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From the Vault: Eating Disorders and the Mind/Body Disconnect with Danielle Novack, Ph.D [Episode 27]
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We’re diving into the archives this summer to bring you some of our most memorable and impactful conversations — and today’s episode is just too good to pass up. While we take a short summer break, we’re re-sharing these standout episodes. So stay tuned all summer long for these gems!
This week, we’re bringing back Episode 27 with Dr. Danielle Novak — a deep and moving conversation that fuses psychoanalytic insight with the complexities of eating disorders.
Dr. Novak, a clinical psychologist with over 20 years of experience and currently in psychoanalytic training at NYU, joins us to unpack one of the most elusive and critical aspects of disordered eating: the role of dissociation. This isn’t just theory — it’s a raw, compassionate exploration of how symptoms aren’t random, but deeply protective mechanisms developed from unspoken, often unconscious emotional pain.
If you’ve ever felt disconnected from your body, confused by your reactions, or wondered why food has such a powerful grip in moments of distress, this conversation will resonate deeply.
In this episode, we’re talking about:
How eating disorders develop and are maintained as protective responses, not simply destructive habits.
What dissociation really means and how it can show up subtly or severely in our everyday lives.
How trauma — both big "T" and small "t" — plays a central role in dissociation and the onset of eating disorders.
The ways emotions get stored in the body and expressed through symptoms when they can’t be spoken.
How restriction, binge-purge cycles, and overexercise act as coping mechanisms for overwhelming feelings.
Why symptoms may provide temporary relief, but ultimately prevent us from connecting with our emotions and others.
How building awareness and creating a “pause” between urge and action can begin to reconnect dissociated parts of the mind.
The vital role of the therapeutic relationship in healing dissociation and restoring emotional expression.
Why treatment often begins with symptom stabilization but must eventually move into deeper emotional territory to be truly transformative.
"I tend to believe that eating disorder behaviors are often sort of stand-ins for feelings that cannot be felt as feelings or expressed through words or through other means." - Dr. Danielle Novack
"People don’t learn how to regulate emotions. Emotions are just put away in a box and not looked at and not dealt with, and become separated from what’s conscious." - Dr. Danielle Novack
"Often people describe restriction as giving them a sense of like numbness and detachment that often feels preferable and safer than actually feeling their feelings." - Dr. Danielle Novack
“Without knowing what’s going on in our body, we can’t possibly create important connections.” -Rachelle Heinemann
ResourcesIt Takes A Village By Dr. Danielle Novack
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