“Let’s go out to eat!”

A simple phrase that can bring on significant stress and overwhelm for folks who are struggling with an eating disorder.

The fear of the unknown can truly be paralyzing. And, the chatter in your head that can come alongside the fear can be truly overwhelming.

Shame and guilt are two complex emotions that often play a significant role in eating disorder treatment, especially for people who have experienced trauma.

Shame is a deep-seated feeling of unworthiness and self-disgust. It's the belief that something about who you are at your core is fundamentally flawed.

Sometimes wondering what will happen with all of the Halloween candy is even spookier than the holiday itself.

In our most recent episode of the Reclaim You podcast, Emily and Sarah discuss Halloween candy and the binge-restrict cycle. In today’s post, we’re recapping the episode and its major themes. We hope the episode and this blog post support you as you navigate recovery from binge eating.

We’ve talked a lot about trauma and PTSD treatment on the blog the past couple of months.

Many of the folks we work with here at Reclaim have heard of PTSD, but haven’t necessarily heard or learned too much about CPTSD.

On the our most recent episode of the Reclaim You podcast, we dove into a topic that resonates so many people on the journey to recovery– coping with weight gain. In today’s blog post we’re summarizing the episode with the intention of supporting you to begin to cope with weight gain in recovery from an eating disorder.

Trauma recovery is a process that invites patience, self-compassion, and an ongoing curiosity of understanding of yourself.

One concept that we often talk about here at Reclaim is The Window of Tolerance. In this blog post, we'll explore what the Window of Tolerance is, why it's an important concept to understand and how it can be a powerful tool on your path to healing.

Join us as we explore the importance of balancing the needs of others with self-care, the relationship between people-pleasing and authenticity, and how to invite struggles and communicate authentically.

Trauma triggers are reminders of past traumatic experiences that can elicit intense emotional and physical reactions. These triggers can manifest from, and in, many different forms such as situations, sights, sounds, feelings or even specific words. They have the power to flood us with how we were feeling at the time we experienced trauma.

In today's fast-paced world, self-care can seems like an indulgence reserved for special occasions. As we scroll through social media, we're bombarded with images of extravagant spa days, luxurious vacations, and complex wellness routines. These images can leave us feeling inadequate in our own self-care efforts.

But what if we told you that authentic self-care doesn't need to be all that extra?

Seasonal transitions, like the shift from summer to fall, can be both exciting and challenging. While many of us excitedly anticipate cozy sweaters, pumpkin spice lattes, and the vibrant colors of autumn, these changes can also trigger anxiety and body image concerns. In this blog post, we'll explore strategies for managing anxiety during seasonal transitions.

Body image and self-image are fundamental aspects of our individual identities that form over time, and can be influenced by a number of factors. One factor that can have a significant impact on body image is childhood trauma. This relationship is often complex and multi-faceted, underlining the need for comprehensive and compassionate understanding.

In a recent episode of the Reclaim You podcast, Reclaim Therapy eating disorder and trauma therapists, Laura and Sarah had a conversation about the impact of self-compassion on trauma recovery, disordered eating, and body image issues. Today we’re diving into the key takeaways from the conversation!

Binge eating disorder (BED) and overachieving are two behaviors that can feed off of each other, and impact our physical and emotional health.

While seemingly unrelated, many people who are struggling with binge eating disorder also struggle with a tendency to overachieve.

Disordered eating and binge eating, isn't just about food – it's a winding maze of emotions, restriction, triggers, and overwhelming cravings that often leave us feeling tangled in guilt, shame, and a sense of lost control.

The thing to remember?

This isn't about willpower.

What many people don’t know about her, is her lifelong struggle with anorexia, bulimia, and childhood trauma, caused by her manipulative mother. In her autobiography, “I’m Glad My Mom Died” McCurdy dives into her career as a child actress that she was coerced into by her mother. Throughout the book she shares about the development of, and her experience with, anorexia and bulimia.

Childhood has a way of leaving its mark, and sometimes it's not in the ways we expect. The experiences we go through during our early years truly shape how we react to the world around us, even long into adulthood. You might wonder why certain reactions or struggles seem to resurface without warning.

Childhood is often painted as a time of laughter and adventures, but for many of us, it was a mix of both good and tough moments that still linger in our minds. Today, we're diving into those less-talked-about experiences that quietly shape who we are and how we engage in our world.

One such innovative approach is remote Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR therapy), a therapeutic technique originally conducted in-person but now adapted to virtual platforms. In this blog post, we’ll talk about the world of remote EMDR therapy and explore how it can be a powerful tool for trauma recovery, allowing individuals to heal and grow from the comfort of their own homes.

For trauma survivors, the aftermath of a traumatic experience can be accompanied by complex emotions, including grief. In this blog, we explore the profound ways in which grief can manifest in trauma survivors, shedding light on the importance of recognizing and addressing these emotions to promote healing and resilience.

I awoke suddenly and violently after surgery, struggling for breath.

Vomiting followed, the kind that feels as if you’re emptying the very depths of your soul. The pain of surgery was sedated by the morphine pump that took up residence next to me those first couple of days. One never knows how much they use certain muscle groups until pain makes it clear.