Emotional Eating? / Why do I feel okay? / New Supervisor / Opening up in Therapy (Patreon)

Emotional Eating? / Why do I feel okay? / New Supervisor / Opening up in Therapy

1. When does overeating to deal with one's emotions become an eating disorder? I have a friend who has gained a lot of weight recently and was talking about it with me. I asked if he felt he was using food to cope with his emotions, and he said, "Yes, definitely." He knows about my eating disorder, so I told him that for me, restriction and excessive exercise were unhealthy ways I coped with my emotions, and that I worked with a therapist to learn healthy coping strategies. I suggested an eating disorder therapist might benefit him, too. He was somewhat open to the idea but wanted to know, "When does using food to deal with emotions become an eating disorder that needs therapy, and not just 'human nature'" (his words)? 2. I'm just wondering, if you are currently not having any problems, such as you are no longer dissociating, you are not depressed, and you are no longer self-harming or just not having any real negative behaviors going on. However you have a very traumatized background you have yet to deal with. Should you continue therapy, dredge up the past, and possibly put yourself in a bad situation again? I just switched over to trauma therapy and I've only had two appointments. It is the holidays I guess, but my therapist really hasn't had time for me. So I've only seen her twice and I've been with her for probably a month and a half. We really haven't dealt with anything yet. Yet somehow for some reason nothing seems to be bothering me anymore. Is this a good state to be in? This is very unusual for me, however I feel everything is fine. Should I continue therapy anyways? 3. I was wondering if you could talk about how to handle anxiety around figuring out how a new supervisor does things differently from a previous supervisor. I went on a short LOA, and when I came back they had changed my supervisor again. I can't get a feel for her personality, and its kind of stressing me out. I don't want to be awkward around her, but I don't want to always feel like she's irritated with me if that's not the case and its just her personality. Is there an easy way to figure this out? I feel like bringing it up directly wouldn't be very tactful and could cause more harm than good. 4. I have been seeing my therapist for a little over two years. She is warm and caring, at the same time will gently hold me accountable.. It's a good fit and truly my only safe place. However, even after all this time, I am unable to fully feel painful emotions in her presence. I know nothing bad will happen if I cry, but my body won't relax and let that wall down. We've talked about it and all the things that potentially get in the way. My question is, do you have any tips or tricks for remaining present in therapy and feeling the trauma we've been working on?