Eating Disorders, Body Image, Anxiety with Melissa Gerson

The Anxious Achiever

Morra Aarons-Mele

Business, Careers, Management, Health & Fitness, Mental Health

4.7 • 599 Ratings

🗓️ 29 January 2026

⏱️ 36 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

For so many high-achievers, food becomes the one thing we can control when everything else feels uncertain. In this episode, I’m joined by Melissa Gerson, founder of the Columbus Park Treatment Center for Eating Disorders, to talk about the relationship between anxiety, perfectionism, and the way we eat. We dive into why disordered eating serves a purpose, how restriction and overeating can both feel like relief, and what happens in your brain when anxiety and food become entangled. Tune in to rethink your relationship with food, anxiety, and control. Check out our sponsors: Northwest Registered Agent - Protect your privacy, build your brand and get your complete business identity in just 10 clicks and 10 minutes! Visit https://www.northwestregisteredagent.com/achieverfree Shopify - Sign up for a $1 per month trial, just go to http://shopify.com/anxiousachiever Cozy Earth - Give your home the luxury it deserves. Head to http://cozyearth.com and use code ACHIEVER for up to 20% off. Express VPN - Secure your online data today. Visit http://expressvpn.com/achiever and find out how you can get up to four extra months. Talkiatry - Head to http://talkiaitry.com/achiever and complete the short assessment to get matched with an in network psychiatrist in just a few minutes. Working Genius - Take the working genius assessment today and get 20% off with code ACHIEVER at working http://genius.com In this Episode, You Will Learn 00:00 What’s the relationship between anxiety and eating disorders? 02:00 How disordered eating creates a sense of control and safety. 05:30 What starvation does to the brain. 09:15 Why anxious people often turn to rigid food control. 11:30 The unspoken rules about eating at work (especially for women). 17:00 The perfectionist profile behind many eating disorders. 19:45 Signs your relationship with food may need support. 22:00 The gold-standard treatment for eating disorders. 23:15 When exercise becomes another form of control. 25:15 What leaders can do to build a food-safe workplace. 28:00 Why high achievers self-medicate with food, alcohol, and control. Resources + Links Get a copy of my book - The Anxious Achiever Watch the podcast on YouTube Find more resources on our website morraam.com Follow Follow me: on LinkedIn @morraaronsmele + Instagram @morraam Follow Melissa: on LinkedIn @melissagerson

Transcript

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0:00.0	If I asked you what the connection is between food and anxiety, you'd probably first laugh,
0:10.7	and then you'd probably almost be at a loss for words because there's so much to say, isn't there?
0:17.8	I'm Maura Irons-Maley, and this is the anxious achiever, the show that looks at the
0:22.7	intersection of mental health and leadership and work and asks, how can we do it all better?
0:29.4	Today we're revisiting a conversation that I had with Melissa Gerson, who is the director and founder
0:35.2	of the Columbus Park Treatment Center for Eating Disorders.
0:38.2	And we're going to talk about the relationship between anxiety and eating,
0:42.8	between eating disorders and high achievement and all the things.
0:47.5	I joked when I originally taped this episode a couple of years ago
0:51.4	that I've been on a diet since I was 12 years old.
0:54.8	And the quest for the ideal body has been as much a part of my anxious achieving
1:03.0	as the quest to be super successful or be the one chosen or any of the things. The way that I was raised,
1:14.2	how you looked, said volumes about your drive and your discipline. It just did. I wish it were
1:22.2	different. Now, we recorded this episode before GLP1s really came on the scene, and so I think the conversation
1:28.9	now is kind of different, but the heart of it is still, as Melissa Gerson says,
1:35.5	Disordered Eating serves a purpose, just like anxiety serves a purpose. It's trying to tell you
1:43.0	something, and you need to listen to it so you can make it
1:48.0	better and find hopefully more joy and ease in your relationship with food. My conversation
1:56.4	with Melissa Gerson.
2:09.9	So Melissa, you have said that eating disorders serve a function to the person who has one,
2:11.9	even if it's an unhealthy one.
2:13.7	What is that function?
	...

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