#37: Deconstructing Eating Disorders with Dr. Dara Bushman: Part 2

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Hey stepparents! Maria Natapov here, stepparenting coach and strategist. I am excited to present to you the rest of my conversation with Dr. Dr. Bushman, with whom we talked about eating disorders. This interview was inspired by my recent conversation with my stepdaughter where she delved into her trauma story touching on her issues with eating. Those episodes can be found at synergisticstepparenting.com/33 and synergisticstepparenting.com/34.

In Part 1 of our conversation with Dr. Dara Bushman we clarified the difference between eating disorders and disordered eating. We discussed how the key perspective is in evaluating whether something we are noticing is truly problematic or whether it’s just a natural developmental change that may be temporary in nature.

We also identified how to notice our own mindset around food and body shape. Because as we’ve discussed on the show before, kids are noticing everything you do and are deeply influenced by your behavior. 

This week we’re going to learn what’s at the heart of food related issues, what the precursors are to eating disorders, and how to have critical conversations with your stepchild to prevent these issues. Find the show notes for this episode at synergisticstepparenting.com/37.

Again, without further ado, I introduce you to the fabulous Dr. Dara Bushman!

Who is Dr. Dara Bushman, Eating Disorders Specialist?

Here’s a refresher on Dr. Dara Bushman’s background. She's a licensed psychologist who specializes in rapid transformation, helping people move from crabby to happy from ordinary to extraordinary from surviving to thriving. She's an author and featured psychologist in the media and a mom of two energetic school kids and two dogs.

Her clinical background includes working with individuals, couples, families and even groups to dissolve trauma triggers and eliminate recurring traumatic experiences license in the states of North Carolina and Florida. She was a lead therapist for 10 years at milestones and recovery, a comprehensive eating disorder treatment center, where she introduced a comprehensive approach to healing that involves mind body healing, she has cracked the code to the language of disordered eating and the secret to eating disorders through the language of foodenese.

Early in the pandemic, she saw a picture of a healthcare worker hugging an elderly patient in isolation and immediately felt a calling and recently began working in assisted living facilities in the Asheville area. She also works with aspiring professional athletes, as well as Olympians to break mental blocks and achieve peak performance, getting them out of their heads and onto the winner's platform.

I can't wait for you guys to get all the goodness of this incredible conversation. Here we go...

Topics Covered:
- Food Related Issues Often Center Around Shame
- Noticing Problematic Patterns around Eating
- Precursors to Eating Disorders
- How to Approach Your Stepchild’s Behavior around Food
- How Can You Get to the Root of Your Stepchild’s Eating Behavior?
- How to Start “Planting Seeds” for the Necessary Conversation
- How to Begin the Difficult Conversations
- Allow Yourself to Be the Novice and Your Stepchild to Be the Teacher

This was such an important conversation full of soundbites that I’m taking away and hope you are too. To sum it up we learned what’s at the root of food related issues and the precursors signifying food issues. We identified how critical it is to start planting seeds and how to begin the difficult conversations with your stepchild.

We also discussed the be