Posts Tagged “LGBTQIA+”

**Content warning: This episode includes discussion of suicidal ideation and a suicide attempt. Please use your discretion when listening and speak with your support system as needed. If you are experiencing suicidal thoughts, contact the National Suicide & Crisis Lifeline by texting or calling 988. LGBTQ+ young people can also reach The Trevor Project 24/7 by calling 1-866-488-7386, texting START to 678-678, or chatting online. 

Episode description:

Danny Wakefield joins Peace Meal to share his story of recovery from an eating disorder—a “full circle moment,” he calls it, as an alum of The Emily Program. Danny didn’t recognize the earliest signs of their eating disorder until they entered care and traced its roots back to body comparisons with their twin sister that started at age three.

Getting into treatment as an adult wasn’t simple. Seeking any kind of medical care as a transgender person comes with its own barriers. For Danny, that included the internalized belief that eating disorder treatment wasn’t for someone like him. Body-size bias among providers also meant their illness wasn’t taken as seriously as it should have been. It took a mental health crisis and a message sent in desperation before Danny found their way to The Emily Program.

Danny and Jillian talk through what came next: an extended stay in residential treatment, the levels of care that followed, and a recovery that became “so much bigger than just food.” Danny closes with a message for anyone who doesn’t believe recovery is possible: it starts with “a tiny moment of willingness,” and hope borrowed from someone else until you can hold it yourself.

Episode description:

Pride Month is a time for protest and activism, for celebration, visibility, and community. It’s also a reminder of the inequities faced by LGBTQIA+ people, and the work that remains to ensure safety and acceptance for all. That includes addressing disproportionate adverse mental health outcomes—eating disorders among them.

Episode description:

In this episode, Dr. Dev Seacrest returns to Peace Meal to reflect on how his evolving understanding of gender, body image, and disability has shaped his recovery from both anorexia and Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder (ARFID). 

Since first joining us in 2020, Dev has gained deeper clarity on how gender dysphoria influenced his relationship with food and body image. He talks about embracing fatness as a trans man, finding support in a men’s body image group, and receiving a revised diagnosis that helped explain his chronic pain and changing mobility needs.

Through these experiences, Dev shares what it means to recover on his own terms—honoring gender identity, disability, and fat embodiment, and building a more peaceful relationship with his body along the way.

**Content warning: This blog includes mention of suicide. Please use your discretion when reading and speak with your support system as needed. If you are experiencing suicidal thoughts, help is available through The Trevor Project or by texting or calling 988.

At The Emily Program, we know that the journey to healing is deeply personal. We’re committed to creating a world where every individual feels seen, respected, and supported along their recovery path. For transgender and non-binary individuals, the road to recovery from an eating disorder can come with unique and often painful challenges—layered with identity-related stigma, trauma, and the complex relationship between body dysphoria and dysmorphia.

These experiences can make recovery feel out of reach, especially as access to inclusive care for transgender individuals is increasingly under threat.

The Emily Program’s Penny Gautreaux (she/they), MSW, LICSW, a CARE program therapist out of Ohio, and Val Ashby (she/her), MA, LPCC-S, an outpatient therapist in Cleveland, embody our commitment to affirming care. Penny, a transwoman in recovery, knows firsthand how the feeling of “being a stranger in one’s own body” can impact healing. Val, who describes herself as a fat, cis, queer, White woman, brings a grounded understanding of what it means to both experience and lack privilege. Together, their insights help us explore why transgender and non-binary individuals face elevated risks for eating disorders—and how supportive networks can make all the difference.

June is Pride Month, a time to celebrate the LGBTQIA+ community and sexual and gender diversity. Members of the community and allies unite in pride and solidarity to recognize, honor, and uplift the voices of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer and/or questioning people.

As we honor the LGBTQIA+ community this month and beyond, we must also commit to better understanding and addressing the issues it faces. One such issue is eating disorders, which affect LGBTQIA+ people at disproportionately high rates.

In this article, we explore eating disorders in the LGBTQIA+ community and offer ways to support affected community members during Pride and throughout the year.

This blog was written by a Behavioral Health Specialist at our St. Louis Park, MN treatment center for adults and adolescents. 

I want to take a moment to say happy Pride month. I hope you feel recognized and celebrated, and may this June set the precedent for how you are acknowledged year-round.  

1. PRIDE month is a celebration of all queer-identifying people! 

The LGBTQIA+ community has grown tremendously in recent years, both in terms of representation and visibility. Alongside the growth in numbers, the community has also continuously diversified. While gender and sexual identities have become more represented, it is crucial that mental and physical health care also account for this diversity. Pride month is not only a time to celebrate the LGBTQIA+ community, but also a time for those who don’t identify within the community to expand their understanding of Pride. Your peers, family, co-workers, healthcare providers, and others you encounter all play a role in combatting stigma and marginalization of the queer community. Further, they can play a vital role in supporting one’s recovery journey. My intention here is to generate greater awareness of eating disorder development and validate the importance of recovery for LGBTQIA+ identifying readers. 

Megan Fiscus, eRYT200, YACEP, is a yoga instructor at The Emily Program’s Columbus, Ohio outpatient treatment center. They were trained through Yoga on High, a Columbus-based YTT. They received 300-hr training there as well, including Meditation TT, Trauma Sensitive TT, Pranayama TT, iRest Yoga Nidra, and other trainings, but the organization was sold before Megan received their 300-hr certification. Since then, Megan has entered into an IAYT program and is currently engaged in becoming a certified yoga therapist.

Megan has worked with a diverse group of populations, including infants and the elderly. Megan has been an instructor at the YMCA and yoga and fitness studios, and most recently has been working for BalletMet as a movement and Wellness instructor in collaboration with Reynoldsburg City Schools. In addition to working full-time at The Emily Program, they teach after-school yoga for elementary-aged children. They are also an artist working in many different media, especially oil painting. They have been a figure model for 12 years and are the director of the Figure Art Program at Wild Goose Creative, an art gallery specializing in community art and engagement. Megan has aspirations to become a therapist specializing in Trauma and Restorative practices.

Eating disorders thrive in secrecy and shame. For those with LGBTQ+ identities who have an eating disorder, the sense of isolation is often compounded by the unique stressors and added layers of stigma and prejudice facing this historically marginalized community. A large population of LGBTQ+ individuals with eating disorders often fail to seek treatment or face having their struggles dismissed, in part, because of a lack of cultural competency and representation in eating disorder media.