Meet the Hartlepool woman on a mission to help people find freedom with food

Carla Forth, 51, launched her business In Harmony back in 2012.

Carla, from the Hart Lane area of town, was initially helping people to tackle anxiety and prepare for important future events, such as job interviews and exams.

But after she was diagnosed with an eating disorder at the age of 47 and went through her own recovery, the focus of her work changed.

She now also helps people with eating disorders, as well as those who struggle with compulsive eating and dieting, by teaching them how to explore their relationship with food.

Carla uses a method called sophrology, which she describes as “dynamic mindfulness” and has said she is one of just under 100 sophrologists in the UK.

The wellbeing specialist, who has clients from all over the country, said: "What sophrology does is to gently and safely bring us back into the body and we start to slow down and relax.

"We start to become much more aware of our habits. We start to become much more aware of our self-talk.

"We gradually take people through where we go back into the past and explore old beliefs around food.”

Carla was diagnosed with orthorexia, which is an obsession with clean eating, in 2017 and says the recovery helped her develop her work.

The former HR manager said: "Although I had only half a stone to lose at any one time, I would lose the weight and then start to compulsively eat.

"I was eating in response to stress or to give myself a reward or I ate when I was bored.

"All of this additional eating would help put the weight back on. This yo-yo dieting over 20 years or so eventually led me to having an eating disorder.”

She added: "I think we often associate eating disorders with young people, but now I think we’re becoming much more aware that people in their midlife are suffering as well.“

Carla will be holding a full day workshop to help people transform their relationship with food through sophrology on Sunday, August, 8 at the Centre Yoga & Wellbeing in Park Road. You can sign up by emailing [email protected].

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