The words we use don't just reflect our thoughts; they shape our experiences, both internally and in our relationships with others. We often ask: What's the deeper meaning behind someone's struggle with food? What could be going on beneath the surface? While these questions are important, we should also be thinking of how we can apply this understanding to create positive change.

We often get stuck in the food and body image loop when discussing eating disorders. But let's be real, it's so much more than that! Our relationship with food and our bodies spills over into every aspect of our lives, especially anything that connects with our desires, including our sexual desires and intimacy.

Basically, the gist of the article is that big food companies, like General Mills, are teaming up with anti-diet dieticians to promote what they call "junk food" while discouraging weight loss efforts. Sounds sketchy, right? But here's the thing: this article is missing some crucial nuance.

What drives someone to lie? Is all lying inherently bad? How does lying intersect with our internal struggles and vulnerabilities? These are just a few questions I had before my conversation with Tom.

Dr. Danielle Novack is a pioneer in the world of psychoanalysis and eating disorders. She’s the one who writes the papers I use for myself. She has a profound way of understanding one’s relationship with food and is sharing some of that with us here.

If you’re into unconscious processes, this is your episode. Danielle talks about the topic of dissociation, how it happens, why it happens, and how it comes out throughout our lives. We break down how we see the mind-body disconnect in various ED symptoms. And most importantly, we identify how in the world a person can work through it.

A bit more about her: Dr. Danielle Novack is a clinical psychologist in private practice in Manhattan. She has over 20 years of experience working with eating disorders and concerns related to food, weight and body image. She has written scholarly articles and chapters on the psychoanalytic treatment of eating disorders, and she serves as a clinical supervisor for psychology doctoral students. Dr. Novack is currently completing her psychoanalytic training at the NYU Postdoctoral Program in Psychotherapy and Psychoanalysis.