The 3 Somatic Eating Phases to Healing from Disordered Eating

I want to first normalize that because of the diet culture we live in, many many individuals are on the spectrum of disordered eating. The National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders states that " Eating disorders affect at least 9% of the population worldwide. 9% of the U.S. population, or 28.8 million Americans, will have an eating disorder in their lifetime. Less than 6% of people with eating disorders are medically diagnosed as “underweight.” Disordered eating patterns can affect anyone regardless of what one looks like externally. The difference between disordered eating and eating disorders can be the severity of the habits and patterns with one's food and body.

Disordered eating can include:

• Food restriction

• Binge eating

• Unexplained digestive issues

• Changes in skin and hair

• Chronic dieting

• Self-worth connected to body shape and weight

• Preoccupation with body image

• Excessive or rigid exercise routine

• Calorie counting

• Fear and anxiety about certain foods or food groups

• A rigid approach to eating

• Relying on specific food rituals

• Withdrawing from social activities around food

If these ways of relating with food and body intensify, this can lead to a diagnosis of an Eating Disorder. As we have discussed before, these habits with food are showing up for a reason. It isn't really about the food or the body shape. The focus on what, when, and how you're eating and what you look like are there as a support to navigate your life experiences and your emotional reactions more smoothly. Healing from disordered eating patterns can take time. I have supported my 1:1 clients over the past decade in moving through 3 Somatic Eating healing phases when starting to heal from disordered eating habits.

The 3 phases include: Awareness, Experimentation, and Practice

Awareness

In this phase, there is an awareness that the ways you have been relating with food and body leave you feeling disconnected and disembodied. You may have started to notice that the food and body patterns aren't making you feel the way you want to feel. There is a new desire arising of wanting to feel connected to you and your body and an uncertainty of how to do that and not knowing where to start. The habitual ways of relating with your food and body are continuing to play out here yet there is new embodied awareness that these patterns aren't actually serving you anymore. There may be self-judgment that arises here. You're now aware that something feels a little off but may not have the language yet to describe what exactly it is that you sense in your body. You may wonder why you continue to engage in these food and body patterns and judge yourself for continuing to play out these behaviors. If you're in this phase, remember to be gentle with yourself. The relationship you have cultivated with your food and body is protecting you in some way. If we just took away these food and body patterns without understanding them, it is like taking a soothing blanket away from a baby. You need these patterns right now as they are warm and comforting. No judgment is needed here. Next is...

Experimentation

We cannot change what we're not aware of so automatically by having this new sense of awareness things will start transforming on subtle levels. You may start bringing in more curiosity when engaging in your current food and body behaviors and asking yourself what if you reacted differently? You may experiment with different actions when you typically reached for food, or said no to a friend to go out to eat, or pushed yourself to go work out. As a result of experimenting and playing with different reactions, you may start to feel different in your body in this phase. Sometimes there can be a sense of feeling lighter as you start engaging in new food and body habits that support you in feeling more connected to you. At other times, experimenting with these new actions may feel intense in your body as you navigate the desire and urge to want to engage in the familiar behavior while also exploring what new food and body patterns you want to play with that feels more satiating and nourishing to you physically and emotionally. This dance of sometimes choosing the familiar food and body habits and other times choosing new habits is completely normal. It can actually feel physically and emotionally tiring to constantly be taking yourself outside your comfort zone. Sometimes, choosing the familiar behavior is going to be the best decision you could make in a moment. Last phase is...

Practice

Practice doesn't make perfect. Practice makes practice. As you experiment with new food and body habits, you may start noticing different sensations in your body. The new patterns will become more familiar over time to keep on practicing. That new sense of familiarity will start to feel more comfortable where it won't feel like you're stepping outside your comfort zone any longer. The new food and body actions you're engaging in are being welcomed into your comfort zone of what is now known can be possible in your relationship with your nourishment and body image. Here you will be choosing the food and body habits that support you in feeling how you want to feel in your body and after your meals more and more. Sometimes the food and body habits you used to engage in will reappear. When they do, you get to utilize their reappearance as a messenger from your body that some part of you may feel unsafe and needs your loving attention. Your new more satiating food and body patterns will slowly become your go-to behaviors and your old food and body behaviors will become a teacher letting you know when you need to slow down and tune in.

There are no timelines for these phases. Some of these phases may last for months or years. Sometimes you may ping pong back and forth between two of these phases. When it comes to healing, we have to normalize that it is going to feel messy at times and ungrounding. The patterns you have been playing out with your food and body for potentially years and years have become a part of your comfort zone and maybe even your identity. At first, it may feel uncomfortable or disorienting to experiment with new food and body habits. You get to trust that you're always exactly where you're meant to be, learning what you're meant to be learning. Take all the time you need on this healing adventure.