Disordered Eating and Eating Disorder Counseling

You’re sick and tired of spending all waking hours thinking about your next meal, or your last meal, or that “forbidden” snack two days ago. Your best eating intentions failed, and you found yourself reaching for those Oreos you threw away as though they were your lifeline. Maybe they were; you’ve known for a while that you’re in deep water. But you feel like you’ve got to lose weight, or at least not gain weight, and you’re still not where you want to be.

It wasn’t supposed to get this way. The restriction/binging/purging was a balm for a sore mind — a way to earn acceptance, escape the noise, or get people off your back about your weight. For a while, it felt helpful. But now the costs are adding up, and you can’t keep living this way.

Someone, or some part of you, wondered if therapy could help you get a handle on all this.

Maybe it’s not your first time seeking help, but what you’ve tried in the past hasn’t worked. Or maybe you can’t put your finger on the problem, but you just know you’re not okay.

I’m so glad you’re here and considering seeing a therapist who gets it and can help you begin your journey toward healing.

  • Eating a lot of food in a compulsive or trance-like way

  • Feeling deep guilt and shame after eating

  • Striving for rigid calorie or macro goals, skipping meals, or cutting out food groups

  • Obsessing over body size and appearance

  • “Making up for” eating through purging behaviors

  • Exercising beyond what is considered healthy

  • Distress when food plans change unexpectedly

Common experiences of my clients with eating disorders

White woman and Black male sitting together

If you relate to any of those experiences, you are far from alone. At least 9% of people in the United States will experience an eating disorder at some point in their life, and that number is likely an underestimate.

Maybe you’ve told yourself you couldn’t possibly have an eating disorder, because you don’t match the stereotype of what one looks like.

But the truth is:

Eating disorders develop because they serve a purpose — like creating a sense of safety, dulling pain, or protecting you from rejection.

And if you’re binging, your body may also be responding to limited access to food or inconsistent nourishment.

You are not broken or alone.

How you could benefit from counseling

While everyone’s healing journey looks different, here are some of the shifts my clients have experienced:

  • Ordering what they truly want at restaurants (rather than what they think they “should” get)

  • Letting go of (and sometimes destroying!) their scales and the control they represent

  • Accepting social invitations where food is involved without guilt or anxiety

  • Thinking less about food and body, and more about what truly matters in life

  • Clearing out their closet bullies (those too-small clothes kept “just in case”)

  • Reducing or stopping binge eating

  • Embracing all foods without guilt or shame

“What if I don’t have an eating disorder but still have a crappy relationship with food?”

Most people fall somewhere in the middle of the spectrum — not meeting every clinical marker, but definitely not experiencing peace or ease around food either.

Fortunately, I don’t focus on labels; if you’re unhappy with where you’re at, you deserve support.

I also offer Intuitive Eating Counseling for people with disordered eating. This weight-neutral framework focuses on the principles of intuitive eating — guiding you in dismantling diet culture, learning to listen to hunger and fullness cues, practicing self-compassion, and softening negative body image. If you’re curious, reach out with questions or to get started.

Ready to make peace with food and your body?

You don’t have to let disordered eating or societal pressures control your life anymore. Schedule a free 15-minute consultation today.

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