National Eating Disorder Awareness Month: 10 Years in Binge Eating Disorder Recovery
- Nikki White
- 24 hours ago
- 7 min read
A trauma-informed nutritionist shares 10 years of binge eating disorder remission during National Eating Disorder Awareness Month. Learn about eating disorders in Black women, how to support someone with an eating disorder, and trusted recovery resources.
National Eating Disorder Awareness Month: 10 Years in Binge Eating Disorder Recovery
National Eating Disorder Awareness Month takes place every February. It’s a time dedicated to increasing education, reducing stigma, and connecting people to eating disorder recovery resources. The week of February 23rd through March 1st is especially recognized as National Eating Disorder Awareness Week (NEDAW), led by the National Eating Disorders Association.
This year, the awareness month resonates on a much deeper level for me, as I’m celebrating 10 years of full remission this Fall.
Yep, you heard it right, I’m celebrating 10 years of full remission from binge eating disorder.
Not “doing better.”Not “mostly healed.”Full remission.
And I don’t say that lightly.
Eating disorders are common. They thrive in silence. And they can be deadly when left untreated. That’s why awareness has never been optional for me. It’s part of my mission as a trauma-informed nutritionist and recovery coach.
This series isn’t just inspiration.It’s activation.It’s clarity.It’s strength.
If you’re reading this and wondering whether recovery is possible for you — stay with me.
What Is National Eating Disorder Awareness Month?
National Eating Disorder Awareness Month (NEDAwareness Month) happens every
February in the United States. Its goal is simple but urgent:
Increase awareness about eating disorders
Reduce stigma and shame
Share credible eating disorder recovery resources
Encourage early intervention
The National Eating Disorders Association also leads the Every BODY Belongs campaign, which focuses on inclusion — because eating disorders do not discriminate by size, race, gender, or age.
And yet, culturally? We still act like they do.
We picture one body type.One demographic.One story.
That narrative has harmed millions.
Eating Disorders Are Common — and Deadly When Left Untreated
Let’s tell the truth.
Eating disorders are not rare. They affect people across socioeconomic, racial, and professional lines. Many of the women who sit across from me in private sessions are high-achieving, intelligent, spiritually grounded — and silently struggling.
Eating disorders have one of the highest mortality rates of any mental health condition.
Complications can include:
Cardiac issues
Gastrointestinal damage
Severe depression
Suicidality
Substance misuse
Binge eating disorder, in particular is often minimized because it doesn’t always present with extreme thinness. But the psychological torment? It’s heavy.
I remember the isolation more than the food.
The secrecy.The bargaining.The “this is the last time” promises whispered to myself in a kitchen lit by the refrigerator light.
Shame is fuel for eating disorders.Silence is fertilizer.
Awareness disrupts both.
The Question My Clients Always Ask: “Will I Ever Feel Ready to Recover?”
Let’s answer this straight.
No.
You will not wake up one day bursting with confidence, clarity, and perfect motivation to recover.
Recovery doesn’t start with readiness.It starts with courage.
And courage rarely feels calm. It feels shaky. It feels like “I can’t keep doing this” mixed with
“What if I fail again?”
When I started my binge eating disorder recovery, I wasn’t ready.
I was tired.
Tired of hiding wrappers.Tired of obsessing about food.Tired of building a life that looked stable while feeling out of control inside my own body.
Sometimes the beginning of recovery is not inspiration.It’s exhaustion.
If you’re waiting to feel ready, you may wait forever. The better question is:
Can I take one honest step today?
Recovery is built on small, consistent decisions:
Telling someone the truth
Seeking therapy
Learning emotional regulation
Building structured meals
Replacing punishment with curiosity
Readiness is a myth.Courage is a practice.
The “Hidden” Faces of Eating Disorders: Black Women and EDs
Let’s talk about what doesn’t get enough airtime.
Eating disorders affect Black women and people of color, too.
For years, the cultural narrative suggested that eating disorders were a “white girl problem.”
That stereotype caused delayed diagnoses, misdiagnoses, and dismissal of symptoms in
Black communities.
I’ve worked with women who were told:
“We don’t have those issues in our culture.”
“You just need willpower.”
“You’re not thin enough to have an eating disorder.”
That kind of invalidation deepens shame.
Add layers of:
Generational trauma
Emotional neglect
Body commentary in family systems
Pressure to be strong
Fear of appearing “broken”
And you get silence.
I hid my binge eating disorder behind achievement. Degrees. Professional titles. Service to others.
High-functioning does not mean healed.
If you are a Black woman and people of color reading this, and you’ve felt invisible in eating disorder conversations, you are not alone. Your experience is valid. Your pain is real. And you deserve competent, culturally informed care.
Representation matters because healing requires safety. And safety begins with being seen.
The delay in diagnosing Black women has cost lives.
10 Years in Remission — What Actually Changed
People want to know what “full remission” means.
It doesn’t mean I never think about food.It means food no longer controls me.
It means:
I eat without secrecy.
I don’t binge when I feel abandoned.
Stress doesn’t automatically equal self-sabotage.
I trust my body.
But here’s the deeper shift:
I stopped trying to numb emotions with food and learned to process them instead.
This is what my structured nutrition looks like?
Three meals?Meal timing?Macro balancing?Removing trigger foods temporarily?
Binge eating was never about hunger. It was about:
Unprocessed grief
Abandonment wounds
Codependency patterns
Burnout at work
Fear of not being enough
When I addressed the trauma roots, not just the food behaviors, things shifted.
“In my clinical and lived experience, recovery without structured eating rarely stabilizes long-term.” Dr. Nikki LewToya White
Recovery required:
Structured nutrition
Trauma-informed therapy
Spiritual grounding
Nervous system regulation
Honesty
Healing isn’t aesthetic. It’s uncomfortable. But it’s worth it.
Ten years later, I’m living proof.
How to Support Someone With an Eating Disorder
If you’re here because you love someone who’s struggling, here’s what actually helps.
How to support someone with an eating disorder:
Don’t comment on their body — positive or negative.
Avoid food policing or monitoring.
Listen without trying to fix.
Encourage professional help without ultimatums.
Learn about eating disorder recovery resources yourself.
What doesn’t help:
“Just stop.”
“You look fine.”
“It’s not that serious, it’s only a piece of cake.”
Eating disorders are serious. Validation is powerful.
Sometimes the most supportive sentence is:“I believe you. I’m here.”
Every BODY Belongs — And Recovery Is for Every Body
The Every BODY Belongs campaign challenges the narrow image of who deserves support. Recovery spaces must include:
All body sizes
All races
All genders
All socioeconomic backgrounds
Eating disorders don’t check demographics before they show up. Treatment access shouldn’t either.
When we expand the conversation, more people get help sooner. And early intervention changes outcomes.
Eating Disorder Recovery Resources You Can Use Today
If you’re ready to explore support, here are credible eating disorder recovery resources:
National Eating Disorders Association (NEDA)
Helpline: 1–800–931–2237
Website: nationaleatingdisorders.org
Beat (UK-based)
Helpline: 0808 801 0677
Website: beateatingdisorders.org.uk
These organizations provide:
Screening tools
Treatment referrals
Support groups
Educational materials
You do not have to do this alone.
If You’re Overwhelmed, Start Here
Recovery can feel massive. So let’s simplify.
Today:
Eat three structured meals.
Tell one safe person the truth.
Remove one source of shame.
Save a helpline number.
Small moves build momentum.
Ten years ago, I couldn’t imagine writing this. I couldn’t imagine neutrality around food. I couldn’t imagine peace inside my own body.
Now? Peace is my baseline.
If I can reach remission after years of secrecy, you can move forward too.
You don’t need to feel ready.You need one honest step.
And if this article gave you even a flicker of hope — that’s your starting point.
Ready to Go Deeper? Join Gutty Girl Letters.
If this article stirred something in you — don’t let that moment pass.
Healing from binge eating disorder and codependency isn’t built on hype. It’s built on steady support, honest conversations, and tools you can actually use on hard days.
That’s why I created Gutty Girl Letters on Substack.
Inside, you’ll get:
Real stories from my 10 years in full remission
Trauma-informed recovery tools that calm overwhelm
Structured nutrition guidance without shame
Nervous system regulation practices that stop spirals
Direct conversations about eating disorders in Black women
Boundaries, abandonment healing, and emotional sobriety
No fluff. No toxic positivity. No “just love yourself” advice.
Just grounded, lived experience and clear steps you can apply immediately.
If you’re tired of struggling silently…If you’re waiting to feel ready…If you want support that feels safe and honest…
Come join us.
Subscribe to Gutty Girl Letters on Substack and take your next step toward recovery today.
Your courage doesn’t have to be loud.It just has to be real.
Subscribe to my newsletter here.
ARE YOU LOOKING TO DIVE DEEPER INTO SELF-CARE?
I Can Help in Developing A Plan For Self Care
Do you want help developing a self-care plan that works for your own busy schedule? Do you want accountability in implementing a self-care plan? If you or someone you love is struggling to maintain optimal mental and emotional health, consider reaching out to Spiced Life Conversation Art Wellness Studio and Botanica. We are a Metro Atlanta, Conyers Georgia area. We are a coaching and counseling practice with empathetic, skilled counselors and recovery coaches who can help you set goals, develop a self-care routine, and move forward to build a more fulfilling life. Our team would be happy to work with you either just for a couple of sessions to develop and implement a Self-care plan or longer term to work toward overall better mental health within our membership site or other programs.
About The Author: Dr. Nikki LeToya White MSEd-TL, Ph.D. RHN is the founder, director, and full-time board-certified trauma-informed nutritionist, folk herbalist, and wellness consultant at Spiced Life Conversation Art Wellness Studio and Botanica. She created Spiced Life Conversation, LLC Art Wellness Studio, and Botanica to provide the Metro Atlanta area with counseling and coaching services where clients are carefully matched with the right program for healing abandonment and childhood emotional neglect trauma that cause codependency, emotional eating, financial stress, and imposter syndrome as it relates to the fear of success and being abandon. We help you begin your emotional healing journey with ease. Recently, we have expanded to include an online membership site so we now provide support to people living all over the world. All of our recovery coaches provide at least one evidence-based treatment to assist in your recovery. Dr. White is a big proponent of self-care and helping people live a fulfilling life! She has been in full remission with both codependency and emotional binge eating disorder since 2016. In living a life in recovery from sugar addiction. I love my low-sugar balanced lifestyle.
Best Regards
Dr. Nikki LeToya White
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