Welcome

**Content warning: This is one person’s story; everyone will have unique experiences in recovery and beyond. Some stories may mention eating disorder thoughts, behaviors, and symptoms. Please use your discretion when reading and speak with your support system as needed.

Katherine Stancoff (they/she) is a 20-year-old mental health advocate and former client of The Emily Program. You can follow her on TikTok and Instagram at @thereispurposeinthispain and @katherinestancoff, and see more of her literary work at www.thereispurposeinthispain.com.

Comparison was my constant nemesis as a child. I’d compare my home life, friendships, personality, interests, skills, and talents to everyone around me. Quickly, I’d fallen into the deep waters of never feeling adequate. I’d try to excel the way others seemed to, but I always believed I’d fallen short somehow. I soon internalized the notion that I am defective.

This utter despair made me feel like a failure, and my mind began to tear itself apart, skinning itself dry in desperate search of a solution. Consequently, this exploration of “fixing” myself led to self-isolation, then a vow of silence, until it spiraled into disordered behaviors.

From this deterioration, I fell into a distorted “love” with my eating disorder. It convinced me that once I reached my goal weight, I would achieve “perfection,” setting me apart from my peers. I did as it told me, wholeheartedly believing that losing weight to an idealized number would “perfect” me, would satisfy the void my depression and OCD had created.

Episode description:

In this episode of Peace Meal, we welcome back Dr. Charlotte Markey to discuss the newly released second edition of her book, The Body Image Book for Girls, and what the latest body image research means for the young people in our lives.

Charlotte reflects on how much has changed since the first edition, including the pandemic’s lasting impact on young people’s mental health and a social media landscape that’s evolving faster than most adults can track—and what parents, caregivers, and clinicians can actually do to help amid it all. Central to that, says Charlotte, is being willing to examine your own relationship with food and bodies first. She and Jillian also explore what it looks like to help kids build a relationship with their bodies grounded in function and appreciation, and why it’s worth starting that conversation early.

Episode description:

Research suggests that up to half of people with eating disorders also struggle with substance misuse, and about 35% of people with substance use disorder also have an eating disorder. In this episode, Jillian breaks down why these conditions so often overlap, what’s happening inside the brain when they do, and why treating them as separate issues can work against recovery.

If you or someone you care about is navigating both an eating disorder and a substance use disorder, this episode is a useful place to start. As Jillian affirms, “It is never too late, and it is never too early to reach out for help.”

Episode description:

Shena Washburn, Senior Director of Clinical Nutrition and Culinary Services at The Emily Program, joins us for a timely conversation about the newly released Food Guide Pyramid—what it says, what it doesn’t, and what it means in the context of eating disorder recovery.

Together, Shena and Jillian explore how public nutrition messaging can reinforce the kind of food hierarchies and moral judgments that make recovery harder, how eating disorder treatment approaches nutrition differently, and what the role of a dietitian in eating disorder care looks like.

**Content warning: This is one person’s story; everyone will have unique experiences in recovery and beyond. Some stories may mention eating disorder thoughts, behaviors, and symptoms. Please use your discretion when reading and speak with your support system as needed.

Nichole is a wife and mother of a beautiful daughter. A former Special Education teacher, she decided to stay home and raise her daughter 18 years ago, which she loved doing. She enjoys playing and teaching piano, creative writing, and cooking. She also loves being outdoors in the sunshine with her dog. Nichole is working to complete and publish a memoir about her life with an eating disorder, in hopes of helping others find the freedom that she continues to fight for. She currently resides in Montana, but someday hopes to live near the ocean, where she feels most at peace.

Recovery Conversations is a question-and-answer series that features voices and stories of eating disorder recovery. In this post, Nichole reflects on 30 years of recovery, the strength she has found in vulnerability, and why she believes it is never too late to heal.

Episode description:

March is National Nutrition Month, and this year’s theme is “Discover the Power of Nutrition.” For folks struggling with an eating disorder or navigating recovery, the word “nutrition” can feel powerfully loaded. Eating disorders disrupt your ability to nourish yourself—to eat consistently, to eat enough, to eat with variety and flexibility. Diet culture makes that even harder, reinforcing the idea that food is something to earn or control.

In this episode, Jillian talks about what it looks like to reclaim nutrition in recovery, and how the work of nutritional rehabilitation, as hard as it is, can ultimately move you toward a more peaceful and empowering relationship with food.

In Threshold, Jessie courageously opens up about her eating disorder recovery journey and shares how The Emily Program helped save her life at 18, the highs of her career, and the very real, raw, and vulnerable struggles in relapsing 12 years into recovery. Her willingness to speak honestly about her experience is helping break stigma, spark important conversations, and bring hope to individuals and families everywhere.

We are deeply honored to be a sponsor of this remarkable documentary, produced by Patrick Dempsey, and now streaming on Peacock TV.

Jessie, congratulations on an outstanding final Olympics in Milan Cortina, and thank you for using your voice to help others find strength and healing. We are incredibly proud to stand beside you and grateful to be part of your journey.

Learn more about this incredible documentary below.

Episode description:

In this episode of Peace Meal, Jason shares his story of recovering from an eating disorder as a male, including why, after more than 25 years of recovery, he felt called to share his story publicly. Jason traces the roots of his eating disorder back to the weight-cutting culture of competitive wrestling in high school, where restrictive and binge eating cycles were normalized and even encouraged by coaching staff. Those patterns followed him into college, where isolation and stress deepened his struggles.

Without many resources or relatable voices to turn to, Jason navigated much of his recovery on his own. Today, Jason channels the wisdom of his journey into raising his two young daughters with open conversations about feelings, balanced approaches to food, and a foundation of unconditional love. His message to anyone still fighting in silence: you are loved, you are enough, and recovery is possible.