Meet Eating Disorders Specialist 
Pamela Paul

The daughter of a preacher, Pamela Paul absorbed strong messages early on about her body and expected behavior. At age ten she threw it all away. “It was too hard to follow the straight and narrow,” says Pamela. “I never felt good enough, so I gave up trying.” A decade of rebellious and self-destructive behavior followed.

By age 20, Pamela’s life was a mess and she flunked out of college. Consumed by the ravaging effects of an eating disorder, Bulimia Nervosa, she binged and purged daily, often five times a day. Desperate for help, she sought counseling and describes her experience with treatment as hit or miss, maintaining that “no one really knew how to work with Bulimic patients in the early 80s. I essentially educated the therapists I saw about my disorder, but received no direction for recovering from it. I felt hopeless, alone and out of control.” She realized she was completely on her own for fighting the disorder, and vowed, “If I ever find a way out, I will spend the rest of my life helping others do the same.”

At the age of 27, frightened by the fact that she was four months pregnant and still sabotaging her body through self-induced vomiting, Pamela threw up for the last time. “My journey of recovery began.” For the first time, she found freedom with food and learned to be comfortable in her body.

Although she had rejected much of the early religious teachings, a spiritual connection had always flickered and she yearned to find truth. She slowly began to “let go of all the garbage in my mind” and she replaced a long-held craving for her father’s approval with a spiritual connection. “I learned that God is a God of love and accepts me as I am.” Her self-esteem dramatically improved.

Passionate to share her experience with others, Pamela returned to college so she could prepare herself to help others. She graduated with honors, despite a second pregnancy, divorce, and single parenting. “It was tough, but I was committed,” she says.

Since then Pamela has devoted her career to investing in the lives of others. Her practice is devoted exclusively to women and adolescent girls who suffer with anorexia, bulimia, compulsive overeating, and obesity. She helps them break free from their struggles with food, weight and body image, and learn to live with authenticity, meaning and significance.

A Florida native, Pamela lives in Largo with her teenaged son and daughter. She enjoys reading, writing and being outdoors. Favorite activities include gardening, jogging, rollerblading, biking, beaching, kayaking, or riding her Kawasaki Ninja – anything, she says, to feel the warmth of the sun on her skin.