Recovery Resolutions for 2016
Recovery Resolutions I get pretty sentimental around holidays. And since there’s not much else that says “New Year’s Eve” like resolutions and reminiscing on the past year, that’s what this post is about! The year 2015 has been difficult, but in very different ways than 2014 was. In 2014, everything was new to me — health was new, […] The post Recovery Resolutions for 2016 appeared first on The Middle Ground.
Is Residential Treatment Worth It?
I recently exchanged emails with a young woman who is entering eating disorder treatment for the first time. She’s working with her treatment team to decide which level of care she ought to start on: partial hospitalization (day treatment) or residential treatment. We’ve corresponded a number of times over the last few months, so she asked what […] The post Is Residential Treatment Worth It? appeared first on The Middle Ground.
Oral Roberts University Requires Fitbit for All Freshmen
Oral Roberts U requires students to track activity for a grade Oral Roberts University, a Christian college in Tulsa, Oklahoma, recently announced that it is requiring all freshmen to wear the popular fitness and activity tracker, Fitbit. The school will track each student’s activity level (and other health data) as part of a first-year course known […] The post Oral Roberts University Requires Fitbit for All Freshmen appeared first on The Middle Ground.
More Than Weight Has Been Gained
The Road to Residential Two years ago today, at 5 a.m. on a frozen Tuesday morning, my fiancé and I rented a car and drove 100 miles from New York City to Philadelphia, where I would be entering residential treatment for anorexia. I’d been in a day treatment program for a little more than seven […] The post More Than Weight Has Been Gained appeared first on The Middle Ground.
Please Don’t Ask Me How Long This Will Take
How long will recovery take? An open letter to our Supporters, We had the fight again — the one that happens when our heroic patience finally deflates, and our frustration comes hissing out until it permeates through the house. You want to know: How long is this going to take? How long are we going to suffer like this? […] The post Please Don’t Ask Me How Long This Will Take appeared first on The Middle Ground.
Hope and Hopelessness in Early Recovery: A Look Back
I should call the emergency line. I should email my therapist. I should tell [my fiancé]. I know exactly what I should do. I just don’t want to. I don’t want to be stopped. – Journal entry from Jan. 6, 2014 (full excerpt below) On Monday the temperature plummeted here in New York. The smell and feel of the cold air […] The post Hope and Hopelessness in Early Recovery: A Look Back appeared first on The Middle Ground.
This is Anorexia
Oh, celebrity anorexia rumors… they never stop. As I was researching the relationship between eating disorders and social media for a conference I’m presenting at in May, I stumbled upon a rather abhorrent story called “18 Anorexic THIN Celebrities That Need a Few Big Macs!” (For obvious reasons, I’m not linking to it. But the website is called Juicy Celeb, […] The post This is Anorexia appeared first on The Middle Ground.
What an Eating Disorder in Recovery Sounds Like
Wait… You’re not over that eating disorder yet? During National Eating Disorders Awareness Week (NEDAwareness), I did a fair amount of preaching to the choir about early intervention. Presumably, some of it reached the general public, but since the overwhelming majority of my followers — if not all of them — are people who have […] The post What an Eating Disorder in Recovery Sounds Like appeared first on The Middle Ground.
NEDAwareness Week 2016
#NEDAwareness: National Eating Disorder Awareness Another NEDAwareness Week is drawing to a close. This year’s theme, “Three Minutes Can Save a Life: Get Screened, Get Help, Get Healthy,” focused on the importance of early detection and intervention. I can’t emphasize enough just how important it is to act as soon as possible if you suspect that you […] The post NEDAwareness Week 2016 appeared first on The Middle Ground.
Yes, Recovery Really Does Get Better
Pushing Through the Final Phases of Recovery I haven’t written in a while, you might have noticed. I relapsed, and I was too ashamed to admit it here. It was a quick, steep backslide, and the trigger was very specific: I weighed myself. I went home for Christmas and encountered a scale. I thought I […] The post Yes, Recovery Really Does Get Better appeared first on The Middle Ground.