Dr Kim Dennis of SunCloud Health On How To Support A Loved One Who Is Struggling With An Eating Disorder
Yes! We all belong in recovery. Don’t stop until you find what works for you. Don’t stop trying until you find a therapist or a doctor or a recovery community that YOU feel safe with, that YOU connect with, that YOU find some comfort with and have hope in. As mental health professionals and doctors our tools are limited. If a provider or treatment approach doesn’t work for you, it’s because the approach wasn’t for you. Seek alternatives. There’s a big recovery community and you have a place in it.
Eating disorders are complex mental health conditions that affect millions worldwide, transcending age, gender, and cultural boundaries. They are not simply about food but involve a range of psychological, physical, and social issues. Supporting a loved one through this struggle can be challenging, requiring understanding, patience, and knowledge of the right approaches to truly make a difference.
In this series, we aim to shed light on the most effective ways to offer support, understanding, and hope to those battling an eating disorder. We are talking to psychologists, nutritionists, doctors, therapists, and survivors, who can provide valuable perspectives on nurturing recovery, fostering resilience, and promoting healthy relationships with food and body image. As a part of this series, we had the pleasure of interviewing Kim Dennis.
Kim Dennis, MD, is the Co-founder, CEO, and Chief Medical Officer at SunCloud Health. She is a board-certified psychiatrist who specializes in treating eating disorders, addiction, trauma and multi-occurring disorders. She believes in and maintains a holistic perspective in the practice of psychiatry, incorporating biological, psycho-social, and spiritual approaches into nuanced, individualized treatment plans.
Dr. Dennis obtained her medical degree from the University of Chicago, Pritzker School of Medicine and completed her psychiatry residency training at the University of Chicago Hospitals, where she served as chief resident. She is a Clinical Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Illinois at Chicago College of Medicine. She serves on the board of Galen Mental Health, the board of the Eating Disorder Coalition, the clinical advisory committee of NEDA, and the cross organization eating disorder working group of the American Academy of Pediatrics.
Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series. Before we dive into our discussion, our readers would love to “get to know you” a bit better. Can you share with us the backstory about what brought you to your specific career path?
As a child I was always interested in why people do things they do. My father was sick from the time I could remember and doctors kept him alive until I was 11. What doctors did for my father (and our family) was profoundly powerful and instilled a desire in me from a young age to become a doctor. It was a long shot…no one in my family had ever even gone to college. And we relied on social security and government aid for housing and food and living expenses. I was gifted athletically and academically, so college at the university of Chicago was possible with a combination of scholarships and work study. There I completed undergrad, medical school, a year of research with Dr. Samuel Refetoff and my psychiatry residency. There also I developed bulimia and began drinking. Today I wear many hats. I am a doctor, co-founder, CEO, Chief Medical Officer, Assistant Clinical Professor, Mom, Wife, friend, sister, aunt. All that I am and do in life rests on a foundation of recovery.
I am a person who has recovered from bulimia, from alcohol use disorder, childhood trauma and food addiction; this year I celebrated 23 years of recovery. Without access to competent treatment providers, attuned to my specific needs, a recovery community, unconditional love, family support and ample Grace, I’d be long dead. Instead, I have been able to dedicate my career to helping people with complex multi-occurring disorders get help in integrated, nuanced, individualized and trauma-informed ways. I started a treatment center with my husband 8 years ago called SunCloud Health, which now has 6 sites, adult and adolescent programs, and includes outpatient, intensive outpatient, partial hospitalization, and residential levels of care.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
The first I learned because I needed to in order to recover and stay alive:
- Surrender to the unenforceable. (Related to disconnecting from the small things of my mind and this world and connecting to spiritual/Big Power inside of me and in the universe. Examples of big power surround us in nature and the natural laws that govern the universe, this things we study in physics, biology, chemistry, etc.
- My mother, may she rest in peace, often said to me…” Polish, polish, Kimmy. Keep polishing that rock and one day it will be a diamond.” If there’s a rough edge I keep bumping up against, keep at it. This ties to work ethic, persistence, perseverance and cultivating patience for changes that take time for me.
So both surrender and effort are essential for me in all areas of my life today.
Are you working on any exciting new projects now? How do you think that will help people?
At SunCloud Health we are actively researching the connection between trauma and multi-morbid psychiatric conditions (substance use disorders, eating disorders, depression, anxiety, and food addiction). I am also continuing to speak and publish on Food Addiction, the idea of which receives pushback from many ED professionals. I am also part of the health equity and diversity, equity, incision and belonging leadership team at SunCloud. This team continues to profoundly impact not only the quality of care we deliver to those with marginalized identities, but also to improve the experience of staff members with historically marginalized identities as well.
According to this study cited by the National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders, at least 30 million people in the U.S. of all ages and genders suffer from an eating disorder. Can you suggest 3–5 reasons why this has become such a critical issue recently?
Eating disorders have always been a critical issue — they have the second highest mortality rate of all psychiatric illnesses, only recently surpassed by Opioid use disorder. We are probably also seeing a surge post-Covid in all areas of mental illness, including eating disorders. We have also seen some increased visibility and resulting decrease in stigma around eating disorders in general. Many are starting to realize eating disorders truly come in any body size, not just the stereotypical thin, white, young, female. In fact, the majority of people with eating disorders live in average-sized to larger bodies. I believe the toxic combination of the perpetuation of thin ideal continues to harm people — big tech, media, diet industry, and medicine all have roles in this. The food industry and food supply chain has a role in this, and remains largely unregulated with regards to health and mental health impact of certain food types. Finally I believe the level of collective trauma has intensified during and after COVID — from climate change worries, gun violence, policing violence, political dysfunction, war, etc.
Based on your insight, what can concrete steps can a) individuals, b) corporations, c) communities and d) leaders do to address the core issues that are leading to this problem?
We need to continue to destigmatize eating disorders and mental health care. We need to keep fighting for size inclusivity broad scale and weight neutral practice of medicine in the medical community. We need to increase awareness and access to eating disorder and mental health care, especially for people who are uninsured or underinsured; support/fund research on non-white, non-female individuals; continue to truly provide individualized care, even if that means thinking outside the traditional box. Big tech needs to be held accountable for practices that harm our youth (for example by passing KOSA now in Congress). Mental Health Parity needs to be enforced. The food industry needs to be held accountable for marketing practices targeting vulnerable populations. The government needs to inform consumers about the potential impact on health/associations with certain food substances (think those created in the food labs of any food giant specifically to be irresistible, decrease a person’s ability to stop eating it when full, and sell sell sell no matter the toll on individual and public health). Just a few preliminary thoughts!
As you know, one of the challenges of an eating disorder is the harmful,and dismissive sentiment of “why can’t you just control yourself”. What do you think needs to be done to make it apparent that an eating disorder is an illness just like heart disease or schizophrenia?
Eating disorders are brain diseases that hijack the thinking, and action organizing and feeling organ in the body. They are associated with serious and sometimes fatal medical comorbidities.
We need to acknowledge them as such and treat them as the diseases they are. They are not ‘choices’ someone is making; the true answer to ‘why do you keep doing this?’ is often ‘I don’t know.’ It can be as baffling to the person with the disease as the loved one trying to help. Also, as with the above-mentioned illnesses, we know there is a genetic component that loads the gun and environmental stressors that pull the trigger.
Asking someone with a brain disease why they don’t just stop is akin to asking someone with cancer why they don’t just stop and pick themselves up from the bootstraps. Or saying to someone with cancer, you just need to get a job or go to school or have some structure in your life and this will get better.
Here is the main question of our interview. Can you please share with our readers 5 ways to support a loved one who is struggling with an eating disorder? If you can, can you share an example from your own experience?
First and foremost, it is vital to approach with compassion. I think that sometimes when we know a loved one is struggling with mental illness, especially with one as deadly as an eating disorder can be, we can react from a place of fear. Or launch into a place of control which is problematic as well. Again, keeping in mind people with eating disorders are not choosing to struggle with this issue.
Say what you are seeing, what you are thinking and own your feelings about it in a no judgmental and humble way (I see X, I’m thinking Y and I feel Z — afraid, terrified, angry, hurt, confused. Etc).
Approach with curiosity and not judgment, seeking to understand and listen to what your loved one is experiencing. Accept that it may be different than your experience. Always support reaching out for help — try to help your loved one access care from someone competent to screen for eating disorders and mental health concerns. Offer to help them navigate finding a suitable professional. And the best way to support someone you love in getting help is to model it yourself. Take good care of your health (which rests on our mental health in my opinion). Often family members get consumed in helping or “fixing” a loved one’s health problem to the neglect of their own needs. Families who recover together have better outcomes.
How do you navigate the balance between offering support and respecting the autonomy of a loved one with an eating disorder?
I always want to take a person-centered approach when supporting others. Everyone’s definition of recovery is different and that should be honored. When it comes down to it, I always try to ask myself “who gets to decide what is best for this person?” And again, take care of yourself and your needs.
Is there a message you would like to tell someone who may be reading this, who is currently struggling with an eating disorder?
Yes! We all belong in recovery. Don’t stop until you find what works for you. Don’t stop trying until you find a therapist or a doctor or a recovery community that YOU feel safe with, that YOU connect with, that YOU find some comfort with and have hope in. As mental health professionals and doctors our tools are limited. If a provider or treatment approach doesn’t work for you, it’s because the approach wasn’t for you. Seek alternatives. There’s a big recovery community and you have a place in it.
In your experience, what are the most effective strategies for building resilience and a positive self-image in individuals recovering from an eating disorder?
Most of the people I have encountered over the years with eating disorders have inordinate amounts of resilience already built in; they are some of the most incredibly strong, tough, exuberant people I know. They just need to be reminded of it. Surround yourself with people who see you and value you and support you just as you are. Shut off the messages which tell you something different.
What are your favorite books, podcasts, or resources that have helped people with this struggle? Can you explain why you like them?
Maintenance Phase is a fantastic podcast with Aubrey Gordan and Michael Hobbes that seeks to ‘debunk the junk science behind health fads, wellness scams, and nonsensical nutrition advice’.
The Spirituality of Imperfection is an amazing book applicable to some of the core issues at the heart of eating disorders.
You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the largest amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂
We have certainly made headway destigmatizing eating disorders; at least for thin, white, women. We need further acknowledgement, research, and understanding of how these diseases affect marginalized communities — specifically communities of color and people of size. We need to understand that to date most of the research done about eating disorders and evidence based treatments that have come from it have primarily included white women (with limited psychiatric comorbidity). This is a minority of people affected by disordered eating. We need to be asking where our blind spots are regarding people of color, non-female individuals, queer individuals, larger bodied individuals, etc. We need to be asking if our traditional means of treatment, centered around whiteness and femininity, are appropriate or effective for all patient populations. We need to stop taking the approach that patients ‘fail treatment’ and start understanding our approaches fail them. Big tech and Big insurance all need to be held accountable. Big Food need to be held accountable. Food addiction (or ultra-processed food addiction) which is highly comorbid with and often complicates treatment of eating disorders needs to be formally recognized in DSM 6. Anywhere from 30–50% of people with eating disorders don’t sustainably recover with our current tools. We must do better. This is a time for expanding our understanding, not doubling down on our current limits. This ought to include prioritizing the research and development of new therapies and new pharmacological interventions.
How can our readers continue to follow your work online?
Follow SunCloud Health on social media @suncloudhealthchicago or visit our website for a variety of resources and informational videos, blogs and more. www.suncloudhealth.com
Thank you so much for these insights! This was so inspiring!
Dr Kim Dennis of SunCloud Health On How To Support A Loved One Who Is Struggling With An Eating… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.