How Eating Disorder Therapy Works If you’ve considered reaching out for support with an eating disorder or body image concerns, but weren’t sure what that would actually involve, here’s an honest picture of what this process tends to look like. What this work actually focuses on A registered dietitian typically handles meal planning, and we…
Weight Bias Vs Weight-Centric Bias: When Naming Weight Bias Gets Labeled as Bias There’s a pattern we’ve observed lately that’s deeply troubling. It has been present in healthcare for a long time. What’s changed is how accepted it’s become, moving into “everyone knows” territory, and that shift is what makes it dangerous. Dangerous for the…
Why “Just Eat Less” Doesn’t Work: Understanding the Restrict-Binge Cycle If you’ve ever eaten past full and wondered how you “let it happen” again, the honest answer often traces back to what happened before that moment, sometimes hours before, sometimes years before. What restriction actually is Restriction is a state of deprivation, physical and mental….
5 Grounding Tools and Resources for Difficult Body Image Days Some days, body image thoughts are louder than others. A mirror, a photo, a comment from someone else, any of it can be enough to send the day sideways. A hard body image day calls for a few small, workable tools to reach for, and…
The Exhaustion Nobody Names You’re not the one with the drinking problem. You didn’t pick up a drink today, and you’re not the one who needs to change. So why do you feel like you’re the one falling apart? If you love someone struggling with alcohol or substance use, you already know this particular kind…
You Look Fine. You Don’t Feel Fine. You show up. You meet the deadline. You remember the school pickup, the anniversary, the report that was due Friday. From the outside, nothing looks wrong. From the inside, it’s a different story. Your shoulders live somewhere up near your ears. Your jaw aches by mid afternoon and…
Your Body Clocked Out. Your Mind Didn’t. You finally sit down at the end of the day. The dishes are done, the last email is sent, everyone else is asleep. And that is exactly when your mind decides it has something to say. If this sounds familiar, you have probably already tried the obvious fixes….
Rules You Never Actually Agreed To In my practice, I hear a version of the same sentence often. “I know it’s irrational, but I still feel like I have to…” finish that sentence with skip dessert, cover up at the pool, or apologize for taking a second helping. What follows is usually a long list…
If you are reading this in the middle of the night, watching the numbers on your alarm clock tick steadily forward while your mind races, I want you to pause and take a deep breath. First, know that you are not broken. Second, know that you are not alone. As a registered psychotherapist at Laird…