How Masking Neurodivergence Can Fuel Eating Disorders

2025-07-04

In this solo episode, Dr. Marianne Miller explores the powerful and often overlooked connection between masking neurodivergence and eating disorders. If you've ever felt like you're performing just to get through the day—suppressing your sensory needs, camouflaging your communication style, or overriding your body’s cues to fit societal expectations—this episode will resonate deeply. Dr. Marianne breaks down what masking looks like in autistic and neurodivergent individuals, including social, sensory, emotional, and cognitive masking, and how these patterns can lead to or exacerbate

In this solo episode, Dr. Marianne Miller explores the powerful and often overlooked connection between masking neurodivergence and eating disorders. If you've ever felt like you're performing just to get through the day—suppressing your sensory needs, camouflaging your communication style, or overriding your body’s cues to fit societal expectations—this episode will resonate deeply.

Dr. Marianne breaks down what masking looks like in autistic and neurodivergent individuals, including social, sensory, emotional, and cognitive masking, and how these patterns can lead to or exacerbate disordered eating behaviors like restriction, bingeing, and compulsive exercise. She also explains the systemic pressures—including ableism, fatphobia, and white supremacy—that reinforce masking, and how this contributes to burnout, identity confusion, and food-related distress.

Most important, Dr. Marianne offers a compassionate look at what it means to unmask as part of eating disorder recovery. You'll learn how reclaiming your sensory needs, autonomy, and embodied preferences can help you heal—not by becoming someone else, but by honoring exactly who you are.

🔗 Learn more about Dr. Marianne’s self-paced, neurodivergent-affirming, ARFID and Selective Eating Course here: https://www.drmariannemiller.com/arfid

KEY TOPICS COVERED:

What is masking and how does it show up in neurodivergent people
How masking contributes to disconnection from the body and food
The role of sensory processing differences in eating disorders
Systemic factors that reinforce masking (ableism, fatphobia, etc.)
The emotional and physical toll of long-term masking
How unmasking can support meaningful, sustainable recovery

🎧 LISTEN TO OTHER EPISODES ON AUTISM, NEURODIVERSITY, & EATING DISORDERS

Stuck on Empty: Autistic Inertia, ARFID & the Struggle to Eat via Apple & Spotify
Minding the Gap: The Intersection Between AuDHD & Eating Disorders With Stacie Fanelli, LCSW @edadhd_therapist via Apple & Spotify
Set-Shifting, AuDHD, & Eating Disorders via Apple & Spotify.
Our Personal Neurodivergent Stories via Apple & Spotify.

INTERESTED IN HANGING OUT MORE IN DR. MARIANNE-LAND?

Follow me on Instagram @drmariannemiller
Check out my virtual, self-paced ARFID and Selective Eating course
Look into my self-paced, virtual, anti-diet, subscription-based curriculum. It is called Dr. Marianne-Land's Binge Eating Recovery Membership.
Live in California, Texas, or Washington D.C. and interested in eating disorder therapy with me? Sign up for a free, 15-minute phone consultation HERE or via my website, and I'll get you to where you need to be!
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Want more information? Email me at hello@mariannemiller.com