Anorexics & Bulimics Anonymous Book Study Session 5Anorexics & Bulimics Anonymous Book Study Session 5
Recovery Crone Podcast
Nicole, Max and Linda study ABA’s Iceberg Theory, linking eating disorders and other addictions to underlying ‘insane’ thinking and emotional pain. They share personal examples of self-centredness, control and dishonesty, and reflect on dissociation, busyness and emotional sobriety in recovery.
1:17:44•2 Nov 2026
Under the Iceberg: Addiction Switching, Insane Thinking and Emotional Sobriety
Episode Overview
- Addictive behaviours such as eating disorders, substance use and compulsive activity are described as just the visible tip of a much larger ‘iceberg’ of distorted thinking and core pain.
- The ABA concept of “primary colours of insanity” – self-centredness, illusion of control and dishonesty – is used to frame both grandiose and deeply worthless self-perception.
- Addiction switching is discussed as a common pattern when underlying causes and conditions are not addressed, even when someone achieves abstinence from a primary behaviour.
- Dissociation, overwork, and heavy TV or activity use are framed as ways to manage overwhelming feelings, sometimes healthier than past behaviours but still rooted in the same issues.
- Honest examples highlight how lying to others and to oneself, especially around food and big life choices, can erode relationships and keep people stuck in shame and isolation.
“Our main problem as anorexics and bulimics centres in our minds rather than in our bodies… anorexia and bulimia relieved the pain of being insane.”
Curious about how others manage co-occurring addictions and the messy thoughts that sit under them? This book study session on Anorexics & Bulimics Anonymous’ Chapter 5, *The Iceberg Theory*, takes listeners straight into that territory, with a mix of honesty, humour and serious recovery talk. Nicole is joined by Max and Linda as they unpack why the chapter may be short on pages but long on impact.
They describe the “iceberg” picture: visible behaviours like restricting, bingeing, purging, drinking or compulsive busyness above the waterline, and “invisible insane thinking processes” underneath. For many in recovery, this chapter has been “core to their recovery” and something they “circle back to” when they’re stuck. The conversation centres on addiction-switching and what ABA calls the “primary colours of insanity”: self-centredness, illusion of control and dishonesty.
They break self‑centredness into two sides of the same coin – grandiosity and worthlessness – and share painfully familiar internal scripts such as, “I’m fat. Nobody will love me unless I look good… I deserve to die. I’m fat.” Max and Linda talk candidly about cross-addiction to substances, relationships, work and constant activity, while Nicole links it to dissociation and emotional sobriety.
There’s open discussion of watching hours of TV, reading endlessly, overworking or staying perpetually busy as ways to “numb out” rather than feel, and how these can be big improvements on more dangerous behaviours while still coming from the same core pain. Dishonesty – with others and with self – shows up in everything from lying about food to making major life decisions without consulting partners, or disappearing from friendships rather than facing painful goodbyes.
If you’re juggling eating disorders, substance use, or endless ‘safe’ distractions and wondering why new problems keep popping up, this session offers language, examples and shared experience that might help you recognise what lies under your own iceberg. What’s really driving your behaviours – and are you ready to look beneath the surface?
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