weight-loss medications and eating disorders
• 24:00 – The impact of weight stigma, fatphobia, and diet culture
• 30:00 – The risk of normalising disordered behaviours through medication
• 34:00 – Body image, steroids, and pressure on young people

Trigger Warning: This episode contains discussion of anorexia, binge eating, laxative abuse and GLP-1 mediations.

Resources & Links:

• Rachel's Instagram
• Rachel's Website
• Dump The Scales Instagram

Connect with Us:

• Subscribe to the Full of Beans Podcast here
• Follow Full of Beans on Instagram here
• Read our latest blog here

Thank you for listening and being part of this important conversation!

If you loved this episode, don’t forget to subscribe, leave a review, and share it with someone who might benefit!

Sending positive beans your way, Han 💛

In this week's episode, Han is joined by Mollie Campbell is a lived experience advocate with a history of ARFID. After a misdiagnosis of anorexia and lack of treatment for ARFID, Mollie shares her story to increase awareness to help others who are struggling.

This week, we discuss:

• Mollie's experience (of lack there of) of ARFID treatment and her anorexia misdiagnosis
• How emetophobia played a role in Mollie's ARFID
• The common ARFID misunderstandings that need to be addressed to support ARFID recovery
• Techniques Mollie has used to increase food variety in her diet
• The support Mollie received from her GP
• How Mollie's school helped her during her ARFID recovery

Timestamps:

• [00:42] - Mollie’s introduction and early experiences with eating disorder services
• [06:20] - Misdiagnosis of anorexia and why treatment fell short
• [08:05] - How emetophobia (fear of sickness) played a role in her ARFID
• [12:00] - Body image and ARFID
• [23:36] - Helpful strategies: traffic light system & laddering exposure
• [32:00] - The crucial role of her GP and how they advocated for her
• [35:30] - Support from teachers and what made the difference
• [43:33] - Mollie’s advice for young people with ARFID and those supporting them

Trigger Warning: This episode contains discussion of ARFID, anorexia, self harm and suicide.

Resources & Links:

• Connect with Mollie via Instagram

Connect with Us:

• Subscribe to the Full of Beans Podcast here
• Follow Full of Beans on Instagram here
• Read our latest blog here

Thank you for listening and being part of this important conversation!

If you loved this episode, don’t forget to subscribe, leave a review, and share it with someone who might benefit!

Sending positive beans your way, Han 💛

In this week's episode, Han is joined by Marcelle Rose. Marcelle empowers women to overcome binge eating, emotional eating, and eating disorders, enabling them to reclaim their lives through a unique synergy of nutritional therapy, eating psychology, and mindset coaching. She is the author of the bestselling book The Binge Freedom Method™: Your Four Pillar Plan to Beat Emotional Eating for Good, and a BANT Registered Nutritionist and Coach with specialist training in eating disorders and behaviour change.

Marcelle works with clients across the UK and internationally, and also supports women through her free Facebook community, The Food Freedom Collective.

In this week's episode, we discuss:

• The cycle of binge eating and how restriction drives it
• Why structured eating and nourishment are essential tools for recovery
• The emotional roots of binge eating and how to identify triggers
• How to build self-awareness using food and emotion journaling
• The importance of understanding hunger and satiety cues
• Concerns about GLP-1 weight-loss drugs for people with disordered eating
• How GLP-1s may increase vulnerability to eating disorders and body image issues
• The physiological impact of GLP-1s and concerns we don't yet know about

Timestamps:

• 01:00 – Introducing Marcelle and her work in nutrition, mindset & ED recovery
• 05:00 – The binge-restrict cycle and the emotional aftermath
• 10:30 – Structured eating, blood sugar regulation & empowerment through food
• 17:00 – Emotional triggers, ED thoughts & journaling for self-awareness
• 23:00 – Reconnecting with hunger and satiety cues
• 27:30 – What GLP-1 medications are and how they affect satiety
• 32:00 – The dangers of promoting GLP-1s as binge eating “solutions”
• 38:00 – Media influence, weight stigma & fear of weight gain

Resources & Links:

• Marcelle's Book (The Binge Freedom Method™)
• Marcelle's Instagram
• Facebook page
• The Food Freedom Collective
• Marcelle's Website
• Marcelle's Linkedin

Connect with Us:

• Subscribe to the Full of Beans Podcast here
• Follow Full of Beans on Instagram here
• Read our latest blog here

Thank you for listening and being part of this important conversation!

If you loved this episode, don’t forget to subscribe, leave a review, and share it with someone who might benefit!

Sending positive beans your way, Han 💛

This week on the Full of Beans podcast, Han is joined by Brea Cannady. Brea is the founder of PREPÆRE™, a platform focused on integrating mental health safeguards into cosmetic care. Her work challenges the aesthetic industry to take emotional wellbeing seriously by creating tools and resources that support patients before treatment ever begins.

Through PREPÆRE™, she advocates for better standards, safer conversations, and responsible care pathways that protect both patients and practitioners. Her mission is rooted in lived experience, deep research, and a refusal to accept the status quo.

Together, we explore:

• What Body Dysmorphic Disorder really is
• The risks of using surgery as a solution to psychological distress
• Why cosmetic procedures can worsen BDD symptoms
• Healthy vs. harmful motivations for aesthetic treatments
• How Prepaere empowers both clients and clinics for safe comestic treatments
• The need for psychological safety and better regulation in aesthetic medicine

Timestamps:

• 00:34 – Brea's personal experience with BDD
• 03:18 – Brea's experience of cosmetic surgery
• 10:05 – Misconceptions about BDD & body image
• 14:30 – Can surgery ever be the solution?
• 19:35 – Addiction to appearance-based control
• 24:22 – When “self-care” becomes reliance
• 31:00 – What should be the clinician’s role?
• 35:40 – Introducing the Prepaere tool

Trigger Warning: This episode contains discussion of body dysmorphic disorders, eating disorders and cosmetic surgery.

Resources & Links:

• Email: [email protected]
• PREPÆRE™ Instagram
• Brea's LinkedIn
• PREPÆRE™ Website

Connect with Us:

• Subscribe to the Full of Beans Podcast here
• Follow Full of Beans on Instagram here
• Read our latest blog here

Thank you for listening and being part of this important conversation!

If you loved this episode, don’t forget to subscribe, leave a review, and share it with someone who might benefit!

Sending positive beans your way, Han 💛

In this week's episode, Han is joined by Dr. Stephen Linacre. Stephen is a Principal Clinical Psychologist in the NHS with extensive experience supporting individuals with eating disorders and neurodiversity. He’s published research, contributed to books, and chairs the trustee board of Freed Beaches, a Nottingham-based charity supporting people with eating disorders.

Having lived through an eating disorder himself, Stephen brings a powerful dual perspective to his clinical work and advocacy, particularly in raising awareness for Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder (ARFID).

This week, we discuss:

• Stephen’s lived experience of anorexia nervosa
• Navigating eating disorder recovery alongside Type 1 diabetes and cerebral palsy
• How his personal eating disorder experience shaped his career in clinical psychology
• Introduction to ARFID and the lack of recognition in services
• Key differences between ARFID and anorexia
• The role of neurodiversity and sensory sensitivities in ARFID
• Why misdiagnoses like “fussy eating” are harmful
• Practical advice for clinicians, parents, and carers supporting someone with ARFID

Timestamps:

• 01:42 – Stephen's personal experience of anorexia as a teenage boy
• 05:51 – Living with Type 1 diabetes and cerebral palsy
• 12:00 – Stigma, recovery, and men with EDs
• 16:40 – Introducing ARFID and why services fall short
• 18:28 – ARFID vs. anorexia: why standard treatment may be harmful
• 22:05 – Autism, sensory issues, and ARFID overlaps
• 24:00 – Challenges with diagnosis, language, and access to care
• 27:00 – Advice for parents, carers, and clinicians

Trigger Warning: This episode includes discussions of anorexia, ARFID, chronic illness, and recovery. Please listen with care.

Resources & Links:

• ARFID & Autism research paper
• Birth complications & eating disorders research paper
• Peace pathway (Autism & eating disorder resources)
• ARFID Awareness UK

Connect with Us:

• Subscribe to the Full of Beans Podcast here
• Follow Full of Beans on Instagram here
• Read our latest blog here

Thank you for listening and being part of this important conversation!

If you loved this episode, don’t forget to subscribe, leave a review, and share it with someone who might benefit!

Sending positive beans your way, Han 💛

This week, Han is joined by Zoe Hazel, a mental health advocate, campaigner, and public speaker with lived experience of binge eating disorder, bipolar disorder, and borderline personality disorder. Zoe has shared her story at the Dump the Scales Summit & March, spoken in Parliament to push for Mental Health Act reform, and sits on the Rethink Mental Illness Lived Experience Advisory Board.

In this candid conversation, Zoe opens up about her journey with binge eating disorder, the lack of treatment available, and why we need to change the conversation and care pathways for people living with BED. We also discuss stigma, self-compassion in recovery, and what helps when support is hard to find.

This week, we discuss:

• Zoe’s early experiences of binge eating disorder
• The role of secrecy and shame reinforced her cycle of restriction and binge
• Zoe's reality of BED stigmas that exist
• The links between BED, bipolar disorder, and emotional regulation
• The reality of navigating BED without treatment or local services
• Why weight stigma in healthcare perpetuates harm
• Practical strategies Zoe uses to interrupt urges to binge

Timestamps:

• 3:07 – Zoe’s early experiences with binge eating disorder
• 8:05 – Injury, mobility changes, and stigma in healthcare
• 14:55 – Control, addiction, and the emotional cycle of BED
• 20:07 – The absence of treatment services for BED
• 26:36 – What treatment should look like for BED
• 31:06 – Shame, secrecy, and the importance of talking about BED
• 33:50 – Zoe’s practical coping tools

Trigger Warning: This episode contains discussion of binge eating disorder, restriction and bipolar disorder.

Resources & Links:

• Connect with Zoe via Instagram

Connect with Us:

• Subscribe to the Full of Beans Podcast here
• Follow Full of Beans on Instagram here
• Read our latest blog here

Thank you for listening and being part of this important conversation!

If you loved this episode, don’t forget to subscribe, leave a review, and share it with someone who might benefit!

Sending positive beans your way, Han 💛