In this episode of Beneath the Binge, somatic practitioner Alex Bottomley invites listeners to ground in what physically supports their body, then explore loneliness as a felt sense of disconnection that can show up as collapse, fogginess, or an empty “void” often sensed in the belly.

From her personal experience and client work, she describe how early differences, shame, and losses can shape a nervous system “map” of belonging, and how chronic loneliness activates threat circuits similar to physical pain, increasing cortisol and disrupting dopamine, making binge eating more likely especially with low emotional regulation.

Food can become a predictable substitute for co-regulation, and recovery involves grief, being emotionally met, and building safe connection. Alex offers practices to notice connection/disconnection, recall supportive beings/places, and hold a soft object to the affected body area.

If you are looking for more community and support, Alex is hosting a group retreat to Portugal in July for women who are struggling with binge eating and haven’t yet been with others through this journey.

For more information, visit www.thefoodfreedomtherapist.com or @thefoodfreedomtherapist.

In this episode of Beneath the Binge, I reframe binge urges as urgent body-based communications from the survival nervous system rather than a problem to fight.

I explain that urges feel overwhelming because they arise as physical sensations and activation that demand immediate resolution — fighting, distracting, analyzing, using willpower, or immediately giving in can intensify urges or reinforce food as the only path to relief, embedding an automatic loop in the nervous system.

I suggest creating small pauses to relate to urges with compassionate curiosity by noticing where and how they appear in the body (shape, color, movement), which builds capacity to be present with discomfort and supports regulation.

I also note that some feelings may be too big to hold alone and recommend support from a practitioner, my self-study course Foundations of Food Freedom,, and my six-month group program Find Your Freedom — plus I invite your questions and close with a body check-in.

For more information, visit www.thefoodfreedomtherapist.com or @thefoodfreedomtherapist

In this episode of Beneath the Binge, Alex Bottomley explains how binge urges relate to the body and nervous system through somatic psychology by unpacking the all-or-nothing cycle with food, exercise, and life.

She reframes the pattern as a nervous system response rather than a willpower problem, introducing the difference between desire (what you want and expect) and capacity (what your nervous system can realistically hold). When expectations exceed capacity, pressure builds and the body seeks relief through bingeing, collapse, or “screw it” moments, followed by guilt and renewed overcontrol.

Alex maps the cycle’s bodily cues (bracing vs shutdown), describes protective parts (controller/proactive protector and soother/reactive protector) guarding a vulnerable core, and guides a practice to dial expectations up or down to find a “sweet spot” where the body softens and breath deepens, emphasizing that realistic expectations support regulation.

For more information, visit www.thefoodfreedomtherapist.com or @thefoodfreedomtherapist

In this episode of Beneath the Binge, Alex Bottomley explains how binge urges relate to the body and nervous system through somatic psychology.

The episode contrasts survival mode (sympathetic activation with racing heart, shallow breath, muscle tension, agitation, anxious thoughts, and urgent cravings used for fast relief) with safety mode (parasympathetic regulation with slower breath, soft muscles, openness, calm, emotional capacity, and more choice around food).

Alex emphasizes these reactions are adaptive and automatic, and invites listeners to notice bodily signals that precede binges, name sensations without judgment, orient attention toward areas of softness, and engage “resources” (people, places, memories, or spaces) that bring safety.

For more information, visit www.thefoodfreedomtherapist.com or @thefoodfreedomtherapist

In episode two of the Beneath the Binge, somatic practitioner Alex Bottomley explains that binge eating “makes sense” as a nervous-system-based survival strategy learned through repetition and relief, not a lack of willpower. She describes how triggers like overwhelm, loneliness, or stress can lead the body to reflexively seek food for temporary comfort, numbness, or grounding, and how post-binge shame and self-criticism add more activation that can fuel further eating.

Alex discusses why diets often fail for binge eating by increasing disconnection from bodily needs and removing foods that function as safety before other resources for comfort are built, reinforcing all-or-nothing cycles.

She emphasizes cultivating compassionate presence and guides a brief practice using body support, sensation awareness, a hand on the body, and the phrase “I see you,” inviting listeners to relate to themselves with less shame and more compassion.

For more information, visit www.thefoodfreedomtherapist.com or @thefoodfreedomtherapist

In the first episode of Beneath the Binge, somatic practitioner Alex Bottomley introduces a body and nervous-system based approach to understanding and recovering from binge eating, aiming to replace shame with compassion and build internal safety so food is no longer the main comfort.

She shares her decade-long, largely hidden struggle marked by all-or-nothing thinking, cycles of control and collapse, and extensive searching for fixes through diets, therapies, and medical visits, including chronic pain that helped lead her toward embodiment work. Alex connects her binge eating to grief and overwhelm after her father’s death at age 15 and to early body-image pressures and dieting from ages 11–12.

She explains restriction and bingeing as two protective survival responses and outlines healing as developing capacity to feel emotions and sensations with supportive resources rather than rules.

For more information, visit www.thefoodfreedomtherapist.com or @thefoodfreedomtherapist

Welcome to this new podcast!

Beneath the Binge is a podcast for those who feel stuck in binge eating and exhausted by the fight with food.

This is a space where we explore our relationship with food and what sits beneath binge eating, through the lens of the nervous system, somatic psychology, and self-inquiry.

Hosted by Alex Bottomley, a somatic practitioner specialising in binge eating recovery, this podcast helps you understand binge eating not as a personal flaw, but as an intelligent survival response shaped by your body’s need for safety, regulation, and relief.

Through honest, compassionate, and embodied conversations, Beneath the Binge explores the all-or-nothing cycle, food noise, urges, shame, and the deeper patterns that keep people stuck while guiding you toward building safety and compassion within yourself, so your relationship with food can begin to transform.

If you’ve spent years blaming yourself, trying to be “good,” and wondering why nothing has worked long-term, this podcast will help you make sense of your experience and show you that you are not broken.

For more information, visit www.thefoodfreedomtherapist.com or @thefoodfreedomtherapist