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!

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Sending positive beans your way, Han 💛