What can nervous system regulation teach us about body image, food freedom and recovery? And how can somatic therapy help us understand the nervous system, emotions and the patterns we develop around food and our bodies? In this episode of Once Upon A Binge, I’m joined by Stefanie Michele. As a recovery coach and Somatic Experiencing Practitioner, Stef takes a somatic approach to recovery, body image and emotional wellbeing. After recovering from decades of out of control eating and restriction herself, Stef helps women understand and change their relationship with food and body image. Her work focuses on the intersection of nervous system regulation, eating behavior, body image, and self-trust. We explore what somatic therapy actually means, how trauma and the nervous system can affect our relationship with our bodies, and how simple body-awareness practices can support healing without becoming another thing to “get right”. Together, we explore: What a somatic approach to recovery actually means and how it differs from simply thinking differently How trauma and the nervous system can influence the way we experience our bodies, emotions and food Why behaviours can serve different purposes and what our nervous system may be communicating through them How different nervous-system states can feel in the body, including heightened energy, heaviness, numbness and calm Why changing a habitual nervous-system response isn't about simply trying to stop an urge or feeling Simple ways to work with nervous-system regulation in everyday life How parts work, curiosity and compassion can help us understand conflicting feelings and protective responses The role of movement and stillness in somatic work, including using movement for release, regulation and soothing Why our bodies can continue to associate certain situations with danger even when we consciously know we are safe The difference between changing the way you think about your body and changing the way your body actually feels How body image, safety and belonging can become connected to ideas about body shape and appearance Becca's experience of sitting with difficult old photographs rather than immediately avoiding or deleting them How seeing other people's bodies differently can help create new associations around confidence, self-expression and body acceptance Reconnecting with hunger and fullness cues without relying on numbers, scales or intensive tracking Learning to notice subtle physical signals such as hunger, fullness and discomfort with less judgement or fear Why recovery can involve a much broader process of reconnecting with yourself rather than simply trying to fix one particular symptom How body awareness can gradually become more instinctive and natural Why somatic therapy doesn't have to be spiritual, “woo-woo” or complicated What Steph means by “somatic drops” or “somatic sprinkles” — small moments of body awareness that can be incorporated into everyday life How to begin reconnecting with your body without turning it into another task, rule or form of perfectionism This is a conversation about somatic therapy, nervous system regulation, body image, food freedom and recovery — and about learning to listen to your body with a little more curiosity, compassion and less judgement. If you're interested in body image recovery, improving your relationship with food, understanding your nervous system or exploring a more compassionate relationship with your body, this episode is for you. 💜 Connect with the podcast: - Instagram - @onceuponabingepodcast - Email - podcast.onceuponabinge@gmail.com Connect with Becca: - Instagram – @bingefreeandbeautiful - LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/beccarobinson/ - Email - bingefreeandbeautiful@gmail.com Connect with Stef: - Email – stefanie@iamstefaniemichele.com - Instagram - @iamstefaniemichele - Website - https://www.iamstefaniemichele.com/
