Food Psych #246: Chronic Illness, Body Acceptance, and Breaking Free from the Wellness Diet with Asher Pandjiris
Eating-disorders therapist and fellow podcaster Asher Pandjiris joins us to discuss chronic illness in the context of body acceptance, the experience of living with an autoimmune disorder, the intersection of eating disorders and trauma, how the “personal responsibility” narrative perpetuates stigma, how being queer and non-binary has affected Asher’s relationship with their body, and so much more. Plus, Christy answers a listener question about whether trying to let go of restrictions in order to heal from diet culture means that you can’t follow Kosher customs.
Asher Pandjiris is a psychotherapist and host of the Living in this Queer Body Podcast. Asher is a queer, white, non-binary (she/they pronouns) parent. Asher is also someone living with auto-immune based chronic health issues. They served as the Program Director at Balance Eating Disorder Treatment Center and have years of experience working with issues related to trauma and its impact on the body. Asher has published on the topics of intergenerational trauma transmission, the treatment of eating disorders, sexual assault in the music industry and gender dysphoria. Most recently, Asher published "Tenuous Embodiment: In Queer Communities, Disordered Eating Has Complex Roots" for Bitch Magazine. Find her online at LivingInThisQueerBody.com.
We Discuss:
The factors that protected Asher from having a negative relationship with food and body growing up
Food as a source of pleasure
Their experiences being diagnosed and living with Crohn’s disease
What drew her to working with eating disorders
Eating disorders and trauma
Eating disorders as a form of self-regulation and coping
The importance of curiosity as an eating-disorder treatment provider
Autoimmune disease and embodiment
How the Wellness Diet moralizes different bodies
The Wellness Diet’s obsession with “fixing” inflammation
Christy’s experience with autoimmune conditions including Hashimoto’s thyroiditis
Why most people with autoimmune conditions other than celiac disease DON’T need to avoid gluten and dairy
How being queer and non-binary has affected Asher’s relationship with their body
Accepting versus “curing” autoimmune diagnoses
Healthism
Trauma in the history of the Wellness Diet and diet culture
How the “personal responsibility” narrative perpetuates stigma
Trauma-informed care and recovery
Approaching health and wellbeing from a place of compassion
The discomfort of the early stages of eating-disorder recovery
Resources Mentioned
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Submit your questions for a chance to have them answered on the podcast
My online course, Intuitive Eating Fundamentals
My book, Anti-Diet: Reclaim Your Time, Money, Well-Being, and Happiness Through Intuitive Eating
Help spread the anti-diet message by subscribing to the podcast
Bessel Van der Kolk’s work
“Jack Ferver is Half Girl Half Boy” (Asher’s interview with Jack Ferver on Living in this Queer Body)
"Tenuous Embodiment: In Queer Communities, Disordered Eating Has Complex Roots" (Asher’s article for Bitch Magazine)
Listener Question of the Week
Does making peace with food and giving up restrictions require me to give up the Jewish dietary traditions of kashrut/keeping kosher?—EKG
We Discuss:
Christy’s perspective on this topic as someone who has never personally experienced kosher traditions despite having some Jewish heritage, but who has learned from observant clients and colleagues
Clarification on Christy’s answer to the listener question from Food Psych podcast episode #196
The definition of “restriction” in the context of intuitive eating
How religious dietary traditions could be tied up in diet culture thinking
Eating disorders in the Orthodox Jewish community
Consulting with a rabbi regarding certain exemptions during eating-disorder recovery or other medical conditions (hetter)
Recommended resources
Why intuitive eating is not about removing all structure
Resources Mentioned:
Intuitive Eating and Body Positivity for Jewish Women Facebook group
Elisheva Dorfman’s work
Dina Cohen’s work
Atara Herzig-Fenig’s work