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, medication. 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 suffer from disordered eating or disordered thinking. I experience ease, peace, joy, and satisfaction in my relationship with food on a regular basis. This is the gift of recovery. And I am so grateful to be "on the other side" of such a challenging battle.

Being fully recovered from my ED does not mean I cease being human or am immune to the struggles of daily life. My relationship with food is not “perfect" (but then again I don't expect it to be!). There are days were stress can lead to overeating, inviting me to cope with feeling overly full. Sometimes I choose to drink too much caffeine, fail to plan ahead and get hangry, and experience indecision about what to eat. It all feels normal and manageable, and at times, comical. Like all humans, I am capable of feeling insecure and can project that emotion onto my physical form. 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 human. 

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
• Freedom from shame & hopelessness
• 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 & enforce 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 a business serving others that I love and feel deeply fulfilled by
• Choosing to end my relationship with alcohol and experiment with sobriety