For years I have talked about binge eating, compulsive eating, and the binge & restrict cycle — and how chaotic and dysregulated those patterns feel in the body. But what if restriction itself is also a form of nervous system dysregulation?

In this episode, I break down how food restriction shows up inside the four trauma responses — fight, flight, freeze, and fawn — using polyvagal theory, nervous system regulation, and real lived experience to give it context.

I also announce that my SENSR course is open for enrollment: all of the details are right here!

In this episode, you'll learn:

• why restriction can be an expression of anger and control (fight)
• how chronic dieting becomes emotional avoidance and hyper-vigilance (flight)
• why restriction is often about belonging, approval, and social safety (fawn)
• how food restriction becomes self-punishment, penance, and disappearing after trauma (freeze)
• how the body uses restriction to regulate overwhelm, threat, and emotional overload
• why both binge eating and restriction are attempts at safety, not failures of character
• how diet culture, weight stigma, and cultural power feed these nervous system loops
• and why true healing requires learning how to complete stress cycles and build regulation without food control

This conversation connects ED recovery, intuitive eating, body image, trauma, somatic therapy, and nervous system education — showing how our relationship with food is inseparable from how our body experiences safety, threat, and connection.

If you struggle with restriction or periods of restriction, this episode offers a radically different lens — your nervous system is trying to protect you.

If you want support applying these ideas to your actual life (not just your notes app), I offer 1:1 coaching for binge eating recovery, intuitive eating, and body image healing. Apply here!

If this episode helps, subscribe and leave a rating or review—it's the best way to support the podcast and get this message out there!