Download Episode! Hey there, lovely radicals... podcast time! This week on the "Life. Unrestricted." podcast, it’s not just vulnerability time, it’s not just real, raw badassery time, no, it’s also ... Well, it’s actually the most fun episode with the most unexpected circumstances I’ve ever had. Mix that with the incredible depth of the conversation, and you’ve got a pretty unique ride ahead of you. And the mission for this one is pretty simple: It is to say, hey, who ever you are out there, you are not alone, you are not crazy, you are not broken... Recovery is messy like that. Eating disorders really come in all shapes and sizes, and they take many forms for the sufferer too. So, lovely radicals, It is my extreme pleasure to bring you Jennifer Rollin, a professional psychotherapist in private practice in Rockville, Maryland. Jennifer is an eating disorder and body image specialist, and expert writer and speaker. She is passionate about helping people to find freedom from eating disorders and body-hatred. Jennifer has completed certificates in CBT-E for Eating Disorders (Dialectical Behavioral Therapy), and is a Certified Intuitive Eating Counselor. She is a member of The Junior Board of Directors for The National Eating Disorders Association, and her articles have reached thousands of people through print and online media including The Huffington Post, Psychology Today, FabUplus Magazine, Social Work Today Magazine... From out of her practice in Rockville, she offers eating disorder therapy and eating disorder recovery coaching to people worldwide. If you were wondering where the fun part of the situation comes in...... Well, listen for yourself! Jennifer talks about: – Why this very interview is proof that perfectionism is a hindrance to fully experiencing life – How she discovered Health at Every Size (HAES) and why she didn’t fully understand it at first – Why being weight-centric is an active hindrance to recovery from yoyo-dieting, disordered eating, eating disorders AND binge eating – Why she often gets frustrated when people completely misunderstand the message of HAES – When to invest in educating others about HAES and when to prioritize self-care and step back – Why it is so hard to recover into a world that actively promotes disordered eating and disordered exercise behaviors – How we can talk to ourselves when we’re struggling and there’s no one around who seems to understand – How weight-stigma in eating disorders treatment often hinders a full recovery for those who are in treatment, and prevents millions who suffer from actually GETTING treatment – What she would want the world to know about eating disorders and the myths surrounding them – Why the common depiction of eating disorders (anorexia, skeletally skinny, mostly white teenage girls) in the media actually represents the smallest percentage of how eating disorders manifest, and why this is detrimental for all of those who suffer and "don’t feel sick enough" – Why some of the sickest people are not officially diagnosable – What she means when she describes eating disorders as being "competitive and comparative diseases" – Her thoughts on exercise bulimia and why this – very common! – subtype of eating disorders is not being openly addressed more widely – What makes exercise bulimia so hard to overcome – How to reframe exercise behaviors in recovery from compulsive exercise, when the voice in our heads tells us that we "can’t rest" – How to decode those negative body thoughts and find what they really stand for – How to find out what our compulsive behaviors around exercise and food are really about – How to make behavioral changes and set small challenges that support recovery – Why discomfort is an inevitable result of going against our ED voice, and how to see that discomfort as a sign of success in recovery – How she would deal with a client who suffers from exercise bulimia – How she would address entrenched behaviors and habits/rituals that have been in place for years – Why it is so important (in any process of recovery) to find out what really brings us joy in life, and add those things into our lives that do NOT revolve around food or exercise – How we can start to decode and make sense of our are behaviors – How we can recognize moments of body neutrality and slowly create more of those – Why it’s important to ask ourselves "what would I like my life to look like in 5 years from now?" – How she addresses the fear of weight gain with her clients – How to find out what we really want when we say that we "just want to be thin" – How to give less of a damn about what other people think of our recovery, our looks, our eating, our weight or any other comments – How to see the gift in losing those people who only "loved" us for an artificial version of ourselves – Why this process of recovery is the doorway to finding those people who really love us for who we are – The advantage of getting into the mindset of "giving recovery a try", just as one would do with an experiment – Why we need to change behaviors first, in order for the thoughts to be able to adjust and change (or in other words, why there is no "thinking ourselves into recovery") – Why eliminating all restrictions is the crucial step in recovery from anorexia and bulimia – How, after eliminating all restrictions, the most important next step must be to eliminate all compensatory behaviors for eating – Why never to forget that eating disorders are sneaky, and so behaviors can sneak back in almost unnoticeably and suddenly we’re deep in unwanted behaviors again – Why having an accountability partner when reducing the amount and intensity of exercise can be the key to avoid denial... ... And so much more! Check out Jennifer’s website: www.jenniferrollin.com Please consider supporting the podcast with a donation by becoming a "Patreon"; so that I can keep producing it. Thank you! Here's the link: https://www.patreon.com/lifeunrestricted If you want this sort of badassery to come to your phone automatically, please DO subscribe on iTunes (Apple): https://itunes.apple.com/ch/podcast/life.-unrestricted.-podcast/id1130713233?mt=2 or on Stitcher (Android): http://www.stitcher.com/s?fid=93987&refi ********* Don't forget!********* Make sure to join my tribe and meet some of the most supportive, loving and kind people of all shapes and sizes, including great coaches and leaders! We’re right over here at: http://www.lifeunrestricted.org/join/