Finding Your Purpose After An Eating Disorder

recovery

What does life look like after an eating disorder? Today, Livia chats with Jemma Richards, the creator and host of the Love This Food Thing Podcast. Her podcast pivots on the premise Is food friend or foe? and delves into how this relationship affects people’s behavior. Jemma believes that eating disorder behaviors are physical symptoms of internal distress, that is to say, symptomatic of an imbalanced relationship with the self. However, when properly understood and recovered from, these behaviors can be powerful healing tools. Topics discussed:

The eating disorder as a tangible manifestation of intangible fears
The realization that eating disorders are a by-product of privilege and how that realization can be a positive
Creating a false sense of security through manufactured internal worry
Seeking to establish yourself as a firm identity causing a disconnect within yourself and the outer world
The alluring euphoric highs of restrictive eating and the need to create real meaning in life to positively replace them
How those with restrictive disorders often lead an anorexic life, and how recovery can fill you literally and metaphorically
The importance of accepting the drudgery of life and how that intersects with recovery
Untangling identity not only from the ED, but also from "recovery"
The mentality of differentiating "having an eating disorder" from "engaging with eating disorder behaviors"