The Neurodivergent Connection to Binge Eating, Mast Cell Activation Syndrome (MCAS), and Body Image w/ Kory Andreas

Last year, I received an email from a lovely individual inquiring about coaching opportunities. I asked if she could briefly share her story and some of her goals for coaching. In true autistic style, she replied with what she described as “a novel to explain herself, lol.” I loved reading this “novel” because, as with most emails I receive, I resonated with so much of her lived experience. In her email, this individual shared how she had struggled with disordered eating for most of her life. At age 46, she was diagnosed with autism, which she said was “life-changing in ways I can’t even begin to describe.” Over the years, she’d tried countless “treatments” for her eating challenges – but as I’m sure you can already guess, these attempts had not only failed, but led to feelings of hopelessness. The reason I reflect on this correspondence is because there was one sentence in her email that I immediately thought of after I recorded today’s podcast episode. She wrote that she’d been scouring the internet for links between autism and overeating, but ended up finding very little that resonated. “It’s all about ARFID and beige food and anorexia,” she wrote. And she’s right; there is very little out there on the connection between autism and binge eating, which is why I am BEYOND excited to be diving into this conversation with my good friend Kory Andreas on the podcast today! After we talk about the lost generation of autistic relatives and how our grandmas are basically the same person, Kory opens up about her MCAS (Mast Cell Activation Syndrome) which is super common in neurodivergent people. Kory also talks about her experience with binge eating, learning that it was rooted in being neurodivergent, and how starting ADHD medication practically made all her binge urges disappear overnight. This was such a high energy conversation (I mean, just put two neurodivergent people in a room together, right?) so I can’t wait for you to listen! 💗 Work with me! https://www.livlabelfree.com/coaching 🌈 Rainbow Girl, A Memoir of Autism and Anorexia: https://www.livlabelfree.com/rainbowgirl 🍫 Autism & Binge Eating Series: https://www.livlabelfree.com/blog/autism-and-binge-eating-part-1