Black-and-white thinking, also known as all-or-nothing or polarized thinking, is often labeled as a barrier to recovery for autistic individuals with eating disorders. But what if this mindset isn't a flaw to fix, but an adaptive response designed to protect and conserve energy in an overwhelming world? In this episode, you’ll learn:

• The role of black-and-white thinking in neurodivergent individuals
• How rigid thinking develops as an adaptive survival mechanism
• How combined autism and anorexia impact cognitive processing
• Why traditional treatment approaches can increase trauma
• Practical strategies to explore flexibility in recovery
• The philosophy of choice and the "dizziness of freedom"
• Breaking free from binary thinking using the yin-yang framework

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