MEET CHERIE MILLER

Cherie is a Licensed Counselor Supervisor in the State of Texas. She is the founder and owner of Nourished Soul Center for Healing, a group practice of therapists and dietitians who help people make peace with food and their bodies. Cherie has 15 years years of experience as an eating disorder therapist, mentor, speaker, educator, and advocate. She is also a member of the International Association of Eating Disorders Professionals and the Association for Size Diversity and Health.
Visit Nourished Soul and connect on Instagram.
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IN THIS PODCAST
- What is body checking?
- Scary doesn’t always mean harmful
- Be critical of the media you observe
- Mindset over appearance
What is body checking?
[Body checking] is any kind of behavior that you engage in to seek reassurance about your body or something about your appearance … so we see it a lot with eating disorders and people with body dysmorphia. (Cherie Miller)Some of the behaviors of body checking may include:
- Constant or regular weighing
- Constant measuring
- Pinching or poking the body in different areas to measure to assess them
- Trying on different clothes to see if the body shape has changed at all
- Comparing old photos or videos of yourself to your current body shape
- Comparing your body to others
- Observing your body in the mirror or in windows constantly
You might feel better in the moment if you’re “happy”, so to speak, with what you find but [in the] long-term is a very destructive cycle and it gets harder and harder to stop. (Cherie Miller)
Scary doesn’t always mean harmful
When Cherie was in the depths of her eating disorder and was struggling a lot with body checking, she went on a “self-imposed mirror fast” where she lived without a mirror big enough to see her body when she was in recovery. Of course, it was incredibly difficult and caused her a huge amount of anxiety – in the beginning. After some time, she was able to manage that anxiety of not being able to check her body with other healthier self-regulating techniques.Over time, after a few days and a few weeks, it felt much easier and I wasn’t freaking out. Some days were tough but overall, it was so much easier and after months I got to a point where I didn’t think about it so much, and it was a relief. (Cherie Miller)Often it is not the anxiety or stress that is the problem, but how you choose to respond to it and self-soothe yourself. Body-checking might feel like it helps, but it makes the problem worse. Finding a new way to regulate can be scary, but it’s necessary, and far more helpful for the future.
I made the decision to do that for myself and I suggested it to clients who are willing to go through that discomfort because, it’s drastic, but it can be really helpful because it’s like self-imposed accountability [because] you don’t have the option to stand there and [body check]. (Cherie Miller)
Be critical of the media you observe
Be mindful – and cautious – of who and what you follow on social media. Are these influencers teaching you to appreciate your body because of what it does for you, and how you can love it? Or are they more focused on looks and appearances than overall wellness?I think we have to be critical consumers of both media and social media because there is a lot of harm [that can be done] when [you’re] not being discerning about the messages that we’re taking in, or even recognizing the messages that we’re taking in and how they affect us. (Cherie Miller)Social media is incredibly powerful. It is subtle and precise, and even a few minutes of mindless scrolling can cause your self-confidence to plummet. Be careful with what you watch and be selective with the content that you allow to come into your mind. Ask yourself:
- What do you think of these people?
- What are they making me think or believe about myself or the world?
- What are they promoting? Even subtly?
Mindset over appearance
It is always more important to have a good mindset than to be more concerned with the way that your body looks. Your body will change, even with a non-restrictive, balanced diet and a lifestyle with movement, your body will go through different shapes and sizes as it matures. Your best investment is to work on your mindset and care for your body within reason. Many people will change their eating and exercise habits because they think they look bad, and years later they may look back on photos of themselves from that time and see that they looked completely fine – in their opinion.Body image really is [about] mindset and … you can’t always trust your perception anyways because they are not always fact, they’re not objective … there [are] a lot of things that influence what we see in the mirror … keeping that in mind is important. (Cherie Miller)
USEFUL LINKS
- Visit Nourished Soul and connect on Instagram.
- OVERCONSUMPTION, NOT RESTRICTING, IN DIETING WITH WENDY FARACCHIO | EP 136
- Visit speakpipe.com/behindthebite and submit your comment via voice message!
- Sign up for the free Behind The Bite Course
- Practice of the Practice Network
- Email Dr. Cristina Castagnini: info@behindthebitepodcast.com
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