In this conversation with Dr. Wendy Oliver-Pyatt, a board-certified psychiatrist specializing in eating disorders and founder of Within Health and Galen Hope treatment centers, Karena explores the life-threatening reality of eating disorders as serious mental illnesses that claim one life every 52 minutes in America. Dr. Oliver-Pyatt explains the biopsychosocial foundations of eating disorders, shares her personal journey from ballerina to eating disorder specialist, and discusses the warning signs in athletes and high achievers. She reveals the controversial truth about GLP-1 medications and eating disorder risk, and provides actionable tools for reframing your relationship with your body through self-compassion and intentional self-care practices.

How do you stop fighting your body and start healing your relationship with food, weight, and self-worth?

Understanding that weight stigma is trauma opens the door to compassion—and real recovery.

(01:13) The Deadliest Mental Illness You've Never Heard Of

Eating disorders kill one person every 52 minutes in America
Why they aren't classified with "serious" mental illnesses despite being more lethal than many
The confusion between societal pressure and actual mental illness diagnosis
Understanding the biopsychosocial foundation: biological, psychological, social, and spiritual factors

(04:47) From Ballerina to Eating Disorder Psychiatrist

Growing up as the child of a Holocaust survivor with a mildly autistic mother
How ballet and puberty collided to create impossible body standards
The danger of narrow frameworks about what's "acceptable" in our bodies

(18:32) Athletes, Perfectionism & the "Healthy" Eating Trap

Why high-achieving athletes and fitness enthusiasts face elevated eating disorder risk
The difference between disordered eating behaviors and diagnosable eating disorders
How orthorexia disguises itself as "clean eating" or "wellness"
Warning signs to watch for in competitive sports and fitness culture

(32:47) What Real Treatment Looks Like

The biopsychosocial-spiritual treatment model that addresses all aspects
How nutritional rehabilitation and medical stabilization work together
Family-based treatment approaches for adolescents and young adults

(47:36) The GLP-1 Controversy: Ozempic, Wegovy & Eating Disorders

"It's asinine there's no eating disorder warning"
How rapid weight loss medications trigger and worsen eating disorders, especially in teens
The danger