Have you ever felt that your "gifts" were more of a burden than a blessing? In this Autistically ED-Free Membership call recording, Livia and the community explore the concept of "existential claustrophobia" – that suffocating feeling of being confined within a finite physical form while having an infinitely expansive inner being. Members share their raw experiences of how giftedness, existential anxiety, and neurodivergence can create unique pressures that often manifest as disordered eating. Through authentic, unscripted conversation, this episode reveals how many of us use food behaviors as protective mechanisms when our souls feel too vast for our bodies.

Key Topics Discussed:

• How "existential claustrophobia" creates a disconnect between our infinite inner world and the limitations of physical existence
• The paradox of neurodivergent creativity: having so many ideas that they become overwhelming rather than inspiring
• Why words and traditional emotional labels often fail to capture the depth and complexity of neurodivergent experiences
• The connection between giftedness, perfectionism, and using eating disorders as a way to manage overwhelming expectations
• How authentic self-expression becomes a pathway to healing when we stop trying to fit our experiences into neurotypical frameworks
• The importance of forging your own path rather than trying to follow a map that doesn't exist

👯 Join the Autistically ED-Free Membership

💗 Apply for 1-1 Coaching with Livia

What if ED behaviors in autistic people were not problems to be fixed, but rather, powerful adaptations to feel safe? More specifically, what if eating disorders themselves are a form of autistic masking? In this episode, Livia Sara explains how eating disorders can manifest through three distinct types of masks, why neurodiversity-affirming approaches form the foundation of freedom, and how to discover your true self – without the masks of fear and limitation.

Highlights of today’s episode:

• How autistic masking can be seen as a survival strategy in a neurotypical world
• How the eating disorder forms three interwoven masks: external, identity, and compensatory
• Introduction to The Adaptive Eating Spectrum (TAES) and how different eating patterns serve as both escape and mask
• Why the body itself can feel like a mask for the infinite autistic being
• The connection between masking, Rejection Sensitive Dysphoria, and eating disorder behaviors
• The powerful of transforming eating disorder “recovery” into your unique discovery journey
• How to embrace neurodivergence and create safety while unmasking

🕊️ Apply for 1-1 coaching: www.livlabelfree.com/coaching
🌈 Join the Autistically ED-Free Membership: livlabelfree.com/membership
📚My books about autism and eating disorders: livlabelfreebooks.com
📲 Connect with Livia on Instagram! https://www.instagram.com/livlabelfree/

Mentioned episodes:
Spontaneous Life Update: https://www.livlabelfree.com/podcasts/liv-label-free-neurodivergent-eating-disorder-recovery/episodes/2149012972
Autism and Binge Eating (4-part series): https://www.livlabelfree.com/blog/autism-and-binge-eating-part-1
Unnecessary Calories: https://www.livlabelfree.com/podcasts/liv-label-free-neurodivergent-eating-disorder-recovery/episodes/2149024496

Do you or a loved one ever feel like you were born on the wrong planet? Livia Sara and Dr. Marianne Miller both know what it’s like to experience life as a neurodivergent alien. The existential loneliness that comes with this sense of alienation can be so unbearable that the eating disorder becomes an escape – a way to create a sense of meaning and purpose when you feel lost.

In today’s episode, Livia and Marianne discuss how eating “disorders” are adaptive responses to a threatening world, emphasizing the importance of listening to stories of lived experience.

Key Topics Discussed:

• Growing up feeling existentially lost as an autistic person in a neurotypical world
• How eating disorders can be viewed as a form of autistic masking – a way to compensate for your innate sense of being “wrong”
• Unpacking the “atypical anorexia” diagnosis and dismantling harmful hierarchies in eating disorder treatment
• The difference between autistic routines vs OCD rituals
• How eating disorders can be considered a form of stimming in neurodivergent individuals

🌈 Grab your copy of Rainbow Girl, Livia’s memoir of autism and anorexia
👯 Join the Autistically ED-Free Membership
💗 Apply for 1-1 Coaching with Livia
📷 Connect with Livia on Instagram

Mentioned episodes:

• My episode on Marianne’s Podcast
• Existential Suffering AFTER an Eating Disorder
• What if I Can’t Handle Being Healthy?

About Marianne:

Dr. Marianne has been in the mental health field for 27 years and has specialized in eating disorders for the last 12 years. She was a full-time academic for 12 years and had a part-time eating disorder practice for much of that time until she left the university and went into private practice full-time in 2018. Dr. Marianne loves working with eating disorders as a therapist and an online course creator (her newest course is on ARFID and Selective Eating). She takes a non-diet, feminist approach that helps people of all genders live empowered, authentic lives. She embraces the Health at Every Size (HAES®) model, and is neurodivergent and LGBTQIA+ affirming. Dr. Marianne is neurodivergent herself.

Connect with Marianne:

Instagram @drmariannemiller

Website drmariannemiller.com

ARFID and Selective Eating Course on Teachable