THE BINGE EATING EPISODE - addressing the root causes of disordered eating through nervous system regulation with Stephanie Mara Fox
Sep 12, 2023
auto_awesome
Stephanie Mara Fox, a Somatic Nutritional Counselor, discusses the root causes of disordered eating and the importance of nervous system regulation. Topics include gut health, intuitive eating, trauma's impact on binge eating, somatic psychotherapy, and creating safety in the body.
Binge eating can be influenced by emotional factors, unresolved trauma, attachment styles, and nervous system dysregulation.
Physical factors such as blood sugar instability, imbalanced meals, and under eating can contribute to binge eating patterns.
Negative body image and societal pressures on appearance can contribute to binge eating behavior.
Creating safety in our bodies and relationships is vital to healing from binge eating.
Deep dives
Understanding the Complexity of Binge Eating
Binge eating is a multi-layered issue with various factors contributing to its occurrence. It can be influenced by emotional factors, unresolved trauma, attachment styles, and nervous system dysregulation.
The Role of Physical Factors in Binge Eating
Physical factors such as blood sugar instability, imbalanced meals, and under eating can also contribute to binge eating patterns. Ensuring balanced meals and stabilizing blood sugar levels may help prevent episodes of binge eating.
Addressing Emotional Needs and Communication
Binge eating can be a coping mechanism to fulfill emotional needs. Learning to co-regulate with others, improving communication skills, and exploring attachment styles can support a healthier relationship with food.
The Influence of Body Image on Binge Eating
Negative body image and societal pressures on appearance can contribute to binge eating behavior. Working on body acceptance and challenging beauty standards can help reduce the impact of body image on binge eating.
Addiction Transference: The Link Between Substance Abuse and Binge Eating
Addiction transference, the phenomenon of shifting addictive behaviors from one substance to another, is well-documented. For example, individuals who undergo gastric bypass surgery may replace overeating with alcohol consumption. This raises questions about the root causes of addiction transference and the learning of healthy coping mechanisms for difficult emotions. Dysregulated bodies, trauma responses, and the absence of regulation contribute to addiction transference. To break the cycle, individuals must slow down, address dysregulation, and learn to be present with their bodies and emotions. Respecting and caring for the body, rather than loving it, is a vital aspect of the healing process. Treating the body like a pet, providing nourishment, hydration, and safety, can support this journey.
Nervous System Dysregulation as a Key Factor in Binge Eating
Nervous system dysregulation plays a significant role in binge eating. Trauma, both pre- and post-birth, contributes to dysregulated nervous systems. Childhood experiences of insecure attachment, neglect, or insufficient attunement can also lead to dysregulation. Understanding that the nervous system is adaptable and changeable offers hope for healing. Recognizing our individual home away from home, the nervous system state in which we feel most comfortable, can increase self-compassion. Breaking the cycle of dysregulation involves developing secure attachment within ourselves and attending to our changing and shifting nervous system responses. Binge eating can arise as an attempt to regulate unsettling emotions, and healing involves building resilience, compassion, and self-attunement.
The Role of Self-Regulation and Safe Relationships in Healing from Binge Eating
Creating safety in our bodies and relationships is vital to healing from binge eating. Ending relationships that contribute to dysregulation and seeking safe connections can support this process. Identifying compatible nervous system states in relationships can help understand why certain dynamics are triggering. It is essential to release blame and take responsibility for our own healing. Becoming our own best friends and learning to validate, soothe, and support ourselves is crucial. Engaging in non-food-related activities that bring pleasure and grounding, such as reading or watching a movie, can help reframe our relationship with food. Slowing down, sitting with the urge to binge eat, and recognizing emotional associations with the behavior are also beneficial steps to explore. Ultimately, healing from binge eating involves discovering alternative sources of regulation, finding safety in relationships, and embracing the journey of self-compassion and presence.
Ep 87. Welcome back to another episode of “What’s the Juice?”!. This week I’m chatting with Stephanie Fox, a Somatic Nutritional Counselor who has spent the past decade guiding women to feel empowered in their relationships with their food and their bodies. Stephanie specializes in disordered eating patterns, binge eating, emotional eating, chronic dieting, and body image concerns. She is the creator of Somatic Eating®, a body-oriented, sensation-focused therapeutic approach to connecting to your body while you are eating.
Here’s the juice:
how all of the gut protocols in the world couldn’t cure Stephanie’s chronic gut issues and what finally helped her
why if you're coming from a history of past trauma it’s hard to practice intuitive eating and how somatic eating must come first
how binge eating is really just your body communicating to you how unsafe it feels
it’s not about the food that we’re eating; it’s about the state that we’re in while we’re eating
how somatic psychotherapy is communicating with the body and learning the body’s language through sensation, emotion, urges, and impulses.
the questions we should be asking ourselves when we are feeling triggered
why we need to create “micromoments” of safety to slowly introduce that it’s okay to feel safe in our bodies
how we can confuse our own inner voice with the voices of others
why dieting is black and white and keeps us stuck in a box
ending relationships that don’t feel safe to our nervous systems can be pivotal in healing our guts
Links from the ep:
Get 10% off our NEW formula, Bloat BFF with code BLOAT10 on organicolivia.com
