Vanessa Kredler Counselling & Psychotherapy

27/03/2026

your lived experience!
Science evolves. It is established, challenged, and revised over time and it deserves our respect.

But your lived and living experience is indisputable. It is real, valid, and always worth listening to. Both matter. And both can coexist. Your lived experience is your science.

www.vanessakredler.com

24/03/2026

Let’s pause for a check in. What is my emotional weather? How am I feeling right now?

Can I name one or two emotions that best describe my internal state?

What tells me that I’m feeling this way?

Where in my body is the feeling?

What sensations or tensions are present in my body?

What stories am I telling myself?

What is it like to spend a moment checking in with my body and mind?

I hope you found this internal weather check helpful, let me know in the comments.

19/03/2026

Mindful awareness is key in interrupting the mindless, automatic eating that often happens in addictive patterns.

Our senses can easily blur together, when I see or smell a food, the craving can feel instant, as if wanting and acting are the same thing.

But they aren’t. Over time, I’ve learned that I can decouple my senses: even if I smell food cues, I don’t have to respond by eating.

These days, I can walk past a bakery, enjoy the smell of fresh bread, and simply keep going. The cue is there, but the action doesn’t have to follow.

18/03/2026

One of the gems I’ve learned in recovery is the idea of top and bottom lines.

Bottom lines are the behaviours I absolutely want to avoid, the ones that pull me back into addiction or harm. Once I’ve crossed them, the addictive loop has re-awakened.

Top lines? Those are the positive actions that support my recovery, the things that keep me grounded and growing. It’s not just about saying ‘don’t do this.’ It’s about asking: what can I do instead? What fills me up, what moves me forward? So, bottom lines are non negotiables. They are clear limits.

Top lines are aspirational. This is my intention of how I grow beyond the addiction. Top and bottom lines give us clarity and choice.

12/03/2026

Pills and skills?

David Kessler, in Diet Drugs and Dopamine, highlights that GLP‑1 medications can play an important role in addressing food addiction, while learning new skills alongside them also matters.

He notes that medication can help reduce the biological drive, and behavioural skills can support longer‑term change.

I would add a deeper layer: internal emotional, somatic, spiritual, and mindset shifts often create the foundation that allows those behavioural skills to take root and become sustainable.

To learn more about healing visit
Vanessa Kredler Food Addiction Counsellor & Psychotherapist
www.vanessakredler.com

Looking for Food Addiction treatment? Our supportive therapy programs help you break free from unhealthy eating patterns, understand emotional eating triggers, and build a healthier relationship with food. Take the first step today.

12/03/2026

Today what’s on my mind is the concept of pills and skills.

David Kessler, in Diet Drugs and Dopamine, highlights that GLP‑1 medications can play an important role in addressing food addiction, while learning new skills alongside them also matters. He notes that medication can help reduce the biological drive, and behavioural skills can support longer‑term change.

I would add a deeper layer: internal emotional, somatic, spiritual, and mindset shifts often create the foundation that allows those behavioural skills to take root and become sustainable.

To learn more about recovery and starting your healing journey, visit www.vanessakredler.com

11/03/2026

We talk about ‘healing’ addiction like it’s something we can fix and be done with.

But my experience? Addiction is always with me. Even in recovery, I’m not cured. But I can transcend it, by accepting it, befriending it.

Accepting my biology, my wiring, my tendencies. Working with them, harnessing strengths, respecting limitations. That’s how we move forward, not by erasing addiction, but by learning to live beyond it.

Vanessa Kredler Food Addiction Counsellor & Psychotherapist
www.vanessakredler.com

06/03/2026

Inviting you to my substack, where I'm sharing my lived experience blogs and ponderings: This time, I'm sharing what parts of me come up around AI....

Like so many of us, I’ve been watching the acceleration of AI with a kind of stunned fascination and terror.

06/03/2026

Have you heard of volume addiction?

If you’ve ever felt the need to load up on food, whether it’s ultra‑processed or not—just to feel truly full, this concept might resonate with you.

Dr. Vera Tarman has just published a powerful new article, “Volume addiction: introducing a novel phenotype within compulsive high‑volume eating.” I highly recommend giving it a read.

For me, this aspect of food addiction has been incredibly significant. It pushed me to explore my own patterns more deeply, which I’ve shared in my lived‑experience blog: “Food addiction as a substance and a process addiction.”

https://www.vanessakredler.com/blog/food-addiction-as-substance-and-process-addiction
I hope it offers something helpful—and as always, I’d love to hear your thoughts or feedback.

Vanessa Kredler Food Addiction Counsellor & Psychotherapist
www.vanessakredler.com

04/03/2026

Listen in as I delve in into the topic of scrolling..

Vanessa Kredler Food Addiction Counsellor & Psychotherapist
www.vanessakredler.com

27/02/2026

What if today, it would be ok to not use food for comfort? Just for today.

https://www.vanessakredler.com/

25/02/2026

Why does self compassion matter in food addiction recovery? It's not just about finding the perfect food plan. Recovery is a windy road. You’ll meet many parts of yourself, some want to binge, others fight against it. Your inner critic will say you’re failing. There will be disharmony inside. Self compassion means being with all of that, appreciating all those inner drives and voices. Accepting them, listening to them, feeling them. This compassionate stance leads to the next right healing step.