The Hidden Mental Load of Coeliac Disease: Trauma, Food Fear & Addiction with Alexis Fosler

2026-08-09

Download

Send us Fan MailA Gluten Free PodcastEpisode 248My guest on today’s episode is substance abuse, eating disorder and trauma specialist psychotherapist, Alexis Fosler. We’ll explore the link between trauma, eating disorders, addiction and the gut/brain axis. We’ll also share how individuals living with coeliac disease can incorporate various tools to deal with these issues to manage the stresses in their lives.What we’ll cover:* How Alexis and I connected through a mutual friend* The str...

Send us Fan Mail

A Gluten Free Podcast
Episode 248
My guest on today’s episode is substance abuse, eating disorder and trauma specialist psychotherapist, Alexis Fosler. We’ll explore the link between trauma, eating disorders, addiction and the gut/brain axis. We’ll also share how individuals living with coeliac disease can incorporate various tools to deal with these issues to manage the stresses in their lives.

What we’ll cover:
* How Alexis and I connected through a mutual friend
* The stresses of living with coeliac disease and being strictly gluten free
* Alexis’ personal background and role as a former corporate executive and what led Alexis into working in addiction, trauma and eating disorders
* Finding a mentor
* Insights Alexis gained from retraining as a psychotherapist being exposed to a broad spectrum of people living with addictions and mental health issues
* Currently studying obesity and ultraprocessed foods and its impact on
* Acute versus chronic stress
* Complex trauma and modern stressors in our lives
* Homeostasis and allostasis
* How our nervous system adapts to stress over time
* Allostatic load and the cumulative load of stress and challenges over time on our mental and physical health
* How stress impacts our endocrine system
* Is there a healthy level of stress?
* Sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous system
* Effects of stress on our appetite and food habits
* Cortisol, dopamine and other chemicals being activated during stress
* The complexities of our stressors and how we deal with stress in our brains and bodies
* Hypervigilance and avoidance when living with coeliac disease and adhering to a strict gluten free diet
* Eating disorders in people with coeliac disease
* The fear of food, restrictive eating and coeliac disease
* Link between eating disorders and disordered eating
* When to seek help when the stresses of living strictly gluten free
* The relationship between addiction, eating disorders and disordered eating
* Maladaptive behaviours in addiction
* Emotional regulation’s role in addiction, eating disorders and disordered eating
* Dopamine’s role in our habits and compulsions
* Chronic deficits in our dopamine system and alterations in our dopamine systems
* Complexities of dealing with recovery in addictions
* Approaching various addictions, eating disorders and disordered eating with various approaches
* Various approaches to recovery: pharmacological, talk therapy, cognitive flexibility, somatic interventions and changes of environment
* Importance of breath work
* How to create new neural pathways to retrain brain
* Alexis’ PHD and thesis

Links
Follow Living Free on Instagram
Living Free Today
Promises Healthcare
Trauma, Eating Disorders and Addiction Youtube video
ARFID and coeliac disease research
Connect with Alexis’ mentor, Reshie - https://www.linkedin.com/in/reshie-joseph-a770a358/
Join A Gluten Free Podcast Facebook Group