8. Navigating Eating Disorder Recovery with Type 1 Diabetes & Physical Disability with Dr Stephen Linacre

The Nourishing Wisdom Podcast with Dr Natalie Chua

Dr Stephen Lincare joins me in this episode to share his recovery journey from an eating disorder. He will also be talking about how he had to navigate and cope with type 1 diabetes, a long term physical health condition that developed when he was in recovery, and the impact cerebral palsy (a form of physical) had on his mental health and recovery from an eating disorder.

A little bit more on what you can expect to hear in this episode:

· How Steve's relationship with food, body, and exercise became obsessive

· Moving from denial to recognising that the eating disorder was not serving him

· Developing type 1 diabetes during recovery and how this made recovery more challenging

· How he manages the anxiety caused by type 1 diabetes today

· His experience as an inpatient at a generic psychiatric ward and at a specialist eating disorder ward

· The impact cerebral palsy and bullying had on the development and maintenance of the eating disorder

· Dealing with healthcare professionals who were dismissive of his concerns

· The importance of doing the things that are in your heart

· Coming to terms with and learning to accept his partial disability

· Navigating triggering environments after recovery - e.g. gym

· Dealing with feelings of guilt during recovery

· How he overcame ritualised behaviours

· How he slowly dropped his identity as someone with an eating disorder by building up his self-esteem

· The importance of breaking the stigma associated with mental health

· How his lived experience has allowed him to understand and support the patients he now sees

· His message to his younger self

And more!

About Dr Stephen Linacre:

Dr Stephen Linacre who likes to be called Steve is a Clinical Psychologist working in Derbyshire CAMHS-Eating Disorder Service working with young people and families with eating disorders. He is someone who has experienced his own eating disorder and is fully recovered. He conducted his doctoral thesis on “the wellbeing of carers of people with severe and enduring eating disorders” and has delivered carers workshops to parents and carers to help them understand eating disorders and develop skills to support them to communicate effectively with their loved ones to promote carer self-care and be recovery-focused. He has worked closely with Beat (National Eating Disorder Charity) and is also the Chair of the Trustees Board for a local Eating Disorders Charity called Freed Beeches. He has several peer reviewed journal articles on carer support and strongly believes that people can recover from eating disorders and can live value led meaningful lives. He has also experiences of speaking on TV, radio and at conferences about his personal and professional experiences of eating disorders”

What's next:

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• Get in touch: [e-mail]