#95 – Rouba Chalabi: Beyond the Emptiness

#95 – Rouba Chalabi: Beyond the Emptiness

Get ready to be moved by real-life accounts of recovery that don’t fit the usual alcohol-or-drugs script. This conversation zooms in on food addiction, with guest Rouba Chalabi sharing how her relationship with food shifted from tranquiliser to nourishment. Rouba, a food addiction counsellor and biodynamic breathwork and trauma release practitioner, talks about growing up feeling policed around food and learning to see her own body as the enemy.

She explains, with striking clarity, that “the addiction is not the problem. The addiction is a consequence,” describing food as the coping mechanism that helped her survive overwhelming emotions and childhood pain. At 39, burnt out in a high-powered corporate role, Rouba hit a breaking point. On paper she had everything; inside she felt empty, exhausted and invisible.

That crash led her towards self-love, spiritual growth and finally a structured food recovery plan focused on real, unprocessed food, four weighed meals a day, and clear boundaries around sugar and flour. Anyone who’s ever tried to ‘just use willpower’ will relate as she laughs gently at the idea that moderation alone could fix addiction.

Instead, she walks through practical tools: meal prepping like a weekend ritual, checking in with emotions through daily journalling, and spotting warning signs before a relapse builds. Rouba also speaks openly about forgiving her parents, redefining success away from shiny CVs and towards feeling genuinely well, and making peace with herself. She quotes Gibran Khalil Gibran: “asked me to make peace with my enemy.

So I decided to fall in love with myself,” using it as a springboard to talk about becoming her own ally. If you’ve ever used food to soothe, or swapped one addiction for another and called it ‘success’, this story might have you asking some brave questions of your own: what would caring for yourself actually look like today?