✊ Rage is the Answer: Body Liberation, Psychedelics, & Unlearning Fatphobia with Paula D. Atkinson

In this episode of Shoulders Down, Leah sits down with licensed psychotherapist Paula D. Atkinson to explore the intersection of body image, eating disorders, social justice, and body liberation.Paula shares her personal journey from growing up as a fat child, developing anorexia as a teenager, and eventually becoming a therapist, educator, and advocate for body justice. Together, Leah and Paula discuss the history of fatphobia, the limitations of weight-centric definitions of health, and why healing body image requires more than individual self-acceptance.Their conversation explores the role of systemic oppression in shaping body image, the power of critical thinking in diet culture recovery, and how anger can become a catalyst for liberation rather than something to suppress.You'll hear about:Paula's journey from anorexia recovery to becoming a body liberation therapist and educatorWhat teaching a university course on weight, health, and society revealed about diet culture and the "obesity epidemic"The role of rage in disordered eating and body image healingWhy external validation can never replace genuine self-acceptanceHow body image healing intersects with social justice, oppression, and collective liberationPaula's perspective on anger, psychedelics, and other unexpected pathways to body liberationMore From Paula:Website: https://www.pauladatkinson.comInstagram: @pauladatkinsonMore From Leah:📚Download your free Intuitive Eating Starter PackApply to The Embodied Method, my 1:1 coaching programJoin my self-paced course, The ReturnSubscribe to Leah's Youtube ChannelSubscribe to my personal SubstackFollow me on Instagram for more intuitive eating content @leahkern.rdVisit my website to learn more about my coaching offeringsSubscribe to my weekly newsletter to get a nugget of intuitive eating inspiration delivered straight from my heart to your inbox each week.Send me a voice message on SpeakpipeEmail me: [email protected]