Pregnancy and postpartum can bring enormous changes to someone's body, identity, relationship with food, and mental health. So why do conversations about eating disorder recovery so often leave these experiences out?

In today’s episode, we're joined by Erica Marcum, LMHC, to explore the intersection of perinatal mental health and eating disorders, including the challenges of navigating pregnancy, postpartum recovery, body image, and disordered eating.

You’ll learn how eating disorders can show up during pregnancy and after birth, why symptoms and behaviors may go unrecognized, and how cultural expectations about pregnancy, motherhood, and “bouncing back” can make recovery even more complicated.

Erica also shares clinical perspectives on supporting people through this transition, from preparing for pregnancy while navigating an eating disorder to responding to changes in hunger and fullness cues, body checking, and identity. We explore harm reduction, individualized care, and why healthcare providers need better education and research to support this population.

Things We Yap About:

• The prevalence of eating disorders during pregnancy and postpartum & why they can be overlooked
• Preparing for pregnancy while navigating an eating disorder
• Hunger, fullness, and changing relationships with food postpartum
• Identity shifts and the mental health challenges of becoming a parent
• Cultural expectations surrounding pregnancy, motherhood, and postpartum bodies
• How healthcare providers can recognize concerns and intervene earlier
• Harm reduction and individualized approaches to recovery
• Supporting people when full recovery feels complicated or inaccessible
• The need for better education among clinicians and medical providers
• Research gaps in eating disorders during pregnancy and postpartum
• How clinicians and caregivers can provide more compassionate, effective support

Resources & Mentions:

• Erica’s IG: @ericabrown_lmhc
• Erica’s TikTok: @honestbloomco
• Erica’s PsychologyToday Profile

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What if binge eating isn't a lack of willpower, but a way your brain and body are trying to find relief? In this episode, we're joined by Dr. Jessica Neukam-Helms, PsyD, to explore the connection between high achievement, perfectionism, chronic stress, emotional eating, and binge eating.

We talk about why people who seem to have everything together on the outside can struggle with food behind the scenes, how dieting can offer the illusion of control, and why rigid rules can sometimes contribute to the very eating patterns we're trying to escape.

Dr. Jessica shares insights into the mental models and behavioral loops that can keep binge eating going. We explore nervous system regulation, neuroscience, and how parts work and how Internal Family Systems (IFS) can help us approach binge eating with curiosity instead of shame. And, we discuss practical ways to build more joy, calm, and flexibility into everyday life—including Jessica's five-by-five method, rethinking movement, and learning to give ourselves permission to rest.

Things We Yap About:

• How perfectionism and high achievement can contribute to vulnerability around binge eating
• Why chronic stress can make food feel like an easy source of relief
• Emotional eating, nervous system regulation, and coping
• The role of autonomy, restriction, and the “rebellion loop”
• Understanding binge eating through parts work and IFS
• How mental models and neural pathways influence food behaviors
• Jessica's binge pattern assessment and understanding underlying loops
• How diet culture can keep old food rules alive
• Using curiosity and self-compassion when familiar patterns return

Resources & Mentions:

• Jessica’s Practice: Peaceful Presence Psychological Services LLC
• The Finding Food & Body Freedom Formula
• Dr. Jessica’s IG: @finding_food_and_body_freedom
• Dr. Jessica’s Free Emotional Eating & Binge Eating Facebook Group

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When we talk about postpartum mental health, postpartum depression is often the first, and sometimes only, thing that comes to mind. But perinatal mental health is so much bigger than depression.

Today on Stop, Collaborate, and Listen, we’re joined by Ashley Hogan, PMHNP-BC, PMH-C, a psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner, for an honest and educational conversation about perinatal mental health, pregnancy anxiety, postpartum depression, intrusive thoughts, postpartum OCD, medication, and the transition to motherhood.

Ashley helps us look beyond the most obvious signs of perinatal mental health struggles and talk about the experiences that can be easy to dismiss or hide, including anxiety, overwhelm, intrusive thoughts, perfectionism, and the pressure to appear like you're handling everything just fine. We also yap about the gaps in postpartum care, including the reality that support is often reduced to a single six-week checkup, and why ongoing mental health support matters throughout pregnancy and the postpartum period.

Things We Yap About:

• What perinatal mental health actually encompasses
• Less obvious signs of perinatal mental health concerns
• The pressure new mothers feel to be “fine”
• The transition to motherhood and its impact on mental health
• Gaps in postpartum care and follow-up
• The difference between having an intrusive thought and acting on a thought
• How to have informed conversations about medication risks and benefits
• The importance of support systems and community
• Early intervention and recognizing when something feels off
• How partners, family members, and providers can offer support
• Resources for parents navigating perinatal mental health

Resources & Mentions:

• Connect with Ashley: https://www.hermindpsychiatry.com/
• Postpartum Support International: https://postpartum.net/
• Goodwill Nurse & Family Partnership: https://www.goodwillindy.org/health/

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• IG: @stop.collaborateandlistenpod