This week, the Food Shrinks are just plain tired—and they're talking about it. Not the kind of tired that a nap or a sleep hygiene checklist can fix, but the deeper exhaustion that comes from constantly giving, performing, and being "on."

Together, Molly, Clarissa, and Molly explore:
• The tug-of-war between push harder and please rest
• Why rest can feel unsafe or "lazy" to a dysregulated nervous system
• How hormones, overwork, and emotional load contribute to burnout
• The link between fatigue, food patterns, and self-worth
• Learning to rest without guilt—and without fearing you'll never get back up again
• Finding micro-moments of rest and joy that don't derail recovery
They share real stories about boundaries, people-pleasing, and those days when your body just says, "It's over, girl." This episode is a gentle permission slip to stop, breathe, and let rest be restorative rather than shame-inducing.
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What You'll Hear:
🧠 How nervous system states (sympathetic vs. parasympathetic) affect fatigue
🌧️ The hidden costs of overdoing, overgiving, and emotional labor
💤 Why "doing nothing" can feel threatening—and how to reframe it
🥗 How exhaustion can influence food use, cravings, and control
💛 Micro-rest, intentional recovery, and letting go of guilt
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Takeaways:
• Rest isn't laziness—it's nervous system repair.
• Doing the thing tired can sometimes help you thaw from freeze.
• Emotional fatigue needs compassion, not productivity hacks.
• Permission to rest is permission to recover.
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🎧 Listen, share, and join the conversation.
If this episode resonated, email your questions or topic requests to asktheshrinks@foodshrinks.com and hit subscribe to support the show and this growing recovery community.

The content of our show is educational only. It does not supplement or supersede your healthcare provider's professional relationship and direction. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified mental health providers with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition, substance use disorder, or mental health concern.

Today, we answer a listener who writes: "I'm grieving the foods I don't eat anymore—social stuff and celebrations are hard." The Food Shrinks open that door wider: grief in recovery isn't just about food—it's also the lost years, missed moments, and identities we're shedding. With humor and honesty, they explore how to honor grief without letting it become the story that drags you back.

What We Talk About
• Food grief vs. life grief: missing certain foods and mourning lost time, health, self-trust, and presence
• "Not enough / too much" feelings and how dysregulation, ADHD/RSD, and early messages amplify them
• Belonging cues & tradition: why cravings spike at holidays, patios, and summer rituals
• From shame to compassion: grief as a normal (and healthy) part of change
• Living amends: shifting focus to the life you're building now
• Feelings ≠ stories: noticing a longing without turning it into a relapse script
• Biopsychosocial-spiritual lens: why this isn't a 21-day habit swap

Key Takeaways
• Grief is allowed. Unacknowledged grief is riskier than naming it.
• Struggling ≠ failing. You're learning a new way to live.
• Let feelings pass. Don't let a moment of longing become a narrative.
• Rituals matter. Re-create connection and celebration without the substance.
• Progress over perfection. If you slip, the world doesn't end—stand back up kindly.

Quotes to Remember
• "Don't let a feeling become a story."
• "Just because you're struggling doesn't mean you're failing."
• "Unacknowledged grief keeps us stuck; acknowledged grief moves with us."

Keep in Touch
💌 Questions or topic ideas? asktheshrinks@foodshrinks.com
If this episode helped, please subscribe and leave a quick review—it helps others find recovery and hope.

The content of our show is educational only. It does not supplement or supersede your healthcare provider's professional relationship and direction. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified mental health providers with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition, substance use disorder, or mental health concern.

In this deeply relatable episode, the Food Shrinks— tackle one of recovery's most persistent companions: the belief that we are not enough… or sometimes too much. From early childhood conditioning to nervous system dysregulation, the trio explores how these painful stories take root, how they drive people-pleasing and perfectionism, and why they so often lead us to use food for comfort or control.

With honesty and compassion, they unpack their own journeys through shame, codependency, and recovery — offering tools to recognize when the "not enough" voice shows up, how to regulate through it, and how to begin standing in the truth of our inherent worth.

What We Talk About
• The "not enough / too much" paradox — and how both can exist at once
• Why dysregulation and shame keep these stories alive
• The role of ADHD, rejection sensitivity, and trauma in feeling unworthy
• Early family messages that shaped how we seek validation
• The long game of recovery: time, patience, and radical self-focus
• How to practice compassion and curiosity instead of judgment

Key Takeaways
• Feeling not enough or too much isn't a personal flaw — it's often a trauma echo.
• Awareness is the first step: notice when and where the story appears.
• Shame is not fact; it's a state — and it softens through compassion.
• You are not alone. Every person in recovery wrestles with these feelings.
• Standing in your truth means choosing yourself again and again — with time, patience, and love.

If today's conversation resonated with you, we'd love to hear from you.
💌 Email your questions to asktheshrinks@foodshrinks.com.

And if you found this episode supportive, please hit subscribe and leave a quick review — it helps others find their way to recovery and hope.

The content of our show is educational only. It does not supplement or supersede your healthcare provider's professional relationship and direction. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified mental health providers with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition, substance use disorder, or mental health concern.