Eating Disorder Recovery Podcasts Worth Tuning Into

If you are like me, then you might have asked yourself the question: "What are some eating disorder recovery podcasts worth tuning into?" I am a major advocate of professional counseling—in fact, I see my therapist once a week—but I also endorse other supportive resources outside a counselor's office too. The hour I spend in therapy each week is sacred and beneficial to me as a person in recovery for both anorexia and trauma-related issues, but when I'm not directly across from my therapist, the intervention I reach for most often is my arsenal of recovery podcasts. So in this article, I want to break down the eating disorder recovery podcasts that I consider worth tuning into as therapeutic adjuncts—to reinforce not replace clinical treatment—and why I find them useful in my own healing process.  

Why Recovery Podcasts Help in Eating Disorder Recovery

For the past three years, I have been walking a deep, intensive journey to unlearn the toxic patterns in my life that once stood between me and the wholeness I knew was possible and ached to experience. Counseling has been a foundational part of this, as well as building a community of trust and support around myself, so I can be held accountable when those eating disorder behaviors start to resurface. But another tool that has been extremely beneficial is my love for podcasts. This resource offers me unlimited access to the wisdom, insight, and expertise of various clinicians at the forefront of mental health.

On eating disorder recovery podcasts, I can listen to psychologists who help me understand how the brain functions, so I'm able to rewire detrimental habits and form healthier methods of coping instead. I can listen to dietitians who explain how to nourish myself with foods that are nutritious, rather than portions that are meager and restrictive. I can listen to mindfulness specialists who describe how to exercise with movements that bring pleasure, not punishment, to the body. I have mined a wealth of information from recovery podcasts which continually strengthen and sustain my dedication to eating disorder recovery. The more I learn, the better equipped I am to transform the default modes of thinking, feeling, and doing that do not serve me anymore.  

Eating Disorder Recovery Podcasts I Recommend

Now that I have discussed why I'm a podcast aficionado and proponent, here are four eating disorder recovery podcasts which I think are worth tuning into:   

1. The Recovery Warrior Show: The offshoot of its parent website Recovery Warriors, this podcast was started by Jessica Flint, an authority on emotional health and eating disorder survivor herself, who teaches self-compassion as the springboard to healing a disordered relationship with food and body image. 
2. Food Psych Podcast: A frontrunner in the crusade to dismantle American diet culture, this podcast is hosted by Christy Harrison, a registered dietitian nutritionist and certified intuitive eating counselor, who approaches all facets of eating disorder recovery based on the idea of health at every size (HAES). 
3. Real Health Radio: In a society that demonizes certain foods and emphasizes wellness as a moral virtue, this podcast is hosted by nutritionist Chris Sandel, who aims to help others experience authentic health—not just the appearance of health—through a holistic mind, body, and spirit connection.    
4. The Eating Disorder Recovery Podcast: What I consider to be the "gold standard" in adjunctive resources, this podcast was created by licensed psychologist Dr. Janean Anderson, who addresses inclusion in eating disorder recovery in terms of gender, body shape, comorbid illness, age bracket, and other sociocultural factors.