What was your biggest Takeaway from this Episode! I would Love to hear from you!

What if your “little food problem” — the restriction, bingeing, or rigid food rules — is actually your nervous system trying to survive?

In this powerful conversation, I’m joined by Marnie Davis, LMHC, Certified Eating Disorder Specialist and Consultant, Certified EMDR Therapist, EMDRIA-Approved Consultant, and HAES®-aligned clinician.

Together, we explore the hidden link between people pleasing, trauma, neurodivergence, and eating disorders — and why so many women, clinicians, and families completely miss what’s really happening beneath the surface.

This is a compassionate, non-shaming, neurodivergent-affirming episode that reframes eating disorders from “What’s wrong with me?” to “What happened to me, and how did my system try to keep me alive?”

✨ In This Episode, We Explore:

• How, from a trauma lens, eating disorders are maladaptive coping strategies that once made sense to your system
• The impact of attachment injuries, perfectionism, and people-pleasing on food, body image, and control
• Why eating disorders are not about vanity or willpower, but about safety, power, and relief from overwhelming sensations and emotions
• The role of culture, family rules, and “finish your plate” messages in shaping food beliefs
• How neurodivergent brains (ADHD, autism, sensory sensitivities) can be especially vulnerable to disordered eating
• Why one person dies every hour from an eating disorder and why a comprehensive medical + therapeutic team is crucial
• What healing can look like: becoming more self-led, value-driven, and authentically you

👤 Connect with Our Guest: Marnie Davis, LMHC, CEDS
Website:
🔗 www.MarnieDavisLMHC.com
Email:
📩 Marnie@MarnieDavisLMHC.com

LinkedIn:
🔗 https://www.linkedin.com/in/marnie-davis-lmhc-ceds-c-33187b45/Instagram:
🔗 @marniedavislmhcFacebook:
🔗 MarnieDavisLMHC
🔗 Davis Counseling and Consulting

🌿 Connect with Your Host, Anita Sandoval, MA, LPC-S
🔗 All My Links & Resources:
Start here for everything: podcast, free tools, courses, communities & more.
👉 https://www.anitasandoval.com/empowerher/links
🎧 Listen on Your Favorite Podcast Platform:
Find Empowering Women in Conversations on all major podcast directories.
👉 https://www.anitasandoval.com/podcast-directories

💌 If This Episode Spoke To You…

• Share it with a friend, client, or loved one who struggles with food, people pleasing, or feeling “never enough.”
• Subscribe so you don’t miss future conversations on people pleasing, boundaries, trauma, neurodivergence, and empowered living.
• Take a quiet moment after listening to ask yourself:

You’re not broken. You’re a system that learned how to survive. 🩷