The Self Led Woman Podcast: emotional eating and nervous system healing for self-leadership

Megan Darnell
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The Self-Led Woman is a podcast about emotional eating, the experiences that shape our relationship with food, and the path back to self-leadership.These conversations explore emotional eating beneath behaviour, through trauma, the nervous system, nourishment, and lived experience, with deep respect for the intelligence of the body and what it learned to do to keep you going.This is a space for understanding, relief, and reconnecting with your inner world.Hosted by Megan Darnell, Internal Family Systems therapy practitioner and psychedelic-assisted therapy facilitator.

  1. 4d ago

    Episode 35: Why Emotional Eating Isn't a Willpower Problem - An Open Letter to Women Who Are Ready to Hear the Truth

    This episode is for every woman who has been trying harder than anyone around her knows — and still can't make it stick. Who has reset more times than she can count, spent years on the merry-go-round of starting over, and quietly wondered what is actually wrong with her. Nothing is wrong with you. In this episode Megan shares her own 30-year story — what kept her on the merry-go-round, what she tried, and what nobody ever asked her until she finally asked it herself. She breaks down why emotional eating has nothing to do with willpower or discipline, what it actually is, and what becomes possible when you finally heal it at the root. This is not another plan. This is not more advice about what to eat or how to try harder. This is the conversation underneath all of it. If you have been waiting for someone to just say it out loud — this one is for you. Breaking the Emotional Eating Cycle — my self-paced course — is coming soon. Join the waitlist now and receive founding member pricing. This will be the lowest price it will ever be. Join here

  2. Jul 19

    Episode 34: What Ozempic Is Actually Doing to Your Brain | GLP-1s, Food Noise and Nervous System Healing

    There's a conversation happening right now about weight loss medications. And almost everyone is either for them or against them. But that's not the conversation I'm interested in. What I'm curious about is what's actually happening in the brain and the nervous system when people take these medications. Because when you start looking at the research, what you find isn't just about appetite. It's about regulation. It's about what it feels like when a system that has been running on threat and scarcity for years finally gets a different signal. In this episode I explore the neuroscience behind food noise, emotional eating, and why for some people GLP-1 medications like Ozempic and Wegovy create something that feels less like appetite suppression and more like finally being able to breathe. We get into how the brainstem and hypothalamus work and why trauma shapes them, what dysregulation actually is and what it feels like from the inside, why food noise is not about food and not about willpower, what the research says about how GLP-1s are changing brain activity in the reward system, and why some people describe feeling regulated for the first time in their lives. This episode is for anyone who has ever felt like their brain just works differently. Like they're fighting something that no one else seems to be fighting. Because there's a biological explanation for that. And understanding it changes everything. The waitlist for Breaking the Emotional Eating Cycle is now open. Women who join before launch receive founding member pricing. Disclaimer: This episode contains discussions around emotional eating, binge eating, body image, trauma, and weight loss medications including GLP-1s such as Ozempic and semaglutide. Please engage gently. This content reflects published research and personal perspective. It is not medical advice and does not recommend for or against any medication. Please consult a qualified healthcare professional before making any medical decisions. If you are struggling with an eating disorder or severe distress around food or your body, please seek support from a qualified healthcare professional. References 1. Childhood trauma and the HPA axis Murphy, F., Nasa, A., Cullinane, D., Raajakesary, K., Gazzaz, A., Sooknarine, V., Haines, M., Roman, E., Kelly, L., O'Neill, A., Cannon, M., & Roddy, D.W. (2022). Childhood Trauma, the HPA Axis and Psychiatric Illnesses: A Targeted Literature Synthesis. Frontiers in Psychiatry, 13, 748372. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2022.748372 2. Early trauma, HPA axis dysregulation, and eating disorders Cascino, G., et al. (2024). Early traumatic experiences and the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal axis in people with eating disorders: A narrative review. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 159, 106665. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psyneuen.2023.106665 3. GLP-1 and reward system related disorders (food, alcohol, drugs) Eren-Yazicioglu, C.Y., Yigit, A., Dogruoz, R.E., & Yapici-Eser, H. (2021). Can GLP-1 Be a Target for Reward System Related Disorders? A Qualitative Synthesis and Systematic Review Analysis of Studies on Palatable Food, Drugs of Abuse, and Alcohol. Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience, 14, 614884. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnbeh.2020.614884 4. Hindbrain GLP-1 neurons and projections to the hypothalamus (Journal of Neuroscience 2024) Randolph, A.B., Zheng, H., & Rinaman, L. (2024). Populations of hindbrain glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP1) neurons that innervate the hypothalamic PVH, thalamic PVT, or limbic forebrain BST have axon collaterals that reach all central regions innervated by GLP1 neurons. Journal

  3. Jul 12

    Episode 33: Your Body Never Meant You Any Harm | Somatic Healing, Body Image and Eating Disorder Recovery With Dr. Ann Saffi Biasetti

    What if the body you've been at war with has actually been trying to protect you this whole time? In this episode, I'm joined by Dr. Ann Saffi Biasetti, transpersonal psychologist, somatic psychotherapist, and author of Your Body Never Meant You Any Harm, releasing July 21st 2026. Ann has been working in the space of eating disorders and trauma recovery for over 35 years, and this conversation is one I've genuinely been looking forward to. We talk about why so many women feel like their bodies have failed them, where that belief actually comes from, and what it really means to come back into relationship with your body rather than continuing to fight it. Ann shares her own journey back to embodiment through illness, yoga therapy, and years of clinical work, and the research that became the foundation of her new book. We also get into the difference between self-compassion and self-kindness, why hunger and fullness cues are actually high level skills that take time to rebuild, how to start listening to your body when you feel completely disconnected from it, and the simple question Ann gives her clients that starts to change everything. This one goes deep in the best possible way. Find Dr. Ann Saffi Biasetti: Website: www.anembodiedlife.com Befriending Your Body Program www.befriendingyourbodyprogram.com Instagram: @anembodiedlife  Get Ann's book - Your Body Never Meant You Any Harm: https://amzn.to/4njxbhp  https://www.shambhala.com/authors/a-f/ann-saffi-biasetti/your-body-never-meant-you-any-harm-9781645474418.html The waitlist for Breaking the Emotional Eating Cycle is now open. Women who join before launch receive founding member pricing. Disclaimer: This episode contains discussions around eating disorders, body image, disordered eating, and trauma recovery. Please engage gently. This podcast is not a substitute for professional support, therapeutic care or medical advice.

  4. Jul 5

    Episode 32: Emotional Eating, Bingeing & the Search for Something Food Could Never Fix

    In this episode, I share a deeply personal story about emotional eating, bingeing, loneliness, shame, and the nervous system patterns underneath it all. I take you back to my late 20s, living alone in Melbourne during a cold winter while working in a high stress banking environment that left me emotionally exhausted and completely dysregulated by the end of the day. What looked like “food issues” on the surface was never really about the food. It was the supermarket trips.  The chocolate aisle.  The searching.  The shame.  The rules.  The dissociation.  The feeling of trying to scratch an itch that food could never actually reach. This episode explores:  • emotional eating and binge eating from the inside  • the nervous system patterns underneath compulsive eating  • shame, secrecy, and food obsession  • emotional hunger vs physical hunger  • why control and discipline don’t heal emotional eating  • loneliness, overwhelm, and nervous system dysregulation  • the hidden emotional experience so many women are silently living with If you’ve ever found yourself eating in secret, driving from store to store, promising yourself “this is the last time,” or feeling like food temporarily numbs something you can’t explain, I think this episode will make you feel deeply seen. You are not broken.  And this was never just about willpower. The waitlist for Breaking the Emotional Eating Cycle is now open. Women who join before launch will receive founding member pricing. Join the waitlist here:  Breaking the Emotional Eating Cycle Waitlist Disclaimer This episode contains discussions around emotional eating, binge eating, body image, shame, and disordered eating behaviours. Please listen with care and use your own discretion if these topics feel activating for you. This podcast is educational in nature and is not a substitute for medical, psychological, or therapeutic support.

  5. Jun 28

    Episode 31: The Desire to Be Smaller Didn't Start With You

    There's a question I come back to again and again in sessions with clients. Is this actually your belief, or is it something you inherited? So much of what women carry around food, their bodies, visibility, and taking up space was never consciously chosen. It was absorbed. Passed down through generations of women adapting to environments where being smaller, quieter, more agreeable, and less visible was genuinely safer. In this episode, I explore the generational, historical, and nervous system roots underneath body image struggles, emotional eating, and the quiet pressure so many women feel to shrink themselves. Not just physically, but energetically, relationally, and in how much space they allow themselves to occupy. I also share a personal memory from when I was twelve years old, a moment I didn't have language for at the time, and why it sits at the centre of something so many women experience but rarely talk about. This episode is for the woman who has spent years trying to fix herself and keeps coming back to the same place. Because what you've been trying to fix may never have been fully yours to begin with. Whose voice have you been listening to this whole time? The waitlist for ⁠Breaking the Emotional Eating Cycle⁠ is now open. Women who join before launch receive founding member pricing.  Disclaimer: This episode contains discussions around emotional eating, body image, generational trauma, and unwanted attention during adolescence. Please engage gently. This podcast is not a substitute for professional support.

  6. Jun 21

    Episode 30: Emotional Eating & the Hidden Cost of “I’ll Deal With It One Day”

    How long have you known that your relationship with food or your body is something you want to change? Not how long you’ve been trying.How long you’ve known. In this episode, I’m talking about the hidden cost of tolerating emotional eating, body obsession, self criticism, and the constant mental noise around food. Because for many women, the issue isn’t a lack of awareness.It’s that the pattern has become manageable. You can still function.Still work.Still show up.Still look like you have it together on the outside. Meanwhile, part of your mental energy is being quietly drained every single day by food thoughts, body checking, self monitoring, guilt, negotiation, and the exhausting cycle of “I’ll deal with it one day.” In this episode, we explore:• emotional eating and nervous system patterns• the gap between knowing and changing• why awareness alone doesn’t create healing• the hidden exhaustion of body obsession• why rock bottom often never comes• how women adapt to patterns that are quietly hurting them• why emotional eating is about more than food If you’ve ever felt like you intellectually understand your patterns but still feel stuck in them, this episode is for you. The waitlist for Breaking the Emotional Eating Cycle is now open and women who join before launch will receive founding member pricing. Join the waitlist ⁠here

  7. Jun 14

    Episode 29: Emotional Eating, Control & Parts Work with Ivana Legnerova | IFS Therapy for Healing Your Relationship with Food

    In this episode, I’m joined by Internal Family Systems (IFS) therapist Ivana Legnerova for a deeply compassionate conversation about emotional eating, control, and healing your relationship with food. Ivana specialises in working with eating disorders, including emotional eating, under-eating, perfectionism, and self-sabotage. Together, we explore how these patterns are not failures, but protective parts of your system trying to help you cope. We talk about what’s actually happening underneath the need to control food, why so many high-functioning women struggle in private, and how parts work can help you move out of shame and into understanding. This episode will help you see your behaviours differently, not as something to fix, but as something to get curious about. In this episode, we explore: • why emotional eating and restriction are protective, not problems  • what’s really underneath the need to control food  • how high-functioning women can struggle with food behind closed doors  • the role of shame in eating patterns and why it keeps the cycle going  • how IFS therapy helps you build a relationship with your inner world  • what healing actually looks like beyond just changing behaviour  • why you’re not broken, and change is still possible If you’ve ever felt stuck in patterns around food, or like you’re holding everything together on the outside while struggling internally, this conversation will help you feel less alone and more understood. 🌐 Connect with Ivana Link to website  https://www.ivanatherapy.co.uk/ 🎙️ Listen to more episodes The Self Led Woman Podcast is where we go beyond behaviour to understand emotional eating, body image, and your relationship with food through a self-led, parts-based lens. ⚠️ Disclaimer The Self Led Woman podcast is intended for educational and informational purposes only and is not a substitute for therapy, medical advice, or professional healthcare.  If this episode brings up anything difficult for you, please consider reaching out to a trained healthcare professional, therapist, or support service. In Australia you can contact Lifeline on 13 11 14 or the Butterfly Foundation National Helpline on 1800 33 4673, which provides support for people experiencing eating disorders and body image concerns. Come find me on Instagram → ⁠⁠@megandarnelltherapy⁠⁠ Breaking the Emotional Eating Cycle is coming. If you're ready to understand what's actually driving the cycle — not the food, the parts underneath it, join the waitlist to be the first to know when doors open and receive founding member pricing. → ⁠⁠[Join the waitlist here]⁠⁠

    Episode 29: Emotional Eating, Control & Parts Work with Ivana Legnerova | IFS Therapy for Healing Your Relationship with Food

  8. Jun 7

    Episode 28: Why Knowing Your Emotional Eating Patterns Still Doesn’t Change Them

    A woman said something to me recently that I hear all the time. “I already know where this comes from. I know it’s my childhood. I know it’s because of trauma.” And then she paused and said something incredibly honest. “But I’m still doing it.” She still finds herself standing in the kitchen late at night, opening the cupboard and eating something even though part of her is thinking: Why am I doing this again? I know better. If you’ve ever understood your patterns but still found yourself repeating them, this episode is for you. In this episode of The Self Led Woman, I talk about why awareness alone doesn’t change emotional eating patterns and why these behaviours often continue even when you have deep self awareness. We explore: • why insight alone doesn’t rewire emotional patterns  • how the nervous system uses food to regulate stress, loneliness and overwhelm  • why warm, sweet, crunchy or heavy foods can soothe different emotional states  • the connection between emotional eating and unmet emotional needs  • why many women struggle to ask for support even when they need it  • how learning to mother yourself and regulate your nervous system can begin to shift the pattern Because emotional eating is rarely about food. Food is often the place your system learned to regulate feelings like exhaustion, loneliness, anger or the pressure of holding everything together. Real change happens when your nervous system experiences something different. Support.  Connection.  Safety. And when those experiences begin to land in the body, the behaviours that once felt impossible to change start to loosen their grip. The Self Led Woman podcast is intended for educational and informational purposes only and is not a substitute for therapy, medical advice, or professional healthcare. If this episode brings up anything difficult for you, please consider reaching out to a trained healthcare professional, therapist, or support service. In Australia you can contact Lifeline on 13 11 14 or the Butterfly Foundation National Helpline on 1800 33 4673, which provides support for people experiencing eating disorders and body image concerns. Come find me on Instagram → ⁠⁠@megandarnelltherapy⁠⁠ Breaking the Emotional Eating Cycle is coming. If you're ready to understand what's actually driving the cycle — not the food, the parts underneath it, join the waitlist to be the first to know when doors open and receive founding member pricing. → ⁠⁠[Join the waitlist here]⁠⁠

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The Self-Led Woman is a podcast about emotional eating, the experiences that shape our relationship with food, and the path back to self-leadership.These conversations explore emotional eating beneath behaviour, through trauma, the nervous system, nourishment, and lived experience, with deep respect for the intelligence of the body and what it learned to do to keep you going.This is a space for understanding, relief, and reconnecting with your inner world.Hosted by Megan Darnell, Internal Family Systems therapy practitioner and psychedelic-assisted therapy facilitator.

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