Rachelle Heinemann Therapy

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Your Eating Disorder Diagnosis Doesn't Matter

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But let me ask you this: Does your label actually help, or is it just another box that keeps you stuck? 

Sure, classifications can be useful—like when you're trying to get insurance to cough up some cash for therapy. But when it comes to actually healing, when it comes to understanding the deep, messy, human experience of struggling with food and body image, a checklist of symptoms isn't going to cut it.

Many often question whether they’re “sick enough” or feel like their struggles don’t fit into a neat little box. So let’s talk about it. 

This week, we’re diving into why eating disorders are way more complex than the labels we slap on them—and why real recovery requires thinking outside the diagnosis.

In this episode, I’m talking about:

  • Why your diagnosis doesn't matter as much as you think.

  • The limitations of focusing only on symptom reduction.

  • How eating disorders are influenced by more than just biology and psychology.

  • The role of deep-seated fears, avoidance, and interpersonal dynamics in disordered eating.

  • How the DSM and ICD categorize mental illness into rigid boxes.

  • The benefits of diagnoses for insurance and clinical direction.

  • The downside of rigid diagnostic criteria excluding people who need help.

  • How categorizing mental health too strictly can encourage inflexible thinking.

  • The importance of seeing the full picture, not just treating isolated symptoms.

  • Why treating only behaviors without addressing underlying issues can prolong illness.

  • How different eating disorders require different therapeutic approaches.

  • Why being a flexible thinker is key to understanding and treating mental health.

Tweetable Quotes

"It is impossible to focus on just symptom reduction and not the bigger picture of all the other things that contribute to someone's eating disorder." - Rachelle Heinemann

"The second someone's relationship with food or really anything out there bothers them, it's already an issue." - Rachelle Heinemann

"When we typically see one version of an infection in a hospital, we can sort of treat it the same way—but with mental health, it's not uniform at all." - Rachelle Heinemann

"You couldn't possibly treat someone based on a diagnosis because then you've missed most of the story." - Rachelle Heinemann

Resources

Grab my Journal Prompts Here!

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Related Episodes 

Episode 121. The Comparison Trap and Eating Disorders

Episode 119. Eating Disorders Don’t Have a Look

Episode 86. Medical Complications of Eating Disorders

Episode 84. Binge-y Eating Disorder

Episode 76. The Basics of Health at Every Size

Episode 30. Eating Disorders are the Solution not the Problem with Jessica Setnick, MS,RD, CEDRD-S


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Grab my FREEBIE!: As you navigate recovery, you may be feeling like something is missing. You're doing a lot of work challenging yourself with the food, your body, and exercise. You're probably working on lots of other things at the same time, like stuff at work or relationship issues.

But, still, something doesn't feel like you're getting to the bottom of it. Grab my free journal prompts below and begin to work through the emotions of healing.

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