Eating Disorder Awareness Week!

This week, February 26- March 4 is National Eating Disorder Awareness Week! So what does that mean exactly? The National Eating Disorder Association (NEDA) uses this time to educate, raise awareness, celebrate recovery, take action and fight for change. NEDA says “it’s time to shatter the stigma and increase access to care. It’s Time to Talk About It! ” (Source: NEDA ) 

So let’s talk about it! What are eating disorders?

Eating disorders are complex, serious, and potentially life-threatening conditions that affect a person’s mental, physical and emotional health.  They are not a fad, phase or lifestyle choice. They are illnesses that affect a person’s life in many areas such as relationships, work, school, and daily living. The earlier a person with an eating disorder seeks treatment the greater the likelihood of physical and emotional recovery (Source: NEDA- Get Facts ).

The different types of eating disorders are anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, binge eating disorder, or other specified feeding or eating disorder (OSFED). In the US, 20 million women and 10 million men suffer from an eating disorder at some time in their life (Source: NEDA- Get Facts). “A review of nearly fifty years of research confirms that anorexia nervosa has the highest mortality rate of any psychiatric disorder (Arcelus, Mitchell, Wales, & Nielsen, 2011)” (Source: NEDA- Get Facts).  On NEDA’s website you can find all sorts of statistics about dieting and clean eating, substance abuse, obesity, and bullying and weight shaming by clicking here  and here.  These statistics are alarming.

Warning Signs and Symptoms can be found here.

Risk Factors can be found here.

Evaluation and Diagnosis information can be found here.   
Treatment information can be found here. 

Recovery

There are three parts to recovery when it comes to eating disorders, physical recovery, behavioral recovery, and psychological recovery. Physical recovery is when an individual has restored his or her weight to an appropriate and healthy level, normal electrolyte and hormone levels, etc. Behavioral recovery is when an individual stops or dramatically reduces food restriction, overexercising, purging and/or binge eating. Psychological recovery addresses the cognitive and emotional aspects of the eating disorder such as body image issues, rules around food, eating and weight, and perfectionism (Source: NEDA-Recovery).

“Recovery also involves challenging social norms about food, weight, and dieting. Our culture’s toxic messages around these issues means that eating disordered behaviors can be praised, and a clinical disorder disguised as just another diet. Some people have found it helpful to insulate themselves temporarily from these messages as they begin recovery. Later, when they are psychologically stronger, they can learn how to fight back against these social dictates. Many have found it helpful to think critically about media messages around the so-called ‘perfect body’ and ‘perfect diet’ and develop a more realistic, inclusive, and healthful definition for themselves”(Source: NEDA-Recovery).

A No Weigh Declaration- I think this is awesome!!!!!

Relapse 

According to NEDA, Common warning signs of relapse are: 

• Avoiding meals and events involving food
• Making efforts to eat alone
• A return to obsessing about food and weight
• Overwhelming feelings of shame and guilt after eating
• Concealing information from loved ones and your treatment team
• Resuming repeatedly checking appearance in the mirror and weighing outside of treatment
• Justifying small slips and lapses, saying that it’s no big deal or it’s not that bad
• Becoming irritable when the subject of food or eating disorders is brought up
• An increase in stress with no way to manage it
• Increasing anxiety, perfectionism, and depression
• Sleep disturbances
• Isolation from friends and loved ones

“The best way to deal with relapse is to accept the possibility that it might happen, soon or in the distant future, and make a plan to help manage it. 

• Identify your triggers. Based on what you’ve learned in recovery, identify the types of situations where you think you might be most likely to struggle. Write down as many as you can realistically think of.
• Identify warning signs. What are signs that recovery is continuing to go well for you? What about when you might need more support? Lastly, what are the signs that you are in full-blown relapse? Note psychological, behavioral, and social signs, such as avoiding meals, not sleeping well, increasing perfectionism, irritability, and breaking plans with friends.
• Identify support people. Find several people, including a therapist, dietitian, psychiatrist, or other professional, whom you can turn to when you’re stressed or having concerns about emerging eating disordered behavior. If appropriate, encourage them to talk to you about any concerns they see as well" (Source: NEDA- Relapse).  

 

25 Reasons To Be Thankful

"Sad isn't bad, it helps you know what you care about" - Kid President




  We can express our gratitude any day of the year, not just on Thanksgiving. So, what are you thankful for? A lot of times we forget about the little things there are in life to be thankful for. I love Kid President videos because he reminds me of those little things to be thankful for that most people take for granted. I think it's important to remember to take some time every so often to appreciate the little things in life in addition to the big things. So what are you thankful for?

Vulnerability

 

Salt Cave/ Halotherapy

(This is a photo of The Salt Cave in Naples, Fl that can be found on their website here)

Today I went to a Salt Cave for the first time and had such a wonderful experience. Before I tell you about it lets first talk about what exactly salt caves are. Salt caves, also known as halotherapy (halo is the Greek word for salt) are rooms that are filled with salt(the floors have salt, walls are made of salt, there are big crystals of Himalayan salt everywhere). What's so special about these rooms are the fact that Himalayan salt is blowing through the air vents while you are in the room. So you are breathing in salt! Halotherapy is known to benefit those suffering from asthma, allergies, respiratory and skin disorders, infections and many other health conditions (source: The Salt Cave).

I went with a friend and we had no idea what to expect. We were told the sessions start promptly on the hour and we would be brought back shortly. Once we were called back we were asked if we had to use the bathroom (because you can't leave the room) and then to take off our shoes and put on a hair net for contamination prevention reasons. We put our items in a locker and went into the cave. We sat down in the chairs, which are just beach chairs and were given blankets. Thank goodness we were given blankets because it gets chilly! We were told the benefits of halotherapy and that we should just lay back and relax. We were told that the 45 minutes we were in there, if we fell asleep, our bodies would think we had almost a full nights sleep. The lights were turned off and there was relaxing music playing. It was very relaxing and peaceful. After the 45 minutes were up the instructor came back in quietly and with a soft, calming tone told us our time was up. She told us to take our time to get up and exit the cave and get our things. I really liked that she didn't rush us. It was such a relaxing experience.

For those who are interested in the experience alone, or if you're curious for the health benefits give it a try! I also think it's a great way to relieve stress and anxiety. If you need some time to yourself, away from everything and everyone this is a great way to do so. It's also a great way to be "unplugged" from technology for 45/50 minutes depending how long your session lasts. It can be a great addition to your own self-care routine. I know I am definitely adding it to mine!

Love Yourself

"When you don't know yourself, you don't love yourself, you will fall for anything that sounds like love and feels like love" - Polaris  (YouTube video, called America's Daughters) 

Trying to rebuild your self-esteem back up after it's been shattered for quite some time is something that a lot of people have a difficult time with. "Just love yourself," is something easier said than done. You can have people tell you a million positive things about you, but that voice inside your head is telling you those people are lying. So how can we change things? How can we learn to love ourselves again? Well, lets think for a moment. It took years and years for us to listen and believe these negative things about ourselves. Either someone told us something negative (i.e. a parent said you weren't good enough, or a bully called you ugly, etc.) or you learned to tell yourself something negative (i.e. by either watching a parent, friend, someone on social media, etc.). We have to replace those negative messages with positive ones and tell ourselves them until we believe them just like we did with the negative ones. Positive affirmations are a great way to help replace those negative messages. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) techniques can also help challenge those negative messages and help turn them into positive ones. A trained mental health professional can help you with these techniques.

Something you can do on your own though would be to look at positive and inspirational quotes. Some people like to write inspirational quotes around their mirrors so when they look at themselves every day they are always looking at those quotes. It doesn't have to be a mirror, it can be any place that you look at daily (i.e. planner, back of a door, calendar, etc.).

Also, remember to give yourself permission to love yourself. You're not conceited, cocky, or narcissistic for doing so. You are worthy of your own love. When you love and accept yourself, you will be able to listen to yourself, gain more self respect and learn how to set boundaries and walk away from those who are hurting you and are trying to bring you down.

Sober Bowl LI

The Super Bowl has been a part of the American culture for the past 51 years. Every year, Americans get together with friends and families for food and football. Although it is common for alcohol to be available at most Super Bowl events, and most sporting events, it isn't necessary. It is possible to have a Super Bowl party without alcohol, or a "Sober Bowl" party if you will. A Sober Bowl Party can be a time to celebrate family, friendship, good food and football! A Methodist Church in Saratoga Springs, NY hosted their own Sober Bowl party for their recovery community. You can read the article here. This is something you can do in your local community or with your friends and family at your house.

My first blog post!

 "Move out of your comfort zone. You can only grow if you are willing to feel awkward and uncomfortable when you try something NEW." - Brian Tracy

Brian Tracy is a motivational speaker and self-developmental author who wrote this great article, Building the Courage to Break Out of Your Comfort Zone which discusses nine things a person can do to help them break out of their comfort zone. Starting this blog is something that is requiring me to step out of my comfort zone but I am excited about it because it's a place where I can post all helpful tips, tools, coping skills and information for everyone to use to help improve their lives.



This is one of my favorite videos! Kid President has his own YouTube Channel and his main message is to be kind to others. His videos are very uplifting and inspiring and I highly recommend watching them.