By Dr Natalie Chua
The podcast currently has 14 episodes available.
Meghan Watson joins me in this episode and shares her knowledge and experience of what self-love means. Our conversation focuses on what self-love is and isn't, and how we can begin to nurture, cultivate, and refine our practice of self-love and acceptance.
Here is a snippet of some topics we cover on the podcast:
And more...
About Meghan Watson:
Meghan Watson (thrive_withmeg) is a Registered Psychotherapist, the Resident Therapist at Alkeme Health (@alkemehealth) and the founder and owner of Toronto based therapy clinic Bloom Psychology and Wellness (@bloom_psychology). As a licensed therapist, clinical supervisor and wellness consultant with over 10 years of experience in mental health, Meghan focuses on providing evidenced-based education, expert guidance and support to organizations and companies worldwide. In her clinical work, she treats individuals and couples struggling with understanding complex emotions, managing burnout and stress, and establishing healthy relationships from a mindful and growth-focused perspective.
What's next:
Joining me today is the wonderful Emily Fonnesback. Emily and I will be sharing a conversation today on her recovery journey from an eating disorder. In particular, we will be looking at the role perfectionism played in Emily’s recovery process, and how learning to identify, and overcome perfectionistic ways of thinking and behaving was essential in her recovery.
We will also be diving into Emily’s key learnings from her recovery journey, such as how eating disorder behaviours helped Emily to express and ultimately recognize the emotional needs and feelings she was suppressing, why Emily believes recovery is absolutely possible for everyone, and how Emily deals with self-criticism and perfectionism when it shows up in her life now.
So this is just a little sneak preview of what you can expect from this episode, and all I can say is that is such a rich one, and I hope you enjoy and learn what you can from this conversation. As always, may this episode nourish you, and bring you the healing that you need.
About Emily Fonnesback:
Emily Fonnesbeck is a Registered Dietitian who owns her own private practice in Hyde Park, Utah, working with both local and virtual clients. Her treatment focus is on eating disorders, disordered eating and body image concerns. She is also the co-founder of Eat Confident Co., which offers group coaching programs for women struggling with disordered eating and negative body image, and co-hosts the Eat with Confidence podcast.
What's next:
How we can begin to cultivate a more sustainable and truly nourishing relationship with our body, ourselves, and exercise when we are bombarded with messages, from left, right, and centre, around how we ought to eat, how we ought to look, and how much we ought to exercise? How can we begin to love ourselves up, and meet ourselves in a more compassionate way, when we are struggling with a poor body image day? These are just some of the questions that Dr Vanessa Bogle and I explore in this episode.
What else you can expect to learn from this episode:
· How Vanessa's previous career in the health and fitness industry inspired her to retrain and become a psychologist specializing in eating disorders.
· Why focusing purely on weight loss steals from the joy and other benefits of being physically active.
· How understanding the motivation behind why you are moving your body can help you improve your relationship with exercising and yourself.
· What motivates Vanessa to move her body.
· Why discovering a variety of ways to self-soothe is important.
· Indicators that you are over-exercising or have an unhelpful relationship with exercise.
· Why it’s important that you find ways to move that is fun
· Why the ‘no pain no gain’ mentality is harmful.
· Vanessa’s relationship with her body, and the impact the health and fitness industry had on her body image.
· Why making health assumptions and commenting on someone else’s body based on how someone looks is discriminatory and unhelpful
· How living in a society that places so much emphasis on appearance creates body dissatisfaction.
· How to stand up for yourself and protect yourself from body shaming or unsolicited comments from well-meaning friends, relatives, and even fitness instructors.
· What is body image, and what external influences negatively impact the way we see our bodies and experience our sense of self?
· Why accurately identifying and labelling how you are feeling is essential in overcoming ‘feeling fat’.
· How Vanessa copes with a poor body image day.
· What she would tell her younger self.
About Dr Vanessa Bogle:
Dr Vanessa Bogle is the Founder of Innovative Health. She is a Chartered Psychologist with the British Psychological Society (BPS), on the BPS register of Coaching Psychologists and is an Associate Fellow (AFBPsS) of the BPS. She is registered with the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) as a Health Psychologist. She is also a Cognitive and Behavioural Psychotherapist (BABCP accredited) and has a Master Practitioner Diploma in Eating Disorders and Obesity. She is a qualified exercise professional and has a BSc(Hons) in Fitness and Health. She is a member of the international Motivational Interviewing Network of Trainers (MINT).
She has held various roles within the NHS spanning 18 years, including working clinically in primary and secondary care setting and in health promotion/public health roles, in addition to working clinically in private practice.
Follow Vanessa on Instagram @drvanessabogle, and visit her website here: https://www.innovative-health.uk/
What's next:
What does the holiday season bring up for you? While Christmas can certainly be a time of celebration, light, joy, and fun, I know it can also bring up similar amounts (if not more for some of us) of unpleasant and unsettling feelings.
From the uncertainty and anxiety that comes with Covid and the new variant, to dealing with tricky family dynamics, and even toxic ones, to navigating diet talk and unsolicited comments and advice around food and body image - there certainly is a lot to feel and manage over this festive season.
I share a conversation with my friend and dear colleague, Dr Courtney Raspin, on how we can cope more effectively with the challenges this time of year presents, and take good care of ourselves when we feel triggered over the holiday season.
A snippet of what we cover in this episode:
- The nature of uncertainty and anxiety, and why we struggle with uncertainty - i.e. why is it so hard for us?
- The importance of finding healthy ways to self-soothe over the Christmas period
- How to prepare and protect yourself against unsolicited advice, opinions, and comments around food, weight, and body imag
- Some things that helped Courtney to make peace and heal her struggles with body image over tim
- Why some overeating over the holiday period is normal and to be expected
- What is a binge, and how you can support yourself after a perceived binge during the Christmas period
- How you can begin to unlearn and separate yourself from the old narrative that equates self-worth to eating a certain way and having a thin body.
- Having compassion for people who are stuck in the dieting mindset
- How humour can help defuse the psychological impact a triggering comment or thought can have on you
- A mantra - from Courtney and myself - that you can hold onto when you are feeling anxious, guilty, or self-critical about yourself, or over what you'd eaten and your body image.
And more!
About Dr Courtney Raspin:
Dr Courtney Raspin is a Chartered and Registered Psychologist specialising in eating disorders and she is also the founder of Altum Health. For over 20 years, through both her work in the NHS and her development of Altum Health, she has dedicated her professional life to helping people live fuller and more meaningful lives.
Read more about Courtney here: https://www.altumhealth.co.uk/team/dr-courtney-raspin/
Courtney's Instagram:@drcourtneyraspin
What's next:
Ariana Rodriguez joins me in this episode to share her knowledge on intuitive eating, her recovery story from Orthorexia, and what true wellbeing means.
Here's a snippet of what we cover in this episode:
- Ariana's recovery journey from Orthorexia
- How she got into dietetics and discovered intuitive eating
- What is intuitive eating, and how does it differ from a more traditional approach to nutrition and dietetics?
- The 10 principles of intuitive eating
- Some common misconceptions around intuitive eating
- How you can begin to challenge your food police and make peace with food and your body
- Can intuitive eating be used to support someone recovering from an eating disorder?
- Her message to her younger self and more!
About Ariana Rodriguez:
Ariana is a Registered Dietitian and the co-founder of Embody Health London, where she works alongside her wonderful team of dieticians to support individuals in their recovery from disordered eating and eating disorders. Ariana is also a Certified Intuitive Eating Counsellor and a Registered Yoga Teacher. She is passionate about inclusive health care and helping people to feel good in their own skin. As a clinician, Ariana values human connection and endorses an individualised, non-judgemental approach to coaching. Her goal is to move people away from guilt and shame and towards a positive relationship with food and their bodies so that they can live a truly balanced life. You can find out more about Ariana at: www.embodyhealthlondon.com, and on Instagram @nutrionari and @embodyhealthlondon_
What's next:
Dr Stephen Lincare joins me in this episode to share his recovery journey from an eating disorder. He will also be talking about how he had to navigate and cope with type 1 diabetes, a long term physical health condition that developed when he was in recovery, and the impact cerebral palsy (a form of physical) had on his mental health and recovery from an eating disorder.
A little bit more on what you can expect to hear in this episode:
· How Steve's relationship with food, body, and exercise became obsessive
· Moving from denial to recognising that the eating disorder was not serving him
· Developing type 1 diabetes during recovery and how this made recovery more challenging
· How he manages the anxiety caused by type 1 diabetes today
· His experience as an inpatient at a generic psychiatric ward and at a specialist eating disorder ward
· The impact cerebral palsy and bullying had on the development and maintenance of the eating disorder
· Dealing with healthcare professionals who were dismissive of his concerns
· The importance of doing the things that are in your heart
· Coming to terms with and learning to accept his partial disability
· Navigating triggering environments after recovery - e.g. gym
· Dealing with feelings of guilt during recovery
· How he overcame ritualised behaviours
· How he slowly dropped his identity as someone with an eating disorder by building up his self-esteem
· The importance of breaking the stigma associated with mental health
· How his lived experience has allowed him to understand and support the patients he now sees
· His message to his younger self
And more!
About Dr Stephen Linacre:
Dr Stephen Linacre who likes to be called Steve is a Clinical Psychologist working in Derbyshire CAMHS-Eating Disorder Service working with young people and families with eating disorders. He is someone who has experienced his own eating disorder and is fully recovered. He conducted his doctoral thesis on “the wellbeing of carers of people with severe and enduring eating disorders” and has delivered carers workshops to parents and carers to help them understand eating disorders and develop skills to support them to communicate effectively with their loved ones to promote carer self-care and be recovery-focused. He has worked closely with Beat (National Eating Disorder Charity) and is also the Chair of the Trustees Board for a local Eating Disorders Charity called Freed Beeches. He has several peer reviewed journal articles on carer support and strongly believes that people can recover from eating disorders and can live value led meaningful lives. He has also experiences of speaking on TV, radio and at conferences about his personal and professional experiences of eating disorders”
What's next:
Do you see certain foods as good and others as bad? Do you feel guilty after having a slice of cake, or perhaps see yourself as a 'failure' after consuming something you consider 'unhealthy'? If you said yes to any of the following questions, then please know that you are not alone and that you are probably under the control of a plethora of food rules!
In this episode, Talia Cecchele and I share a discussion on what a food rule is, how food rules maintain disordered eating and eating disorders, and how you can begin to overcome them. More importantly, we will be debunking some common food rules that have become the unquestioned 'truth' in the diet culture we live in.
A snippet of the topics we cover in this episode:
- What is a food rule?
- Where do food rules come from?
- What is the difference between a food rule and food preference?
- How you can start to challenge and break the food rules that are affecting your quality of life
- How food rules negatively impact your connection with others, especially in the context of social eating
- Debunking a list of common food rules, for example:
➾ Carbohydrates (such as rice, pasta, and bread) are bad and should be avoided at all cost
- Why carbohydrates are essential for our overall health and wellbeing.
- Is white bread better than brown bread?
➾ Eating fat will make me fat
- Why low fat is not the healthiest option
- Why do we need fats in our diet?
➾ Not allowing yourself to have foods that contain sugar (such as ice cream and baked goods) because you see them as 'bad'
➾ Not allowing yourself to have snacks due to the fear that it will cause you to put on weight rapidly
- How having regular snacks can help regulate your hunger and fullness cues.
- What are soul foods?
And more!
Talia Cecchele is a UK registered specialist eating disorder dietitian. She is the founder of Talia Cecchele Nutrition and works part-time in London's leading private mental health hospital on a specialist eating disorders unit. Talia is passionate about bringing balance back to nutrition and supporting people to overcome diet rules and food fears. On the back of a successful 30-day food rule challenge, Talia launched the Rule Breaker Challenge which is a program to help people regain control of their food choices. You can learn more about this program at www.taliacecchele.com and follow Talia on instagram @tcnutrition
What's next:
Dr Rachel Evans and I share a conversation on how she found freedom from orthorexia and bulimia in this episode. I am simply delighted to be sharing this episode with you all. I hope our conversation will bring you much hope and support in your healing journey. I want to thank Rachel so much once again for coming onto my podcast and sharing her heart, wisdom, and story with all of us.
A snippet of some of the topics we discussed:
- How Rachel decided to use her lived experience as an asset as a clinician
- How loneliness can contribute to the development and maintenance of eating disorders
- Moving through denial and ambivalence in recovery
- The dangers of following dietary advice (from someone who is not a health professional) on social media
- Rachel's experience of extreme hunger and binge eating
- How food rules maintain disordered eating
- Coping with feeling full
- How Rachel decided to let go of her dream body.... and so much more!
About Dr Rachel Evans
Dr Rachel Evans is a chartered psychologist, clinical hypnotherapist and neuro-linguistic programming practitioner who specialises in helping clients to recover from an eating disorder. In her private practice she draws on academic research and theories as well as her lived experience of recovering from orthorexia and bulimia. Find out more about Rachel and her work here: https://eatingdisordertherapist.co.uk/
What's next:
Ashley Seruya joins me in this week's episode to share her precious story on how she recovered from an eating disorder. This episode is filled with so much heart, humour, wisdom, and truth bombs! My deepest gratitude goes out to Ashley for her courage and authentic sharing. I believe stories like Ashley's make the world a better place. They provide us with the validation we need to heal, help us to feel less alone and bring us so much inspiration, empowerment, and hope.
Here's a little snippet of what you can expect to hear in this episode:
- How Ashley took her power back from the systems that disempowered her
- The beauty ideals Ashley had to surrender for her to heal and make peace with her body and her identity
- Navigating fatphobia and weight-stigma
- The importance of finding one's community, voice, and purpose during recovery
- Moving through black and white thinking during eating disorder and trauma recovery
- What helps Ashley to feel safe and remain sane in this beautiful and brutal world
and SO much more!
About Ashley Seruya
Ashley M. Seruya is a therapist, writer, and illustrator exploring the topics of restorative justice, trauma-informed care, weight-stigma, complex trauma, Jewish identity, ADHD, and eating disorder recovery. Find out more about Ashley here: (ashleymseruya.com) or on Instagram at (instagram.com/badashtherapy)
What's next:
Dr Natalie Kemp joins me in this week's episode, and we got to speak about a crucial subject within the context of mental health. One that we are both passionate about: how can we continue to destigmatize and value the lived experience of mental health difficulties in mental health professionals?
In this episode, Natalie covers ways that we can navigate and combat internalized stigma as mental health professionals and how the systems and structures that we work in can either contribute to further shame and distress or healing. She also speaks about her experience of breaking down while working as a clinical psychologist in 2015 and how this experience led to the creation of in2gr8mentalhealth, a centre dedicated to supporting, destigmatizing and valuing lived experience of mental health difficulties in mental health professionals. Natalie and I also validate the challenges, struggles and feelings that can come with navigating one's own lived experience of mental health difficulties as a professional, and more...
About Dr Natalie Kemp
Dr Natalie Kemp is a Chartered Clinical Psychologist and the Founder and CEO of in2gr8mentalhealth. You can find out more about in2gr8mentalhealth, the brilliant work, and their fantastic offerings at www.in2gr8mentalhealth.com.
What's next:
The podcast currently has 14 episodes available.