by Lauren Harding, Eating Recovery Coach and Counseling Intern
The holiday season can bring a significant amount of joy; however, it also presents its fair share of challenges. There is an expectation that the next few months are the best time of the year, which can be especially daunting for those who struggle with mental health issues.
For individuals who struggle with eating disorders or disordered eating, the holidays pose unique difficulties. Between the strong emphasis on food, diet talk, and that uncle who comments on your weight each year, the holiday season may be something that you are dreading. The “busy-ness” of this time of year, lack of routine, social experiences, and painful memories can further exacerbate disordered eating, anxiety, or depressive symptoms.
By Lauren Harding, Eating Recovery Coach
Often in eating disorder treatment, the eating disorder is interpreted as some outside entity, external from the individual struggling with an eating disorder. I view the eating disorder self a little bit differently. An old Cherokee Indian legend illustrates the most important battle of our lives between the good wolf and bad wolf inside of us. The wolf that ultimately wins is the one that we choose to feed. YOU are the one who has the power to either strengthen the eating disorder self or to defeat the eating disorder self, because the eating disorder is a part of YOU. You were born with a healthy core self that has been taken over by the eating disorder self over time. Clients typically describe the eating disorder self as a “monster that takes over” or the “demon inside of them”, I refer to the eating disorder self as ED- the abusive partner. The abusive partner, although toxic provides, a sense of stability for you. It promises a better future if you listen to it. It lures you in but continues to hurt you, while telling you that it will get better if you just stay. The longer you stay with an abusive partner, the stronger the abusive partner becomes. And ultimately, it is you that has the power to say goodbye to that abusive partner inside of you.
By Lauren Harding, Recovery Coach
Disordered eating is NOT “less serious” than an eating disorder. And BOTH are deserving of support and treatment. Eating disorders are a pattern of behavioral, physical and psychological signs and symptoms that fit into the specific criteria outlined by the DSM. Disordered eating is a pattern of behavioral, physical and psychological signs and symptoms that do not clearly fit into a diagnosis outlined in the DSM. Disordered eating may be harder to detect due to a society that is obsessed with the pursuit of “wellness” and that celebrates disordered eating behaviors.
By Lauren Harding, Recovery Coach
Warmer weather and the coming of summer often exacerbate worries about food and our bodies. This is especially challenging for those who are struggling with an eating disorder or who are in recovery. For many of these individuals wearing more revealing clothing such as shorts, sleeveless tops, or swimming suits can be a source of anxiety. Avoidance tends to be the initial response when approaching summer. Unfortunately, advertisers don’t recognize the impact terms like the “summer body” can have on someone’s perception of themselves.
By Lauren Harding, Eating Recovery Coach
The Facts
Dieting is linked to disordered eating attitudes and behaviors. Research shows that girls who diet are seven to eight times more likely to develop an eating disorder compared to those who do not diet. Furthermore, cross-cultural studies reveal an increase in eating disorders with an increase of urbanization. In Fiji, before television, dieting did not exist and there were no eating disorders. After television was introduced, Fijian women were for the first-time dieting, reportedly, as a way to “gain status”. Within 3 years 11% of these women reported vomiting in order to lose weight. “Without our cultural preoccupation with dieting, there would be no epidemic of eating disorders” (Gordon, 2000). An estimated 45 million Americans go on a diet each year, and Americans spend $33 billion each year on weight loss products. In 2017 the US dieting industry alone was worth $68.2 billion dollars. Yet, nearly two-thirds of Americans are classified as “obese”. With the increase of western civilization and dieting, there is also an increase of “obesity” and of eating disorders.
Eating Disorders- about the food or not about the food?
Eating disorders are both about the food and not about the food.
Exercise can be a difficult thing to navigate during eating disorder recovery. I often find that clients struggle to differentiate between whether they are truly exercising for enjoyment or if they are exercising with eating disorder motives. There are a few ways to first identify if you have a dysfunctional relationship with exercise, and several steps to take in order to find balance and make peace with it once more.
Thanksgiving is of course a day where we practice gratitude. But, for those healing from an eating disorder, gratitude is a powerful tool for sustained recovery best practiced every day. Eating disorder behavior and thoughts often create a false sense of reality that steers us away from important, worthwhile aspects of our lives and personal identity. Expressing gratitude intentionally for the non-eating disorder components of our lives reminds us that we are and will continue to be more than just our eating disorders. Here are 4 ways to increase your expression of recovery gratitude:
We all feel stressed at times. You’ve been meaning to find a way to manage your overall stress levels. You’re going to start a meditation practice…soon. Or, you plan to make physical activity a more regular part of your busy schedule. But, what can you do when you’re running late for work, your kid spills juice on you, and then you get stuck in traffic? Here are 5 tips that can help you decrease stress in the moment.
Mindfulness is one of the four core skills introduced in a highly effective type of therapy called Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT). DBT incorporates the Eastern practice of mindful meditation into talk therapy. The combination of practicing mindful meditation and evaluating negative thought patterns can significantly increase relaxation and help one cope with strong emotions.
So what exactly is mindfulness and how do we become more mindful? Being mindful is a state of mind that can be achieved with regular practice. Mindfulness is the act of simply observing our thoughts and feelings without imposing judgement on those thoughts or feelings such that they are “good” or “bad”. Let’s be honest, to refrain from judging and criticizing our own thoughts and feelings is a hard feat to conquer. We judge ourselves constantly throughout the day; therefore, it will understandably take a fair amount of practice and time to eventually master this art.
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