199. Treating Eating Disorders, OCD and Anxiety in Athletes with Hannah de Groot, LPC

This episode of the Female Athlete Nutrition podcast is with licensed professional counselor and lifelong athlete Hannah de Groot. She is the founder of Stride Counseling, a private practice dedicated to helping athletes struggling with eating disorders and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). Hannah shares how she combines her personal experiences as an athlete struggling with an eating disorder with her education in nutrition and counseling to help other athletes overcome eating disorders, OCD and anxiety. We discuss reasons why disordered eating is common in athletes and some of the misinformation spread through diet culture. We give listeners advice for overcoming “good food, bad food” thinking and “fear” foods, as well as highlighting how sport can give you the strength to recover. Hannah and I provide tips for preventing disordered eating and anxiety in athletes, alongside ways to support those struggling. Hannah talks about what OCD (obsessive compulsive disorder) is and is not, sharing key signs and symptoms. This includes compulsive exercise which often co-exists with disordered eating and eating disorders. We discuss how anxiety underlies both OCD and eating disorders, as well as what recovery looks like. Hannah shares more about her work and services, before answering the usual end of the podcast questions. TOPIC TIMESTAMPS: 4:00 Hannah's background studying and struggling with nutrition and counseling psychology  8:10 Working with a professional who understands; connecting through shared challenges 11:15 The dangers of diet and health misinformation; Tips for rejecting black-and-white nutrition thinking and diet culture messaging 15:30 Advice for overcoming "bad" and fear foods 21:00 Overlapping eating disorders, anxiety and OCD in athletes; student-athlete pressures 27:30 Tips for preventing disordered eating and anxiety in athletes; treat the human being over the athlete 33:10 The power of athletics for recovery; Evaluating your relationship with sport 35:40 Being "sick enough" for help and the health complications of eating disorders 40:40 OCD: signs, symptoms, recovery; compulsive exercise 47:00 Hannah's services with Stride Counseling and contact details 48:50 End of the podcast questions Things we mentioned: "Sick Enough: A Guide to the Medical Complications of Eating Disorders" by Dr. Jennifer Gaudiani and she has a great website worth checking out here. Female Athlete Nutrition podcast episode 184. How Improving Athletes’ Mental Health + Team Culture Benefits Performance with Lindsey LeMay Majkrzak Reach Hannah on Instagram @stride_counseling and at [email protected] and follow me, your host Lindsey Cortes, @female.athlete.nutrition  SIGN UP FOR EMAIL LIST: https://riseupnutrition.activehosted.com/f/6  Check out our NEW website with resources, blogs, and more: www.FemaleAthleteNutritionPodcast.com Join our amazing "FANS": Female Athlete Nutrition Supporters by considering a contribution of just $5 a month: https://www.patreon.com/femaleathletenutrition Health Practitioner or Dietitian? Check out ThatCleanLife for recipes & meal planning software: https://get.thatcleanlife.com/femaleathletenutrition Check out more brand partners and affiliates at: https://www.femaleathletenutritionpodcast.com/affiliatepartners We are so grateful to our FANS and listeners! I hope you enjoy the episode.