It’s easy to think of eating disorders as, well, a disorder. But when we start to really dive into the nitty gritty, are they actually considered an addiction? We’ve all heard people throw the word “addiction” around casually, right? Like, "I'm addicted to coffee," or,  "I’m addicted to this podcast" (which, let’s be real, you probably are). But what happens when we start talking about it in the context of serious eating disorders? That’s where things get a bit sticky. Spoiler: This isn’t the food addiction conversation.

Have you ever noticed how sometimes substance use and eating disorders are intertwined? It turns out, these issues like to hang out together more often than not, complicating treatment and recovery. So, why do we keep these so separate in our conversations? There’s this illusion that some people can juggle their substance use with such precision. Spoiler alert: it's not as glamorous as it sounds.

Linda Watts is a licensed social worker and a CASAC. She has been practicing for over 25 years and specializes in eating disorders, addiction, substance abuse. She also provides individual, couples, and family therapy. 

In this episode, we dive right in about her background in Gestalt therapy and Internal Family Systems (IFS.) We talk about her personal experience and how that has led her to her professional experience and where she is today. Make sure to stay tuned until the end because we will be talking about what true recovery actually looks like and how to get there!