Are Eating Disorders Physiological or Psychological?

Are Eating Disorders Physiological or Psychological? The Answer Changes EverythingThis is a solo episode that shifts how you understand your eating disorder entirely.I'm diving deep into Tabitha Farrar's work on the migration response and exploring the question that everyone asks: is it biological or is it psychological? The honest answer is it's both. And understanding why changes how you recover.This episode is for you if:• You've wondered if your eating disorder is "real" because you don't have anorexia• You thought restriction should be easier and it wasn't (or it was, and then suddenly it wasn't)• You've struggled with the binge eating that came after restriction• You're stuck in restriction but your body won't cooperate anymore• You've done all the therapy and still can't stop the behaviours• You want to know why willpower doesn't work and what actually does• You're trying to understand if you just need to eat more or if you need psychological work tooIn this episode, we cover:✨ The migration response — why some people's bodies make restriction feel easy✨ The hibernation response — a different genetic physiological response to restriction✨ Why your metabolism might speed up or slow down when you restrict (it's genetic)✨ How the same person can find restriction easy, then nearly impossible (my personal story)✨ Why some people achieve extreme weight loss easily and others don't, even with severe restriction✨ The vicious feedback loop between biology and psychology in eating disorders✨ What eating disorders are really about beneath the desire to be thin✨ Why you restrict: acceptance, safety, validation, control, identity (it's always deeper)✨ Why therapy alone won't fix an eating disorder (and why weight restriction alone won't either)✨ Weight restoration isn't recovery — it's just the beginning✨ How your nervous system learns to treat weight gain as danger✨ Why you can't think your way out of what your body is experiencing✨ The neuro pathways that need to be rewired✨ Meeting the actual psychological needs your eating disorder was serving✨ Why somatic work (body work) is absolutely essential for recovery✨ The whole-picture approach: biology + psychology + nervous system + historyPowerful quotes from the episode:💬 "Restriction wasn't hard, it felt right. It was nothing to do with willpower. It was genetics."💬 "You can have all the insights in the world about why you developed your eating disorder and still be stuck in the behaviours."💬 "Your nervous system has learned that weight gain equates to danger. Your brain has built neuro pathways that treat food as a threat."💬 "Eating disorders are both physiological and psychological. They're usually not one or the other."💬 "You deserve recovery that honours the full truth of your experience, not the simplified version that fits into a diagnosis box."If you're confused about why eating more isn't enough, why willpower fails, why you can't just think your way out — this episode will make sense of all of it. Recovery works when you address the whole picture.💙 Join my FREE support group: https://victoriakleinsman.com/free-support-group/💙 Free trial group coaching: https://victoriakleinsman.com/coaching/💙 Work with me 1:1: https://victoriakleinsman.com/1-1-coaching/💙 Follow me on Instagram @victoriakleinsmanofficial💙 Become a coach: https://victoriakleinsman.com/become-a-coach/