Elisabeth Kristof, a neurology expert, discusses the neuroscience behind disordered eating, diet culture, and scarcity mindset. She highlights how bingeing can be a healthy output of a well-functioning brain when deprived. The importance of cultivating a relationship with movement, undoing scarcity mindset, and stimulating the vagus nerve are also covered. The podcast explores the link between trauma and bingeing, how meditation can feel threatening in fight or flight mode, and the dangers of comparing oneself to others. Overall, it delves into healing, reprogramming the subconscious mind, and shifting from scarcity to abundance mindset.
Cultivating a positive relationship with movement is crucial in healing from trauma and disordered eating.
Developing interception skills and connecting with one's body is essential to reduce the threat level and heal from disordered eating.
Deep dives
The Link between Trauma and Disordered Eating
The podcast episode explores the connection between trauma and disordered eating behaviors. The speaker shares personal experiences of using food as a source of comfort and safety, which ultimately led to negative health consequences, including cancer. The conversation delves into the neurological aspect of binge eating, highlighting how the brain responds to cycles of restriction and how the body's threat system can override intentions to diet or change behaviors. The scarcity mindset is also discussed, emphasizing how it drives disordered eating by creating a belief that certain foods are off-limits. The importance of healing the nervous system and developing a positive relationship with movement is highlighted as a key aspect of healing from trauma and disordered eating.
The Role of Interception in Disordered Eating
The episode explores the concept of interception, which is the body's internal signals and cues, and how it relates to disordered eating. It is explained that interception dysfunction, which can be influenced by childhood trauma, can lead to an overactive threat response in the body. This heightened threat level can cause disordered eating behaviors such as bingeing. The importance of cultivating interception skills and developing a deeper connection with one's body to reduce the threat level is emphasized as an essential step in healing from disordered eating.
The Importance of Somatic Healing
The podcast episode highlights the significance of somatic healing in addressing trauma and disordered eating. Somatic healing refers to addressing trauma and tension that is stored in the body. It is explained that trauma responses, such as freeze or dissociative states, can manifest as binging behaviors. The importance of recognizing trauma in the body and engaging in practices that promote somatic healing, such as movement, shaking, and grounding techniques, is emphasized as an effective way to release trauma and rewire neural pathways.
Shifting from Scarcity to Abundance
The conversation shifts towards adopting an abundance mindset as a healing strategy. The speaker discusses how comparing oneself to others and buy into diet culture perpetuates scarcity thinking, reinforcing beliefs that there is not enough or that certain bodies are superior. Embracing radical self-love and accepting oneself unconditionally is presented as a way to dismantle systems of privilege and injustice. Gratitude for one's body and practicing acceptance and abundance are presented as key elements in the healing journey from disordered eating and trauma.
Elisabeth Kristof, the founder of Brain Based Wellness, joins me to unpack the neurology behind disordered eating, scarcity mindset, diet culture, and more. She is an expert in using applied neurology to resolve old patterns, improve performance, and increase well-being.
In this episode, I share:
[2:38] Jennifer binge eating at an early age
[4:57] Why we replace the comfort and safety we are not getting with food
[6:01] Bingeing is a healthy output of a well-functioning brain if you deprive it
[10:23] Neurons associated with restriction, trigger the desire to binge
[14:08] Cultivate a relationship with movement
[19:40] How trauma and stress caused Elisabeth to binge
[21:18] Freeze and Fawn
[23:32] Undoing scarcity mindset and complete shunning of diet culture
[28:24] Stimulating your vagus nerve
[35:51] How are introception and scarcity mindset linked?
[39:59] What Elisabeth did to heal and find safety in herself
[43:18] Meditation can feel threatening when you are in a state of fight or flight
[46:54] Comparing ourselves to other people
Resources From This Episode:
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