Rally for Recovery with the National Alliance for Eating Disorders

A bathroom scale can become a judge, a ritual, and a cage and most people suffering from disordered eating learn to hide it well. We sit down with McCall Dempsey, founder of Southern Smash and a National Alliance for Eating Disorders advocate, and Johanna Scoglio, author of *When the Water Still Holds Me* and founder of A Dragonfly’s Dream, to talk about what happens when recovery stops being private and starts becoming community.

We get into Rally For Recovery and why it’s built differently: a morning focused on hope, connection, and real support, with creative grounding activities, trauma-informed yoga, mindful movement, local treatment and clinician resources, and the catharsis of scale smashing. McCall shares how Southern Smash grew out of a 15-year eating disorder battle and how a simple sequence of reflections can help people loosen the grip of diet culture, perfectionism, and body image shame.

We also talk about eating disorders in athletes, the pressure of weigh-ins, and why coaches and leadership can either fuel harm or create safer environments through small, practical language shifts. Johanna brings a harm reduction and mind-body-spirit lens that makes space for complexity, long-term healing, and the truth that recovery isn’t linear. Along the way, we highlight the Alliance’s free clinician-answered referrals to care, therapist-led support groups, and the expansion to support options seven days a week.

Listen, share this with someone who needs a little more hope today, and then subscribe, leave a review, and tell us what part of recovery you want to feel less alone in.

Show notes:

Trigger warning: this show is not medical, nutrition, or mental health treatment and is not a replacement for meeting with a Registered Dietitian, Licensed Mental Health Provider, or any other medical provider. You can find resources for how to find a provider, as well as crisis resources, in the show notes. Listener discretion is advised.

Event link: https://secure.qgiv.com/event/2026raleighrally/

Resource links:

Alliance for Eating Disorders: https://www.allianceforeatingdisorders.com/

For questions about The Alliance’s free referral services, or more information about The Alliance’s other specialized services, please reach out to The Alliance at 866.662.1235 or [e-mail].

https://www.findedhelp.com/ is the country's largest database of ED providers and treatment centers.

How to find a provider:

https://map.nationaleatingdisorders.org/

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us

https://www.healthprofs.com/us/nutritionists-dietitians?tr=Hdr_Brand

Suicide & crisis awareness hotline: call 988 (available 24/7)

Eating Disorder hotline: call or text 800-931-2237 (Phone line is available Monday-Thursday 11 am-9 pm ET and Friday 11 am-5 pm ET; text line is available Monday-Thursday 3-6 pm ET and Friday 1-5 pm ET)

If you are experiencing a psychiatric or medical emergency, please call 911 or go to your nearest emergency room.

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