mental health

Advice For Loved Ones

Advice For Loved Ones

The claws of an eating disorder often extend further than the individual afflicted with the disease; family members and loved ones find their lives in upheaval as well. When you find out that a loved one is battling an eating disorder, the best way to proceed can be a confusing and murky. How do you communicate? How do you approach issues such as food and self-image? What actions can you take for yourself? To begin with, full honesty must be the foundation of your relationship. Forming a pact or contract can help keep…Read more
Practicing Self-Esteem- by Alice Kofman

Practicing Self-Esteem- by Alice Kofman

Many people with eating-disorders have low self-esteem. An excellent tool to develop higher self-esteem is to practice writing in a journal every day. A journal is like a mirror into one’s soul. It’s a great place to express emotion, creativity and to work through negative emotions. Journaling can be used as a safe outlet to release private thoughts and feelings. By practicing free flowing stream of consciousness writing, one can effectively explore one’s inner world. Many people are far too busy to pay attention to the subtle inner feelings that arise in the…Read more
Extreme Celebrity Diets- by Katie Funk

Extreme Celebrity Diets- by Katie Funk

We see it everyday on TV, in magazines, or on the Internet. Stories of extreme weight loss among celebrities are given major attention in the media. These people are praised and celebrated for their new “healthy” lifestyles and their decreasing dress size, and are presented as role models for our youth. But I can’t help but wonder if these stories are only adding to the unrealistic ideals we hold about weight and body type. Take Jennifer Hudson. She is the spotlight of diet and health in Hollywood right now, and because of her…Read more
A Skeleton With Skin- By Lee Harmon

A Skeleton With Skin- By Lee Harmon

Last week I was doing some research on recent discoveries or studies done on eating disorders. I came across a website that featured a French woman who has since died from complications with anorexia. She was a model, and there were many beautifully taken photos of her; however, her painfully emaciated body was all that I could focus on. She was literally nothing but flesh and bones, her sharp features made even sharper by her nonexistent body fat. She looked like a skeleton with skin. The crazy thing was that I felt two…Read more
Why I Don’t Weigh Myself (If I Can Help It)- By Lee Harmon

Why I Don’t Weigh Myself (If I Can Help It)- By Lee Harmon

I try hard not to weigh myself anymore. It’s not as easy as it may seem, but I find that I am a much more content person if I don’t know what I weigh. When I do know what I weigh, I seem to be more obsessed than ever about numbers. If I am above or below my “ideal” weight it’s the only thing I can think about. So I avoid scales. Sort of.   It’s a bit like trying to avoid alcohol. Even if I am abstaining from alcohol, it still exists…Read more

How Does a Mother of Three Get High School Skinny? By Lee Harmon

I was driving down the road the other day and I saw something that had me super confused. It was a giant billboard of a beautiful, blonde woman showing off her flat, tanned stomach. On the billboard was the question “How did this mother of three get high school skinny?” And of course there was a business name and a 1-800 number to call. High school skinny? What does that mean? My brain was flooded with all sorts of conflicting emotions. At first I thought the obvious – How DOES a mother of…Read more

Living With an Eating Disorder- By Lee Harmon

I find that living with an eating disorder is like having a cruel, critical voice living inside you. The voice is constantly making comments about how you look and what you eat or don’t eat. I find that I am always in conflict with this voice, because even though I know that what it is telling me is harmful, it is very persuasive. It tells me not to eat breakfast. It tells me to not eat bread or pasta – ever. It tells me I won’t be attractive to men if I have…Read more

A Powerful Article

This is a powerful article I found on Sassy, Spunky, & Spirited. I know that I identify with the feeling of being disgusted after compulsively eating. There is a lot of wisdom in here and I think we can all gain something from reading it. “I came home and started to binge. There was real hunger, but I also had so much I wanted to avoid/distract myself from with food. I started to feel full… ate some more bites… and then stopped. I’ve never done that… been so close to just falling into the black hole…Read more

Social Media and Eating Disorders- By Jamie Zabludowski

Many parents are under the impression that they can save their teens from the attractions of sex, drugs, and pro-eating disorders by simply turning off their televisions or moving to a secluded island. Of course, anyone can use the parental control settings on a TV to block certain commercials and programs, but what about computers? What about social media? It sounds like things are getting a little more complicated to stop kids from binging, purging, and restricting. The “model thin” image is advertised on all different social media platforms. In June 2010, a study by…Read more
Weighting for Perfection- By Eve Lahijani, RD

Weighting for Perfection- By Eve Lahijani, RD

By Eve Lahijani, RDRegistered Dietician at Susan B. Krevoy Eating Disorders Program   Take this moment.  Imagine yourself living your dreams.  Imaging having everything you want. Tune into what you see.  What are you doing?  Who are you with?  What is around you? Really get in touch with what that looks like.  Now, what are you feeling?  Take a moment to bask in the feeling of living your dream…  Feels good – – right? Well if you are feeling good, you fell into my trap!  You just demonstrated to yourself, how you can bring those…Read more
  • 1
  • 2