Is this normal for an ED dietitian?
NOTE: I blurred anything I thought might be triggering :)
Hey guys, I am at the start of my ana recovery journey, and am in desperate need of advice regarding my nutritionist. I am trying to figure out if my experience with my dietitian thus far over the past month is normal or if we are just not a good fit.
As a prepro dancer who has seen a nutritionist before, I expected my nutritionist meetings focus more on practical support (meal structure, meal plans, fueling, recovery/weight gain nutrition, etc.). But ive noticed that all of my appointments so far have felt very emotionally intense and more focused on psychological stuff instead of actual diet advice/help. There’s a lot of discussion about my recovery motivations/goals, thinking patterns, family dynamics, whether or not I’m “taking recovery seriously enough,”..... etc. I lowkey feel like the lines between my therapist and dietitian are getting very blurred, and to be honest, my appointments feels more like a bad therapy session than a nutritionist meeting.
Some examples of things that have stood out so far:
- repeated comments about how life or death serious things are and comments like “I don’t want to open the news app and see that you died”
- when I brought up wanting more support from my parents/family, I got judgy comments about “running home to mommy and daddy” - Im 18 so IDK why wanting parental support is bad??
- being told some of my recovery motivations/goals were “bad goals”
- Comments like “Just so you know, you can’t gaslight your care team like you can gaslight other people".
- being told I’m not taking my recovery seriously enough
- being asked to keep a very detailed shared spreadsheet tracking calories/macros/water/sleep/portion sizes/how food made me feel, EVEN AFTER expressing discomfort with detailed tracking because of my history
- being given a recovery memoir/self-help book which just made the whole thing feel even more personal. I feel like there shiuld be more professional distance between us.
I understand that ED recovery is serious and that sometimes the care team need to be direct, but I leave sessions feeling ashamed, defensive, and emotionally overwhelmed rather than supported or educated.
I also legit have gotten no nutrition advice other than eat more food, eat when your not hungry, and have a lot of calcium to help bone density.
Has anyone else ever experienced this? Thoughts, advice, and encouragement would be greatly helpful.
Im so ready to kick this 6 year ED in the booty!!!! 💪 💪 💪 💪 💪