loader from loading.io

Episode 260: Healing Trauma, Shame, and Food Addiction through the Felt Sense Polyvagal Model with Jan Winhall

Food Junkies Podcast

Release Date: 12/18/2025

Episode 266: Dr. Ann Saffi Biasetti, PhD - Why Your Body Never Meant You Any Harm show art Episode 266: Dr. Ann Saffi Biasetti, PhD - Why Your Body Never Meant You Any Harm

Food Junkies Podcast

In this episode, Molly and Clarissa welcome back Dr. Ann Saffi Biasetti for a rich, grounded conversation on body forgiveness and why it can be a turning point in embodied healing. Drawing on her clinical work, research, and lived experience, Ann shares that “forgiving your body” isn’t a mental exercise or forced positivity—it’s a felt shift that helps move people from control and correction toward listening, trust, and reconciliation with the body as an ally. Ann also introduces themes from her upcoming book, Your Body Never Meant You Any Harm: A Somatic Guide to...

info_outline Episode 265: Prof. Dr. Ferdinand von Meyenn - Why Fat Cells Remember Obesity show art Episode 265: Prof. Dr. Ferdinand von Meyenn - Why Fat Cells Remember Obesity

Food Junkies Podcast

Why is it so hard to lose weight—and even harder to keep it off? In this episode, we explore groundbreaking research showing that fat cells can retain an epigenetic “memory” of obesity, even after significant weight loss. This emerging science helps explain why weight regain is so common and why willpower alone is not the issue. We’re joined by Ferdinand von Meyenn, Assistant Professor at ETH Zurich, where he leads research on nutrition and metabolic epigenetics. Prof. von Meyenn has published over 60 peer-reviewed papers, with work featured in top scientific journals including Nature...

info_outline Episode 264: Dr. Adrienne Sprouse - Why Some Foods “Work”… Until They Don’t show art Episode 264: Dr. Adrienne Sprouse - Why Some Foods “Work”… Until They Don’t

Food Junkies Podcast

In this episode, Dr. Vera Tarman spoke with Adrienne Sprouse, MD, a Columbia-trained physician with extensive experience in emergency medicine, toxicology, and environmental medicine, as well as more than four decades of stable food recovery. Adrienne reflected on how growing up in an alcoholic family system shaped her early coping strategies and how food became a primary source of comfort and regulation. Over time, she began to notice that certain foods didn’t simply soothe emotional distress but instead triggered a predictable cycle of cravings, symptoms, and relapse. This realization led...

info_outline Episode 263: Dr. Ignacio Cuaranta - Sleep, Light, and Ultra-Processed Foods in Mental Health show art Episode 263: Dr. Ignacio Cuaranta - Sleep, Light, and Ultra-Processed Foods in Mental Health

Food Junkies Podcast

What if the biggest breakthroughs in mental health didn’t start with more effort—but with better timing? In this deeply grounding and wide-ranging conversation, we’re joined by Ignacio Cuaranta, a board-certified psychiatrist whose work sits at the intersection of psychiatry, chronobiology, metabolic health, and lifestyle medicine. Trained in Argentina and working internationally, Dr. Cuaranta brings a refreshingly non-dogmatic, biology-forward lens to mental health—one that prioritizes rhythm, regulation, and compassion over blame or biohacking extremes. Together, we explore why sleep...

info_outline Episode 262: Clinician's Corner - Beyond “Volume Addiction” show art Episode 262: Clinician's Corner - Beyond “Volume Addiction”

Food Junkies Podcast

In this reflective, clinically rich conversation, Molly and Clarissa begin by looking back on the words that shaped their last year—and naming the ones guiding them forward. From emanate and flourishing to safety and permission, they explore how intention-setting collides with real life, nervous systems, social context, and recovery work. From there, the episode moves into a nuanced and often uncomfortable topic: “volume addiction.” Is overeating whole foods after removing ultra-processed foods simply binge eating disorder in disguise? Sometimes yes. Sometimes no. And sometimes it’s...

info_outline Food Junkies Recovery Stories Episode 31: Emalyn W. show art Food Junkies Recovery Stories Episode 31: Emalyn W.

Food Junkies Podcast

On today’s episode, CJ sits down with the incredibly genuine and courageous Emalyn. Emalyn opens up about her journey with honesty and heart, from sneaking food and hiding her struggle from her husband to realizing that he had always offered unwavering support. She shares what led her to seek treatment in Minnesota and how that experience helped her finally release the shame and guilt she had carried for years. Emalyn’s story is one of deep self-discovery, compassion, and freedom; a reminder that addiction isn’t a moral failing but a condition we can understand,...

info_outline Episode 260: Healing Trauma, Shame, and Food Addiction through the Felt Sense Polyvagal Model with Jan Winhall show art Episode 260: Healing Trauma, Shame, and Food Addiction through the Felt Sense Polyvagal Model with Jan Winhall

Food Junkies Podcast

Jan Winhall is a psychotherapist, author, educator, and the developer of the Felt Sense Polyvagal Model (FSPM), a groundbreaking framework that integrates trauma therapy, polyvagal theory, and embodied focusing to understand and treat addiction and trauma. Over more than four decades of clinical work, Jan has specialized in supporting survivors of sexual violence, complex trauma, and addiction with a deeply de-pathologizing, feminist, and body-based lens. She is the founder of the Felt Sense Polyvagal Model Institute, teaches internationally, and collaborates closely with leaders in the...

info_outline Episode 259: Dr. Carrie Wilkens, PhD on Rethinking Addiction Without Shame show art Episode 259: Dr. Carrie Wilkens, PhD on Rethinking Addiction Without Shame

Food Junkies Podcast

In this episode of the Food Junkies Podcast, Clarissa and Molly sit down with psychologist Dr. Carrie Wilkens to unpack what it really means to help people change without shame, stigma, or power struggles. Drawing from decades of work in substance use, eating disorders, trauma, and family systems, Carrie invites us to rethink “denial,” “relapse,” “codependency,” and even the disease model itself, while still honoring the seriousness of addiction and the depth of people’s pain. Together, we explore how self-compassion, curiosity, and values-based behavior change can transform not...

info_outline Episode 258: Clinician’s Corner – Holidays Edition: Boundaries, Nervous Systems & the Hella-Days show art Episode 258: Clinician’s Corner – Holidays Edition: Boundaries, Nervous Systems & the Hella-Days

Food Junkies Podcast

In this Clinician’s Corner episode, Clarissa and Molly dive into what they lovingly (and accurately) call the “Hella-Days”—that stretch from early fall through New Year’s where routines disappear, food is everywhere, emotions are high, and nervous systems are fried. Together, they unpack why this season is so activating for people with food addiction and nervous system sensitivity, and how to navigate it with values, boundaries, and a whole lot of self-compassion—whether you’re surrounded by family or spending the holidays on your own. In This Episode Clarissa & Molly...

info_outline Episode 257: Dr. Nasha Winters, ND, FABNO - Cancer, UPFs, and Metabolic Healing show art Episode 257: Dr. Nasha Winters, ND, FABNO - Cancer, UPFs, and Metabolic Healing

Food Junkies Podcast

In this episode, we sit down with integrative oncologist and metabolic health pioneer Dr. Nasha Winters (who insists we call her Nasha) to explore the powerful intersection of cancer, ultra-processed foods, metabolism, and sovereignty. Nasha shares her astonishing personal story: years of dismissed symptoms, normalized suffering, and relentless gaslighting that culminated in a diagnosis of end-stage ovarian cancer at age 19—and being sent home to die. Thirty-four years later, she’s very much alive and leading a global movement to rethink cancer as a metabolic, terrain-driven disease rather...

info_outline
 
More Episodes

Jan Winhall is a psychotherapist, author, educator, and the developer of the Felt Sense Polyvagal Model (FSPM), a groundbreaking framework that integrates trauma therapy, polyvagal theory, and embodied focusing to understand and treat addiction and trauma. Over more than four decades of clinical work, Jan has specialized in supporting survivors of sexual violence, complex trauma, and addiction with a deeply de-pathologizing, feminist, and body-based lens.


She is the founder of the Felt Sense Polyvagal Model Institute, teaches internationally, and collaborates closely with leaders in the polyvagal community to bring more compassionate, somatically grounded approaches into trauma and addiction treatment.

In this powerful and deeply validating conversation, Clarissa and Molly sit down with trauma and addiction therapist Jan Winhall, creator of the Felt Sense Polyvagal Model (FSPM).
Jan weaves together feminist therapy, trauma theory, polyvagal theory, and embodied practice to completely reframe how we understand addictive behaviors like binging, purging, and compulsive eating: not as “problems” or “defects,” but as adaptive state-regulation strategies that the body uses to survive overwhelming experiences.


Jan shares how early work with incest survivors revealed the harms of pathologizing, top-down psychiatric approaches—and how safety, dignity, and deep listening became the foundation for her model. Together, we explore how nervous-system states, shame, trauma, ADHD, and body image intersect with ultra-processed food addiction, and how recovery becomes possible when we work with the body instead of against it.


This episode is for clinicians, helpers, and anyone living with food addiction who has ever wondered: “What if nothing about me is broken—and my body has been trying to keep me alive all along?”

In This Episode, We Explore:
• Jan’s Origins in Trauma Work
o Running groups for young women who were incest survivors in a small Ontario hospital
o Seeing firsthand the limitations and harm of traditional psychiatric models
o How feminist therapy and the work of Judith Herman and Sandra Butler helped de-pathologize survivors
 
• From “What’s Wrong With You?” to “What Happened to You?”
o Why behaviors often labeled “manipulative” or “attention-seeking” (e.g., binging, purging, self-harm) are actually survival strategies
o Understanding these behaviors as ways to regulate overwhelming nervous-system states, not moral failures
 
• The Felt Sense & Polyvagal Theory – Explained Accessibly
o What “felt sense” really means (beyond just “sensation”)
o How neuroception constantly scans for safety and danger below conscious awareness
o The three main autonomic states:
 Ventral vagal – safety, connection, social engagement
 Sympathetic – fight/flight, agitation, urgency
 Dorsal vagal – shutdown, collapse, numbness, shame
o How addictive behaviors help the body shift between these states to survive
 
• Addiction as a Trauma Feedback Loop
o Why the body cannot stay in high sympathetic arousal or deep shutdown forever
o How food, substances, sex, and other behaviors become “jolts” that move us between states
o The idea of a “trauma feedback loop” where trauma, dysregulation, and addiction constantly reinforce each other
 
• Working with Trauma Without “Fishing” for It
o Why Jan no longer goes “hunting” for trauma stories
o The importance of Phase 1 work: establishing safety before uncovering trauma
o How to help people gently reconnect with the body (starting at the edges: fingertips, earlobes, etc.) before approaching the more overwhelming inner experiences
 
• Shame, Addiction, and Liberation
o Why shame is so central to trauma and addiction—and why Jan actually loves working with it
o Reframing shame: “This is what bodies do under threat; you are not uniquely broken.”
o How truly believing this (in our own bodies) changes how we show up for clients
o Using groups, co-regulation, and shared stories to create “moments of liberation”
 
• Food & Sex Addiction, Early Trauma, and Access
o Why food and sex are often the earliest available forms of self-soothing for children in unsafe environments
o How early masturbation and secret eating can evolve into entrenched patterns over decades
o The stigma that keeps men with food addiction silent and unseen
 
• ADHD, Neurodivergence & Addiction
o How neurodivergent folks are especially vulnerable to regulation difficulties and shame
o The clash between ADHD time perception and linear, “on-time” culture
o The dopamine-driven ping-pong between shame (dorsal) and activation (sympathetic), and how this sets up classic addictive pathways
o The “neuroplastic paradox” – getting stuck in ruts, and how intentional practice can build new pathways
 
• Body Image, Misogyny & Reclaiming the Body
o Why so many clients experience their body as “the enemy”
o How misogyny, hyper-masculinity, and purity culture shape body hatred and silence around food addiction
o The role of our own relationship with our bodies as therapists and helpers—how we co-regulate clients through our presence, not just our words
 
• Receiving Love & Positive Feedback as a Trigger
o Why compliments, affection, and warmth can feel more threatening than criticism for many addicted bodies
o How to normalize this, slow it down, and help the nervous system “update” that it is safe enough now
o Using group moments of discomfort as live material to work with neuroception and triggers
 
• Self-Disclosure, Accessibility & Doing Our Own Work
o Why Jan believes safe, boundaried self-disclosure can create powerful safety
o Steve Porges’ idea that “the greatest gift you can give is your accessibility”
o Why clinicians must apply these models to their own lives first, so that their belief in the body’s wisdom is genuine
 
• Changing the Addiction Treatment Paradigm
o The trauma of addiction treatment itself—shaming, punitive, expensive models
o Jan’s commitment to bringing compassionate, somatic, polyvagal-informed approaches into 12-step spaces and beyond
o The importance of connecting communities (like Sweet Sobriety and FSPM) to shift the field together
 
Follow Jan and the FSPM Institute: https://www.fspminstitute.com

The content of our show is educational only. It does not supplement or supersede your healthcare provider's professional relationship and direction. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified mental health providers with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition, substance use disorder, or mental health concern.