From Survivor to Thriver
Escaping Toxic Diet Culture and Overcoming Eating Disorders with Dr. Cristina Castagnini
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Episode notes
Have you ever struggled with an eating disorder?
Many things can cause disorders like anorexia nervosa or bulimia. Whether it’s trauma, feeling out of control, or even anxiety, eating disorders can put your life in danger if you don’t get the help you need.
In this episode of From Survivor to Thriver, we sat down with Dr. Cristina Castagnini, who struggled with an eating disorder herself and has gone on to change the message around eating disorders and become the therapist she needed when she was struggling.
Dr. Cristina Castagnini is a licensed psychologist, a Certified Eating Disorder Specialist, and both the founder and host of the Behind the Bite podcast, where a real doctor who really recovered from an eating disorder talks about your real struggles with food, body image, and weight. After overcoming her own struggles with having an eating disorder, it was always her dream to focus solely on helping women overcome their struggles with food and body image and to achieve a balanced life.
For over two decades, Cristina has been treating patients with a variety of mental health diagnoses, supervising postdoctoral residents, and continuing to grow her private practice. All the while, she aims to find the work-life balance being a single mom to two awesome kids, but knows first-hand there is just no way to do it all.
In today’s episode we cover:
- How Dr. Castagnini’s eating disorder developed and how she hid it
- When she finally realized it was time to get help
- The intersection of eating disorders and trauma
- How OCD can manifest around food
- Clues your loved one might have an eating disorder and how to help
- Complimenting people on something other than their looks
- Harmful categorizing
- What eating disorders are really about
We hope you enjoyed our conversation with Dr. Castagnini, if you want to hear more from her, make sure to check out her podcast Behind the Bite and follow her on Instagram.
Thanks again for tuning in. We are so grateful to each and every one of you. Please remember to leave a rating and review of our show. It helps us grow and reach those who need it. Also, make sure to subscribe so you never miss an episode!
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“It’s not about the food, exercise, or the weight. It’s an illness. It’s about something much deeper.” -Dr. Castagnini
“Eating disorders are about how we feel about ourselves.” -Marc
"We shouldn't have to label people into different categories." -Erik