About Haley Schiek

All of my own food and body stress began in the 9th grade, when I bought into the idea that losing weight was the secret to attaining unquestionable worthiness. So, I went on a diet. My diet quickly evolved into an obsession, then an addiction. Before I knew it, I had an eating disorder. Managing my weight consumed my thoughts, drained my energy, dictated my actions, and obliterated my sense of self worth. My life was out of control.

I tried so many treatment modalities over the course of my nine years in recovery–dieticians, counseling, in-patient treatment, AA, EDA, nutritional therapy, art therapy, yoga. While each modality undeniably moved my recovery forward, none could get to the root of the self-hatred, perfectionism, binging, purging, restricting, or drinking.

I stayed in this chaotic self-abuse cycle until my nutritional therapist referred me to an energy healer as a last ditch effort. This ended up being one of the greatest gifts I have ever received. These sessions taught me how to work with the human energy field and chakra system to release toxic emotions, patterns, and beliefs. I developed a spiritual worldview, which finally enabled me to align my life with my values and let go of the relationships, habits, events, and identities that were undermining my power. Now, incredibly, I do not consider myself to be in recovery, nor does it feel authentic to say that I have an eating disorder. 

My relationship with food is not “perfect.” I still sometimes overeat when I’m stressed, and struggle to cope with feeling full. Sometimes I drink too much caffeine, get hangry, and feel indecisive about what to eat. Like all humans, sometimes I feel insecure. Sometimes I forget that I am more than a body and have to remind myself that I exist for more reasons than to look good and be liked. But for me, all of this is perfectly okay. It feels like the natural sway of things. There is a balance to these ups and downs. And I trust myself to ride the waves. For me, this is what it means to be recovering. 

Above all else, I hope that my story demonstrates that recovery is possible. If you are experiencing stress surrounding your food intake, weight, or body, I am here for you. I offer online coaching sessions to clients all over the country and additional in-person services to my clients in Charleston, South Carolina. If you are interested in booking a session, or want to know if/how coaching could help you in your recovery, please reach out here.

The gifts that I have received as a result of pursuing recovery:

• Self-assurance
• Decisiveness
• Mental clarity
• A more accurate and kind perspective of my body
• Feeling safe around food, including "binge foods"
• Permission to eat whatever I want without experiencing guilt or shame
• Untangling weight loss/maintenance from exercise
• Interested in but no longer obsessed with health
• Habitually moving my body to support my mental health and physical well-being
• Lessened self-consciousness, resulting in greater learning, adventure, and growth
• Trust in myself
• The ability to set boundaries
• A fulfilling relationship with my family
• More quality friendships with people who share my values and support my wellbeing
• A meditation practice
• Faith in a higher power / an intelligent order of things
• Starting my own business
• Getting married to an incredible human
• Choosing to end my relationship with alcohol and experiment with sobriety