Understanding ARFID and OCD: Crystal Weidman’s Journey Through Fear, Recovery, and Hope
Mental Note
For most of her life, science teacher and meteorologist Crystal Weidman was labeled a “picky eater.” While friends and family fixated on her unique food rules, they completely missed the clues that something more serious was to blame. In this episode Crystal shares her story of navigating ARFID (Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder) along with OCD (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder). This conversation sheds light on what ARFID really is (and isn’t), why recovery is rarely linear, and how community and self-compassion can transform a life. Whether you’re familiar with...
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Social Media and Mental Health: A Conversation with Dr. Alyssa Lucker
Mental Note
In this episode of the Mental Note Podcast, psychiatrist Dr. Alyssa Lucker unpacks the complicated relationship between social media and mental health - especially for teens and young adults. We explore the challenges of researching social media effects, how it influences the developing brain, and where responsibility lies between parents and platforms. Dr. Lucker also highlights potential benefits — like connection, creativity, and self-expression — alongside the risks of sleep disruption, mood changes, and addictive patterns. With practical advice on digital literacy, family...
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Depression in High Achievers: Jenny Jacobsen on Burnout, Anxiety, and Healing
Mental Note
Depression doesn’t always look like staying in bed or losing motivation. For high-achieving people, it often hides behind packed schedules, perfectionism, and quiet exhaustion. In this episode, therapist Jenny Jacobsen unpacks how depression shows up differently in top performers, the overlap between burnout, boredom, anxiety, and depression, and the early warning signs you need to know. She also shares practical strategies—from microdosing self-care to building foundational habits and practicing self-compassion—that can help you reconnect, heal, and move forward one step at a time....
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Should I Say This in Therapy? Understanding Confidentiality and Informed Consent with Maria Ortiz and Dr. Zoe Ross-Nash
Mental Note
Should I Say This in Therapy? Have you ever wondered what your therapist can and can’t share outside the therapy room? Or when therapy confidentiality laws require them to break that trust? In this collaborative episode, Ellie Pike joins clinicians Maria Ortiz and Dr. Zoe Ross-Nash from the ‘On the Mic with ED’ podcast to unpack the often-misunderstood boundaries of confidentiality in therapy. Topics Covered: What informed consent really means When therapists are legally required to break confidentiality (and when they’re not) due to mandatory reporting How clients...
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Intermittent Fasting & Mental Health: The Science Behind What Diet Culture Isn’t Telling You
Mental Note
Intermittent fasting is everywhere—from influencer feeds to doctor’s offices—but is this trending approach to eating really the wellness cure-all it claims to be? In this episode of Mental Note, registered dietitian Jennifer Vittitow joins host Ellie Pike to explore the hidden downsides of intermittent fasting, including its impact on mental health, disordered eating behaviors, and social connection. Together, they unpack the science, debunk the diet culture spin, and offer a more compassionate path forward—one rooted in balance, flexibility, and trust in your body. Links: ...
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Choosing Treatment: How Writer Lara Jacobs Reclaimed Her Story from an Eating Disorder
Mental Note
A dangerous secret lurked behind author Lara Jacobs’ ambition: she relied on anorexia to focus her writing, blurring the line between artistic drive and self-destruction. In this episode, Lara shares how years of chasing a story across continents ultimately led her to eating disorder treatment and to rediscovering herself—both as a writer and as a person in recovery. With honesty and hope, she reflects on the pivotal moments that helped her heal, the community that supported her, and how reclaiming her narrative became the most powerful form of self-expression. Now, she teaches...
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Parenting Through Eating Disorder Recovery: Advice from Those Who’ve Been There
Mental Note
Supporting a loved one through eating disorder recovery can feel overwhelming—but you don’t have to do it alone. In this special Q&A episode, we sit down with experienced parents Beth Ayn Stansfield and Amy Oberholtzer, who have navigated this journey with their own children and turned their experiences into advocacy. Beth Ayn, now the National Family Advocate for Eating Recovery Center, and Amy, founder of the nonprofit CATCH, share their hard-earned wisdom on self-care, technology, community-building, and trusting the process. Their insights offer guidance, hope, and reassurance...
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Who Gets to Heal? Akiera Gilbert on Access and Equity in Eating Disorder Treatment
Mental Note
In a world where mental health care is often seen as one-size-fits-all, Akiera Gilbert is on a mission to break down barriers and open the doors of eating disorder treatment to those often left behind. As the CEO of Project Heal, Akiera leads an organization dedicated to transforming the system while offering immediate, life-saving support to those who face financial, cultural, and systemic obstacles to care. Through her work, Akiera emphasizes the power of community and the need to reimagine healing in ways that honor diverse experiences. In this episode, we explore her personal recovery...
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Body Image and Liberation with Carly Compton
Mental Note
As an eating disorder survivor turned eating disorder therapist, Carly Compton strives to be the person that she wishes she would have known when she was younger. That conviction led her on a rewarding journey to become a therapist, model, host of the Recover with Carly Podcast, and creator of an eating disorder curriculum for adolescents. In all these endeavors, Carly focuses on partnering with individuals to give up dieting, recover from disordered eating, and find genuine happiness and acceptance within themselves — no matter their size, race, gender, sexuality, or socioeconomic...
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Let’s Discuss ADHD with Landon Bryant
Mental Note
From Chaos to Creativity: Storyteller and artist Landon Bryant explores his journey from struggling with life’s basic challenges to finding success and support after an adult ADHD diagnosis. Landon shares how he navigated the difficulties of his condition, including years of trial and error with medications and strategies, and how he ultimately embraced the creative potential of ADHD. This conversation sheds light on the importance of self-awareness, support systems, and the unique strengths that can arise from challenges. His journey is a source of hope for anyone on a similar path....
info_outlineAs an eating disorder survivor turned eating disorder therapist, Carly Compton strives to be the person that she wishes she would have known when she was younger.
That conviction led her on a rewarding journey to become a therapist, model, host of the Recover with Carly Podcast, and creator of an eating disorder curriculum for adolescents. In all these endeavors, Carly focuses on partnering with individuals to give up dieting, recover from disordered eating, and find genuine happiness and acceptance within themselves — no matter their size, race, gender, sexuality, or socioeconomic status.
We sit down to discuss the steps that took her on such a liberating journey and also some practical ways you can improve your relationship with your body.
Resources:
- Carly's Website
- Recover with Carly Podcast
- Body Image Workshop with ERC
- Curriculum: Eating Disorder Education and Awareness
- Her Socials: Tiktok and Instagram
Mental Note Links:
- Mental Note Podcast: www.mentalnotepodcast.com
- Pathlight Mood & Anxiety Center: www.pathlightbh.com
- Eating Recovery Center: www.eatingrecoverycenter.com
- Free Group Support: https://www.pathlightbh.com/support-groups
- Free Evaluation with a Trained Therapist: (877) 850-7199