In today’s episode of Bite Back with Abbey Sharp, I share my eating disorder (orthorexia) origin story, and I speak with my own sister (and clinical psychologist), Dr. Skye Fitzpatrick about how mental illnesses like eating disorders are not just an individual experience, but one of family, friends and others in your life. I also share some tips on how to talk to a loved one about getting help for their eating disorder.
In todays episode of Bite Back with Abbey Sharp, I share my eating disorder (orthorexia) origin story, and I speak with my own sister (and clinical psychologist), Dr. Skye Fitzpatrick about how mental illnesses like eating disorders affect and are affected by family members and those in your immediate circle. Skye and I talk about how my eating disorder affected her as a young teen, and how families can often do more harm than good by over-accommodating the individual struggling with mental illness. This can often keep the person who is suffering from mental illness in a place where they don’t have to recover. I leave listeners with a list of dos and dont’s for talking to a loved one about your concerns around their disordered eating, and I also share a script on how you can broach the topic with your loved one.
Check in with today’s amazing guest:
Dr. Skye Fitzpatrick (my amazing sister!) is an Associate Professor in the Department of Psychology at York University.. She’s also director of the TULiP lab which stands for Treating and Understanding Life-threatening Behaviours and Post-traumatic stress.
The TULiP lab is currently recruiting for their most recent study looking for people who struggle with intense emotions and self-injury/suicidal thoughts and behaviours and their romantic partners who 18 years old.
You can learn more about it here:
https://www.tuliplab.ca/feeling-connected.html
You can also follow them at @tuliplabyork
Trigger Warning: In this episode we do discuss mental health disorders, disordered eating and eating disorders in detail.
If you have heard yourself in our discussion today, and are looking for support, contact the free NEDIC helpline at 1-866-NEDIC-20 or go to eatingdisorderhope.com.