Eating Disorders in 2026: ARFID, Diet Culture, Identity, & the Pressure to Be Thin With Lisa Jimenez, LMHC

What happens when diet culture gets louder, ARFID awareness grows, social media becomes therapy language, and the pressure to be thin starts shaping everyday life again? In this episode of The Dr. Marianne-Land Podcast, I sit down with Lisa Jimenez (@lisajimeneztherapy) for a deeply honest conversation about what eating disorder therapists are actually seeing in 2026. We talk about the resurgence of appearance pressure, the subtle ways eating disorders can hide in plain sight, why more people are finally recognizing ARFID, and how identity, neurodivergence, trauma, and culture all shape recovery. This episode explores the realities many people quietly live with but rarely hear discussed out loud.

Lisa Jimenez, LMHC, is an eating disorder therapist based in Miami who specializes in eating disorders, body image, anxiety, trauma, perfectionism, and work with teens, young adults, and queer clients. In this conversation, she shares how her own lived experience with an eating disorder shaped her approach to therapy and why she shifted toward EMDR, parts work, and more collaborative, relational treatment approaches.

ARFID, Neurodivergence, and the Changing Eating Disorder Landscape

Lisa and I discuss why ARFID is becoming more recognized and why many clinicians are still trying to catch up with the complexity of the diagnosis. We explore how sensory sensitivities, neurodivergence, attachment, trauma, and family dynamics can all affect eating. We also talk about why ARFID treatment requires much more than exposure work alone and why creating emotional and sensory safety matters so deeply in recovery.

We also discuss the overlap between eating disorders, autism, ADHD, anxiety, perfectionism, and trauma, along with the growing role social media now plays in helping people identify experiences they previously could not name.

Diet Culture, Social Media, and the Pressure to Be Thin in 2026

Diet culture feels especially aggressive right now, and this episode explores how that pressure shows up in both obvious and subtle ways. Lisa and I talk about “clean eating,” wellness culture, compulsive exercise messaging, “what I eat in a day” content, GLP-1 conversations, and the growing normalization of disordered behaviors online.

We also discuss how eating disorders often hide behind socially praised behaviors, especially when restriction, over-exercising, or body control become culturally rewarded instead of recognized as signs of distress.

Eating Disorders in Larger Bodies

This conversation also explores how eating disorders frequently go unnoticed in larger bodies and how weight stigma continues to affect treatment, diagnosis, and recovery. Lisa and I discuss the harmful assumption that eating disorders must “look extreme” to be serious and why many people receive praise for behaviors that are actually rooted in restriction and suffering.

We also talk about medical bias, healthcare experiences, and the reality that people can experience anorexia and severe eating disorder symptoms across a wide range of body sizes.

Queer Identity, Intersectionality, and Eating Disorders

Lisa shares insights from her work with queer clients, teens, and neurodivergent individuals, and we explore how identity and environment intersect with eating disorders in complex ways. We discuss cultural expectations around appearance, family and community pressures, social media influence, and the realities many queer and neurodivergent people face while navigating food and body image struggles.

The conversation also examines how eating disorders often function as coping strategies for overwhelm, emotional pain, disconnection, or the pressure to survive in environments that do not feel safe or affirming.

Connect With Lisa Jimenez, LMHC

Instagram: @lisajimeneztherapy

Website: lisajimeneztherapy.com

Lisa sees clients virtually throughout Florida and New York and in person in South Miami.

Related Episodes

The Quiet Places Where Anorexia Meets Identity & Expression on Apple & Spotify.

“Slips” in Eating Disorder Recovery in 2026: Why Setbacks Are Part of Progress, Not Failure (With Mallary Tenore Tarpley, MFA) on Apple & Spotify.

Chronic Eating Disorders in 2026: What Hope Can Actually Look Like on Apple & Spotify.

ARFID Explained: What It Feels Like, Why It’s Misunderstood, & What Helps on Apple & Spotify.

Work With Dr. Marianne

I’m Dr. Marianne Miller, LMFT (@drmariannemiller). I'm an eating disorder therapist specializing in ARFID, binge eating disorder, anorexia, bulimia, neurodivergence, autism, ADHD, and complex relationships with food and body image. I offer therapy, coaching, and ARFID-focused support for teens and adults.

You can also explore my self-paced ARFID and selective eating course on my website drmariannemiller.com/arfid.

If this episode resonated with you, please follow, rate, and share The Dr. Marianne-Land Podcast on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.