Welcome to Episode 45 of Eating Disorders, Navigating Recovery! As always, we’re grateful for your listenership and interest in this important topic. We’re thrilled to introduce Misti Anderson, who joins the program with a story of struggle, recovery, and hope. Misti is a former chemistry teacher and currently works in science ethics and policy. In her teens she struggled with bulimia and, while in college, she began her recovery. She found a reasonably healthy plateau that sustained her for a decade before meeting a friend who would change her recovery forever and help her continue her journey toward deeper understanding, forgiveness, and a much healthier self-awareness. She continues this work still.

In this first part of our conversation with Misti, she walks us through how her experience with an eating disorder began and what maintained her need to use maladaptive behaviors. She takes time to discuss how eating disorders – as a disease – are not about willpower and choice, but about creating more sustainable habits that will help build a foundation upon which to live a meaningful and joyful life. Enjoy!