Individual and Relationship Therapy of Duluth

12/16/2025

Reminder as we are in the holiday season!

--"Saving up" your calories for a certain meal

--Labeling foods as "good" vs "bad" or "healthy" and "unhealthy"

-- Avoiding carbs or fat

-- secretly comparing your eating to others and feeling superior if you eat less or "better" food and/or feeling inferior when you've eaten more or "worse" foods

These attempts to eat "healthy":
***increase*** the likelihood you will:

--binge
--feel preoccupied with food (currently rebranded as "food noise"... but it's just... hunger)
--disconnect you from you body's hunger and fullness cues

Guess what?!

-- mental health and nutrition go hand in hand

And you might think that means you need to eat broccoli to help depression.

But, what it **really** means is that you need consistent carb, fat, and protein in order to support your mental health. (And of course to improve your relationship with food).

Please don't starve yourself this holiday season in the name of "health".

10/31/2025

07/09/2025

I was interviewed both professionally and personally regarding my relationship with food, a history of eating issues, how I've learned to cope with body image and eating concerns and how I help my therapy clients do the same!

Check it out!

https://open.spotify.com/episode/3KrDLIYp19JHuOPecP8kia?si=ca_UN1lpT2ux7vst4TPX6w

Rebuilding Trust With Your Body · Episode

05/22/2025

Eating low carb, low fat, and low calorie can be the cause of symptoms that might otherwise be attributed to mental health problems.

Poor concentration, fatigue, irritability can all be caused by misguided attempts to "eat healthy."

Did you know that intentional weight loss is the #1 PREDICTOR of weight GAIN?

And, purposeful attempts to lose weight often worsen our blood pressure, slow our metabolism, lead to insulin resistance, and can cause cardiac issues? All the things we're made to believe will be cured of we lose weight, are often made worse by attempts to lose weight.

If you struggle with your relationship with food, you're worried about your health as it relates to weight, and/or struggle with body image, find a "Non-Diet" dietician (they specialize in eating disorders, but work with anyone who is concerned about their weight, eating, or body image). I've learned all of this from eating disorder expert and dietician, Katy Harvey. Learn from her in her free group, Intuitive Eating Made Easy:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/intuitiveeatingmadeeasy/?ref=share&mibextid=NSMWBT

Also, find yourself a therapist who is trained in "Health At Every Size" and "Intuitive Eating."

Unfortunately MOST therapists DO NOT get training in body image or nutrition in their graduate programs. This is something we must seek extra training for after our masters programs. Unfortunately, the average therapist can unintentionally cause harm by not realizing they are also being influenced by the billion-dollar diet-culture.

PS, did you know that diet culture is ROOTED IN RACISM?! More on that later!!

05/22/2025

Less frequent s*x can be a sign of relationship health. *x *xualhealth

05/22/2025

Want to feel less annoyed with others?

Here are 2 thinking errors to watch out for:

05/22/2025

05/21/2025

Stopping smoking is about as effective at improving mood as starting an antidepressant medication.

05/15/2025

Hot take: social media CAN benefit your mental health, if used wisely.

05/15/2025

Anxiety oftentimes gives us a false sense of urgency, which then can turn into "controlling", rigid, irritable behavior and outbursts, that are almost always followed by immediate feelings of shame and thoughts like "Why can't I just let it go? It's not that big of a deal."

Here's how you can cope with that specific symptom--the false sense of urgency.

05/14/2025

You might be setting your child up to be the perfect abuse victim, without knowing it.

Here's a game you can play with them to help develop safety skills.

*xualabuse

05/12/2025

Parents and caregivers--if you struggle with poor money management or impulsive spending, please consider how this impacts your child.

What you spend your money on can cause your children anxiety, guilt, embarrassment, and feelings of low self-worth.