Somatic Healing & Binge Recovery: A Nervous System Approach with Stefanie Michele

In this week’s episode, we’re joined by Stefanie Michele—binge eating recovery and body image coach, somatic practitioner-in-training, and former occupational therapist. With a background in psychology and integrative health coaching, Stefanie brings a rare mix of science, lived experience, and nervous system wisdom to the recovery space.

Here’s what we’ll cover in the video:

From Disorder to Embodiment: Stefanie shares her 20+ year journey with disordered eating and how somatic therapy helped her finally break free from the binge-restrict cycle.

The Nervous System & Bingeing: Why binge eating is often a nervous system response—not just a “bad habit”—and how understanding fight, flight, and freeze states can change your approach to recovery.

Emotional Regulation Tools: How to use grounding, movement, and sensory interventions to process overwhelming feelings—without defaulting to food.

Somatic Experiencing 101: What Stefanie learned from training in somatic experiencing therapy, and how she applies it to help clients build body trust and emotional resilience.

Why Soothing Techniques Don’t Always Work: The real reason grounding tools might fail in the heat of a binge—and how to train your system to tolerate sensations over time.

If you’ve ever felt stuck in binge-recovery, disconnected from your body, or frustrated that the usual advice just doesn’t work—this episode will give you the nervous system lens that’s been missing from your healing.

🗣️ Contact and Follow Stefanie here:

https://www.iamstefaniemichele.com/about

https://www.instagram.com/iamstefaniemichele/

https://open.spotify.com/show/7Mg0Jknc5JpjuMpcwU0D77?trackId=6VObnIkLVruX4UVyxWhlqm

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00:00 – Intro

01:21 – Who is Stefanie Michele?

04:05 – Occupational Therapy Approach & Somatic Psychology

06:23 – The growing awareness of somatic tools beyond childhood

08:18 – Psychology’s influence on making somatic work mainstream

09:02 – What are Stefanie’s previous techniques to maintain recovery

13:15 – Stefanie’s current techniques to maintain recovery

13:57 – Stefanie's “go underwater” technique for emotional waves

15:03 – Bingeing vs. feeling emotions

18:05 – Stefanie’s transition from looking for help to helping others

20:50 – Self-soothing strategies for binge prevention

30:01 – Stefanie's early clinic experience with different ED types

33:10 – What your binge style might reveal about your nervous system

34:01 – It’s all trial and error—learning what your body really needs

34:43 – Stefanie's online courses and upcoming “Refining Intuitive”

36:20 – Where to find Stefanie online

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Disclaimer: The information on this channel is for educational purposes and is not intended to be a substitute for medical advice or therapy. The views and opinions expressed by podcast guests are their own and do not necessarily reflect those of Kristina Dobyns or Beyond Binge Eating.