[PART 1] Autism and Anorexia Athletica: Understanding Exercise Addiction in Autistic People with Eating Disorders

When you think of exercise addiction and eating disorders, you might picture someone trying to burn calories or using movement as punishment. But for neurodivergent individuals, the story often looks different. In today’s episode, host Livia Sara shares her journey with exercise addiction through an autistic lens, challenging common misconceptions and offering a fresh perspective on the complex relationship between autism, movement, and eating disorders.

You'll learn:

• How the athlete identity can become a mask for undiagnosed autism
• Why labels like "compulsive exercise" may oversimplify the complex motivations behind movement in autistic individuals
• How exercise restrictions in treatment can trigger PDA (demand avoidance) in neurodivergent folks
• Why understanding the connection between autism and movement is a crucial component of neurodiversity-affirming ED recovery

This episode kicks off a powerful two-part series examining how autism can influence our relationship with exercise and how traditional treatment approaches might actually backfire for neurodivergent individuals. Stay tuned for Part 2, where we’ll explore three key autistic traits that can influence exercise addiction and how to transform them into tools for recovery.

Connect with Livia:
💗 Join my newsletter to receive episode updates
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📝 Read the blog post of this episode