Vault: A Bert Show member has listeners concerned

Summary

The Bert Show – Vault: A Bert Show Member Has Listeners Concerned

Date: June 3, 2026

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Overview of the Episode

This episode of The Bert Show dives into concerns about one of the members—intern Lauren—and her relationship with food and body image. After ongoing mentions of dieting and body image issues, Lauren is encouraged to take an online eating disorder self-assessment live on air. The show then opens up a candid conversation with listeners, including calls from someone entering eating disorder treatment and a counseling student, aiming to better understand and destigmatize the subject. The tone is open, empathetic, and sometimes humorously self-deprecating, characteristic of The Bert Show’s authentic style.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Raising Concerns About Lauren’s Behavior

• The team discusses Lauren’s repeated mentions of worry around body image, particularly leading up to holidays and family photos.
• Lauren admits to restricting holiday treats to look thinner in photos, bringing attention to her dieting habits (“the thin thing and the working out thing and the body image thing comes up a lot with Lauren” - [01:15], D).

2. The Eating Disorder Self-Assessment

• Lauren takes an online quiz designed to gauge if someone might have an eating disorder.
• Results are shared transparently:
  • Lauren answered “yes” to 5 questions in Section A and 7 in Section B, both of which the test flagged as potential indicators for an eating disorder ([06:35], C).

3. Listeners’ Perspectives: Lived Experience and Expertise

• Michelle, a listener about to enter eating disorder treatment, calls in with thoughts:
  • She recognizes many similarities in Lauren’s answers and reflects on her own past denial.
  • Advises that even a few “yes” answers on such a test could mean it’s worth consulting a professional.
  • Memorable quote:

    “Maybe you don’t have a full blown eating disorder at this point, but … if it’s not a full blown eating disorder now, it’s not far from it. And it’s a very slippery slope. … I wish I had someone tell me 10 years ago, maybe you should just go talk to someone.” ([02:09], E)

• Tara, a counseling student, calls in to clarify:
  • Eating disorders are not strictly defined by classic criteria (anorexia, bulimia)—there are also “eating disorder not otherwise specified.”
  • She flags Lauren’s 600 calorie per day regimen and fear of moderate weight change as extreme.
  • Memorable quote:

    “Just because you don’t have … all the criteria for anorexia or bulimia does not mean you don’t have an unhealthy relationship with food.” ([04:11], G)

4. Understanding the Psychology: More Than Just Food

• Host and callers discuss that eating disorders are often about control, not just food.
• Host explanation:

  “…a lot of the questions in that quiz are more about depression, anxiety, self image… some sort of, like, thing … you’re trying to maybe get away from … with this sort of obsessive compulsive behavior, and you’ve just decided to attach it to food, it could be attached to a million other things in your life.” ([05:42], D)

5. Lauren’s Own Perspective and Reluctance

• Lauren acknowledges an unhealthy relationship with food, especially during high school, but is resistant to seeking professional help:

  “I wouldn’t disagree with her, but I don’t think I’m going to go see a specialist.” ([04:02], F)

• She reflects that her attitudes improved after leaving college, but some restrictive habits linger.

6. Destigmatizing Therapy

• Team members discuss their own experiences with therapy, normalizing and encouraging it:

  “I think it is the best thing that I spend money on in my life, honestly. … Some of the healthiest people I know are in therapy.” ([08:19], D)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the Slippery Slope of Eating Disorders:
  Michelle: “If you answer yes to even just a few of those questions, I think that’s enough of a reason to talk to someone who knows a little bit more about it just to make sure that you’re okay.” ([02:09], E)

• On Unhealthy Relationships With Food:
  Tara: “Restricting your calories to 600 a day, that’s fairly extreme … So feeling like you can’t eat over Christmas, that’s fairly extreme as well.” ([04:49], G)

• Addressing the Stigma of Therapy:
  Co-host: “I don’t think therapy should be seen as a shameful thing or a bad thing at all. … Some of the healthiest people I know are in therapy.” ([08:12–08:33], D)

• Lauren’s Reluctance:
  Lauren: “I wouldn’t disagree with her, but I don’t think I’m going to go see a specialist.” ([04:02], F)

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Timestamps for Important Segments

| Timestamp | Segment | |:-------------:|:--------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 01:02 | Introduction to Lauren’s struggles with body image | | 01:44 | Lauren takes the eating disorder self-assessment | | 02:09-03:59 | Michelle (caller) shares perspective from her experience | | 04:11-05:28 | Tara (counseling student) weighs in about broader definitions and risks | | 05:28-06:35 | Discussion on psychological aspects of eating disorders | | 06:35-07:39 | Test results discussed; Lauren responds | | 08:12-08:33 | Destigmatizing therapy and hosts share personal experiences |

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Episode Takeaways

• Body image concerns are common but can mask deeper issues. Even “mild” symptoms or patterns should not be dismissed, and early intervention is key.
• Eating disorders often manifest as control issues rather than food issues alone.
• Professional help is invaluable and not shameful. The panel and callers encourage seeking therapy as a sign of strength and self-care.
• Open conversations break stigmas and help those struggling feel less alone.

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This episode delivers a compassionate, authentic look at eating disorders and mental health, championing open dialogue and proactive self-care—all in the engaging, relatable style fans expect from The Bert Show.

Transcript

[A]

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[C]

We spent a lot of time with intern Lauren here over the last half an hour who initially told us that she was all stressed out right before Christmas because she had to take a holiday picture with all of her family members. And she was stressing out about having to look good in the picture and

[D]

not being able to indulge in the holidays and eating any like cakes and cookies and candy and all that fun holiday stuff because she wanted to look thin in the pictures and the thin thing and the working out thing and the body image thing comes up a lot with Lauren because each of our interns sends us what's going on in their life and you know, and every single week we hear from them about what's happening and what's going on. So a lot of times your weight and you're working out and things like that come up in it. And so it seems like to be a common theme that we learned about you over the last year.

[E]

Yeah.

[C]

So we had her take this online test that asks the question, am I, do I have an eating disorder? And she just answered like 25 questions. And I'll give her the results here in just a couple of seconds. But a couple of minutes ago, Michelle called in and she was on the voice disguiser and she's going into treatment with an eating disorder tomorrow. And Michelle, I'm curious, in listening to intern Lauren here over the last 15 minutes and answering those questions, did she sound A lot like you, if you were taking that test.

[E]

Absolutely. Especially the first time around. And I don't want to sound judgmental or harsh, but I heard a lot of splitting hairs and a lot of, well, yeah, this, but not that. And I know for me personally, for a long time I was in a lot of denial and I saw a lot of people who I thought, well, I'm not as sick as her, so I'm okay. And I have one thing but not the other, so I'm okay. And honestly, if you answer yes to even just a few of those questions, I think that's enough of a reason to talk to someone who knows a little bit more about it just to make sure that you're okay. Maybe you don't have a full blown eating disorder at this point, but there's something going on there that's serious enough that, you know, if it's not a full blown eating disorder now, it's not far from it. And it's a very slippery slope. And I wish I had someone tell me 10 years ago, maybe you should just go talk to someone. Maybe you don't think that you have this problem, but maybe talk to someone else who knows a little bit better. Because it would have saved me a lot of time and energy because I wasted a lot of time and energy trying to talk myself out of something that I finally accepted. And now I finally feel like I'm on the right path because I felt like I was going crazy before obsessing about these thoughts. And only once I said it out loud did it sort of take that pressure off of me to have to fix it myself. So I would still just encourage you to talk to someone. Maybe you don't think it's as serious of a problem, but I heard certainly enough things that are serious enough to consider a second look from someone who really knows what they're talking about.

[C]

Michelle, you've been awesome. Thanks for hanging out with us and good luck. Good luck tomorrow.

[E]

Thank you very much. And good luck to you too, Lauren.

[F]

Thanks.

[D]

How does it make you feel when she says that kind of stuff?

[F]

I mean, I wouldn't disagree with her, but I don't think I'm going to go see a specialist.

[C]

Hey, Tara. Good morning. You're on Q100.

[E]

Good morning.

[C]

Good morning.

[G]

I am studying counseling over at Mercer University and we have studied a lot of the symptomatology for eating disorders. And just because you don't have. You don't meet all the criteria for anorexia or bulimia does not mean you don't have an unhealthy relationship with food. And I would not be surprised if she saw a counselor or a therapist if they wouldn't diagnose her with eating disorder not otherwise specified.

[C]

Let me ask you this, though, Tara. I mean, in listening to the women of the show for nine years now, if 100 women went to see a counselor, it sounds to me like 90 women would be defined as having an unhealthy relationship with food.

[G]

That's true. But restricting Your calories to 600 a day, that's fairly extreme. And feeling like you can't eat because taking a photo at Christmas, if you eat some sweets a couple of weeks beforehand, you. Your appearance is not going to drastically change. You might gain a pound or two, you might bloat a little, but you're not going to look completely different than you would have before you started that. So feeling like you can't eat over Christmas, that's fairly extreme as well. And like I said, she probably does not fully meet all the criteria in the DSM 4 for anorexia or bulimia, but it really sounds like she has an unhealthy relationship with food and like she would meet the criteria for eating disorder. Nos not otherwise specified.

[D]

Aren't eating disorders more about control and trying to gain control in your life than they are about food?

[G]

They are, but when you're looking at the criteria, that manifests itself in the way that you react to food and the way that you restrict your food.

[D]

But I think that's an important thing to understand, is that it has nothing to do with food. And that's why a lot of the questions in that quiz are more about depression, anxiety, self image, you know, some sort of, like, thing that might have happened in your life that you're trying to maybe get away from or you're trying to control or you're trying to bury or whatever with this sort of obsessive compulsive behavior, and you've just decided to attach it to food, it could be attached to a million other things in your life. You know what I'm saying?

[C]

If we're not talking about an eating disorder, Lauren, would you say that you at least have an unhealthy relationship with food?

[F]

Yeah, I definitely agree with that. I think more so now that I'm back at home and I graduated college, whatever, that I learned that, you know, I can eat more and not gain a pound every day. I think back in high school, that's when I was restricting myself to fewer than 1600 calories. Whatever. But I've learned more that, you know, I can't do that.

[C]

Well, here are the results of your test. And according to this. Let's see. Answering yes or. It seems pretty harsh. Answering yes or maybe to at least one or more questions in section A, and you answered yes to five of those. Combined with answering yes or maybe to at least one or more questions in section B, you answered yes to seven of those can be an indication that you could be suffering from an eating disorder or be well on your way to one. So this one's. This one's not giving you any wiggle room at all. It's saying one in each. And you had five in the first and seven in the second one. As far as section C goes, answering yes to one or more questions in section C can indicate related physical health problems. And it may be a good idea for you to visit your doctor. You had no in all of those. So, you know, interpret it any way you want. I can almost see you rolling your eyes going, oh, I know what the results say, but I got this. I got this, man.

[A]

There's no way.

[D]

I mean, I think. I don't know. I mean, I think it's definitely something to explore because I think if you do talk to a counselor about it, like Michelle, the caller said, like, if you're. If it's able to be like an issue or a personal thing that you're able to address now, like before maybe, you know, a year or two or five down the road where it could be something where you would really need to go seek treatment at a facility or something like that. If it's something you can work on now. I mean, everybody's about self improvement. Of course, right now, this time of year, everybody's thinking about self improvement anyway. It might be something you can do. And I don't think therapy should be seen as a shameful thing or a bad thing at all.

[B]

Good Lord.

[D]

I go to therapy, so, yeah, I got all kinds of weirdo issues.

[C]

Yeah, Jen's not crazy, right?

[D]

I know you think I'm crazy all you want. Judge me all you want. But I think it's the best thing. I think it is the best thing that I spend money on in my life. Life, honestly. And so I don't think there's any shame in it whatsoever. Bring it on. Some of the healthiest people I know are in therapy.

[C]

Ditto to that. Thank you for being so honest.

[F]

No problem. It was fun.

[D]

She's like, I hate you and I quit.

[C]

You would like to take this test again. Yes, no, or maybe no.

[B]

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[G]

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