Do You Feel Anxious or Distressed About Your Relationship with Food and Your Body?
Your relationship to food may interfere with your life and prevent you from enjoying everyday activities. You feel out of control, anxious and distressed when you are around food.
You may measure your self-esteem by how you look or find yourself preoccupied with your weight, letting the numbers on the scale impact or even define your sense of self. It can get tiring when you feel like you need to control so much in your life.
Therapy for emotional eating, bulimia, anorexia, or binge eating can help bring peace to your life.
I have had the pleasure of knowing Carol as a colleague from the work that we do in Eating Disorders. Carol’s many years of experience in the field of mental health bring a depth and understanding that is of great value to clients and other professionals alike.
Sarah Higgins, Registered Dietitian, owner of FED Nutrition
Signs of Emotional Eating
You struggle significantly with food, your body, and your weight
- You have struggles expressing your feelings and sometimes a comfort food is just what you need, even though you feel terrible afterwards
- You go on the scale most days of the week, and the numbers determine how your day will start, usually with a lot of distress
- You feel anxious around food
- You feel out of control
- You have this battle in your head about what foods are good or bad, how much exercise is enough, and that you are too fat
- Your preoccupation with food and your body has impacted so many aspects of your life
Signs of an Eating Disorder
You are fraught with guilt and shame.
Bulimia follows a predictable and dangerous cycle of binging and purging.
Anorexia is characterized by the restriction of food and may include excessive exercise.
Binge Eating Disorder, often referred to as Compulsive Overeating, is when someone eats a large amount of food in a short period of time but there is no purging.
Signs of Negative Body Image
91% of women are unhappy with their bodies and resort to dieting to achieve their ideal body shape.
- You feel that you are fat no matter what weight, size, or shape you are.
- You are convinced that only other people are attractive and that your body size or shape is a sign of personal failure.
- There is a feeling of preoccupation and dissatisfaction with your appearance.
- You feel ashamed, self-conscious, and anxious about your body.
- Your body image is always changing as your body changes with age or illness, hunger, or fatigue.
- A slight comment by someone such as “You look great today. Have you lost weight?” or “Perhaps those black pants would be more slimming” can alter your body image.
- Stepping on the scale in the morning can determine how you feel about yourself for the day.
A lifetime of experience including pleasure, pain, praise, and criticism can affect your body image
Therapy Can Help Redefine Your Relationship with Food and Save Your Life
- Therapy can provide a safe container where you can authentically explore the complex emotions that underlie your disordered eating or eating disorder.
- You will understand what is at the root of your eating disorder.
- By working with me you can break free from your preoccupation with food and how your body looks.
- You can come to love yourself and your body.
I know how to help you find healthy ways of coping without using food or harming your body.
You will learn how to manage and redefine your relationship with food and your body. We will focus on your individual needs, one step at a time, toward recovery.
Her approach is not only evidence-based but Carol creates a safe environment for people to explore, experiment and create lasting positive change for themselves.
Carol is passionate about supporting her clients to gain health and freedom from unwanted thoughts and feelings and does so in a manner that enables clients to have trust in themselves, her work, and the change process. I feel very fortunate to be able to collaborate with such a kind, intelligent, and personable professional.
Sarah Higgins, Registered Dietitian, owner of FED Nutrition
FAQ
Can someone recover from an eating disorder even though they have had an eating disorder for a very long time?
When you are focused on your recovery and believe that it is possible, you will feel more hopeful and confident in your ability to understand and overcome your struggles. About 60% of people with eating disorders recover. Many of my clients have and that is why I know you can too.
You will experience some discomfort at the beginning but we’ll work through it together one step at a time. You will always have the option to say no to any suggestions, techniques. or recommendations I make during sessions.
Will I get fat when I am in therapy?
As part of our work together, we will explore the irrational thinking patterns that may be contributing to your difficulties with food or body image. It is partially these irrational patterns that lead you to believe that you are fat or that you will get fat.
I will help you find relief from negative and harmful thinking, and you will come to learn how to build a new, more positive relationship with food and your body. Having a positive body image does not mean you’re getting fat.
If I go into therapy will I have to address trauma’s that I have experienced?
Many people use their eating disorder to mask pain, fear, and anger. Conversely, bingeing can be a way to assert and express anger.
We don’t necessarily have to delve into your past to correct the way you think about your body. When we peel off the complex layers of an eating disorder, we do it little by little, and we won’t go anywhere you’re not ready to go.
Eating disorders can bring harm into almost every aspect of your life.
With the right approach and guidance from a careful therapist that understands what you are going through, healing is possible.