This week I welcomed Valentina Olivadese, a truly holistic nutritionist onto the podcast. Valentina shares how her trauma history lead her to find solace in her eating disorder. After working towards recovery for years with professional help, she now shares her wisdom through her practice as a holistic nutritionist. While we spend most of our conversation digging into Valentina’s personal story, we have some really powerful takeaways from this brave, vulnerable, and heartfelt conversation.
If you know someone who you suspect is struggling with an eating disorder, it’s important to notice and let them know that you are there to support them, or help them find someone who can support them. Simply saying something can help that person feel seen.
So many people write off sexual assault as something that is normal. It’s not. And while many survivors experience trauma that can present in many different ways, including disordered eating, if this is something you’re struggling you might have to ask for help over and over again. It will be difficult, and challenging, but you can do it.
You don’t have to wait for someone to tell you it’s okay to eat. When we try to control our bodies through dieting and restricting, we are essentially allowing ourselves to be controlled by diet culture. When we give ourselves permission to eat and take care of ourselves, we reclaim that control, and essentially practice body autonomy.