067: The Courage to FEEL: Overcoming Bulimia after 40 with LaurieAnn Campbell

LaurieAnn Campbell, award winning author, blogger, and podcaster shares her journey to overcoming her 30-year battle with bulimia nervosa. According to research from Current Psychiatry Reports Eating disorders, which include bulimia, anorexia, binge-eating, are the most lethal mental health conditions. The Eating Disorders Coalition reports that every 62 minutes, at least one person loses their life as a direct result of an eating disorder.  I snagged both of these resources from Amen Clinics where 160,000 brains have been scanned on patients in 150 countries.  As a preliminary side note to today's episode, Dr. Amen writes this on his blog in an article entitled "What 'The Crown' Got Wrong about Princess Diana and Eating Disorders": "Based on the brain SPECT imaging work at Amen Clinics——people with eating disorders tend to have abnormal activity in certain areas of the brain. Typical SPECT findings in eating disorders include overactivity in the anterior cingulate gyrus (associated with getting stuck on thoughts and behaviors) and basal ganglia (the brain’s anxiety centers), and issues in the parietal lobe (involved in sensory processing and direction sense and often seen in people with body dysmorphic disorder). Healing the brain with a targeted treatment plan is an essential part of the recovery process." As regular listeners know, the Choose 2 Think Podcast we focus a lot on the BRAIN and nueroplasticity.  LaurieAnn emphasizes the importance of accepting the past and moving and looking forward in life.  She encourages those who suffer disordered eating, food fixation, restrictive eating, etc.,  to face their emotions and feelings instead of run from them, to accept the past and live in the moment.  We also chat about toxic vocabulary that keeps those who feel stuck in harmful habits.  Recovered now for ten years, LaurieAnn's mission is to help others, primarily midlife women, to find that peace.  The unconditional love of her sister as well as her faith have proved pivotal aspects of her recovery journey.  You can find LaurieAnn's books, podcast, coaching and social media links IAMTHATGAL.COM. VISIT MY WEBSITE: www.victoriadwalker.com CONNECT WITH LAURIEANN IAMTHATGAL.com (this is the hub with links to books, podcast, coaching, social media, etc.)