Lift the Shame: The Podcast - Mothering Free From Diet Culture, Food Guilt, and Body Shame

I thought motherhood would heal me.Or at least make me strong enough to finally leave behind the parts of myself I felt most ashamed of.When I found out I was pregnant for the first time, after being told my body may have been too damaged from my eating disorder to carry a child, I felt awe, gratitude, and something that felt like a promise:By the time this baby is born, I will be healed.I thought loving my children would be enough to crowd out the eating disorder voice.But motherhood did not erase the wounds I carried.In many ways, it revealed the places that still needed care.In this episode, I’m sharing more personally about pregnancy, postpartum body changes, identity loss, the shame of still struggling as a mother, and the painful paradox of loving our children deeply while still longing for the familiar relief of eating disorder behaviors.This is for the mother who has wondered:I’m a mom now. Why is this still here?You are not broken because motherhood did not cure you.You are not a bad mother because recovery is still unfolding.And your children were never meant to be responsible for healing the wounds you carried before they were born.In this episode, we’ll gently explore:- why motherhood can make eating disorder recovery feel louder- the shame many mothers carry when love does not “fix” the struggle- how eating disorder behaviors can function like an old survival strategy- why self-compassion matters in the messy middle- one gentle question to ask when motherhood activates old woundsReflection question:Where has motherhood made recovery feel louder for you?And instead of asking, What is wrong with me? — what would it be like to ask:What part of me is asking to be mothered here?If this is a place where you’ve felt alone, I’d love to invite you to Lift the Shame, my free monthly support group for mothers and moms-to-be in eating disorder recovery.You do not have to carry this overlap alone. Get full access to Lift The Shame: The Column at crystalkarges.substack.com/subscribe

Maybe part of you wants support because you are tired of carrying this quietly.And maybe another part of you wants to hide because being seen still feels risky.That makes so much sense.In this companion audio, we’re sitting with the tender place so many mothers in eating disorder recovery know well: the longing to be supported and the fear of being seen at the same time.We’ll gently explore why support can feel both relieving and scary, especially when food, body, pregnancy, postpartum, feeding children, shame, and the fear of passing this on have been carried quietly for so long.This audio is for the mother who has opened the Nourished Motherhood page, felt something stir, and then wondered:What if I’m too much?What if I’m not struggling enough?What if I join and don’t know what to say?What if I show up and still feel stuck?What if I let myself hope, and I’m disappointed?You do not have to be fully ready to receive support.You do not have to be in crisis.You do not have to prove that this has been heavy enough.You are allowed to come slowly.Nourished Motherhood is open now through Tuesday, June 2 at 11:59pm PT, or until all 15 spots are filled. Our first live call is Wednesday, June 3 at 4pm PT, and calls will be recorded if you cannot attend live.If enrollment has already closed by the time you listen, you can still visit the link below to learn more and join the waitlist for a future cohort. Get full access to Lift The Shame: The Column at crystalkarges.substack.com/subscribe

So many mothers in recovery spend years trying to become “well enough” privately before letting anyone see how hard it still feels.In this third audio, we’re talking about the kind of support that can actually help in the messy middle — not support that adds more pressure, asks us to perform healing, or gives us more information to keep up with.But support that helps us feel safely witnessed, less alone, and able to practice compassion in real life.We’ll gently explore:why being seen can feel both beautiful and terrifyingwhat it means to not have to “translate the overlap”why shame softens when it is met with connectionhow growth and struggle can belong togetherwhy support does not have to feel like pressureThis is for the mother who has been carrying so much quietly.Listen gently 🤍 Get full access to Lift The Shame: The Column at crystalkarges.substack.com/subscribe

Sometimes the hardest part of recovery in motherhood is not that we don’t know better.It’s that in the moments we feel activated, frightened, ashamed, or overwhelmed… what we know can suddenly feel unreachable.In this second audio, we’re talking about:- the gap between insight and real-life activation- why protective parts can show up around food, bodies, and control- how shame grows after the moment has already happened- why support often needs to reach deeper than informationThis is for the mother who keeps wondering:Why is this still so hard?Listen gently 🤍And I’ll meet you in the next audio. Get full access to Lift The Shame: The Column at crystalkarges.substack.com/subscribe

A lot of us quietly believed motherhood would make recovery easier.That loving our children so much would somehow make the struggle disappear.And when it didn’t, the shame felt enormous.In this first audio, we’re talking about:- why recovery can feel louder in motherhood- the gap between what we know and what we feel- why shame grows in isolation- the kind of support that helps us feel less alone in the messy middleListen gently 🤍And I’ll meet you in the next audio. Get full access to Lift The Shame: The Column at crystalkarges.substack.com/subscribe

If you thought motherhood would make eating disorder recovery easier, but instead you’ve found yourself still struggling with food, body image, pregnancy changes, postpartum identity shifts, or old ED thoughts resurfacing — you are not alone.In this episode, I’m sharing why eating disorder recovery can feel harder in motherhood, not because you’re failing, but because pregnancy, postpartum, feeding children, identity shifts, and the pressure to be a “good mom” can reactivate old patterns.You do not have to be fully healed to be a good, loving, attuned mother.In this episode, we’ll talk about:– Why motherhood doesn’t automatically “fix” eating disorder recovery– Why pregnancy and postpartum can bring old ED thoughts back up– Why loving your children doesn’t mean recovery suddenly becomes easy– How shame can show up when you feel like you “should be further along”– Why you do not have to be fully healed to be a good motherJoin Lift the Shame, my free virtual support group for moms in eating disorder recovery:https://www.crystalkarges.com/lift-the-shame-online-support-groupDisclaimer: This episode is for educational and supportive purposes only and is not a substitute for individualized medical, nutrition, or mental health care.If this episode resonated, I’d love to invite you into Lift the Shame, my free virtual support group for moms in eating disorder recovery.And if you’re looking for deeper support during pregnancy, postpartum, or motherhood, Nourished Motherhood is my small-group coaching cohort for moms navigating eating disorder recovery in the tender, messy middle of mothering. Get full access to Lift The Shame: The Column at crystalkarges.substack.com/subscribe