anorexia nervosa
negative coping skills
Often we post lots of information about ‘positive’ signs and skills. After all part of recovery is learning to focus on the positive. But what about the negative, how do you recognise negative coping skills. How do you know that the behaviours you are doing are actually harming you or not promoting recovery. We live […]
Returning to School after Eating Disorder Treatment
Originally posted on The Feed: Every year around this time, the back-to-school bonanza begins. Stationery stores are stock-piled with school supplies. Bedding and home stores are advertising all the latest dorm room designs. And clothing stores are clamoring about ways to refresh a fall wardrobe. Photo Credit: Creative Commons by emerille However, if your summer…
the definition of recovery
With thanks to FEAST for this post. They have spelt it out perfectly. Why add to it!? Defining Recovery The goal of eating disorder treatment is full recovery: living life free of eating disorder thoughts and behaviours. There is always hope, even for patients with chronic illness, but the best path to recovery is early intervention and […]
gut research findings for anorexia
Researchers at the UNC School of Medicine found that people with anorexia nervosa have very different microbial communities residing inside their guts compared to healthy individuals and that this bacterial imbalance is associated with some of the psychological symptoms related to the eating disorder. The findings, published in the journal Psychosomatic Medicine, provide more evidence […]
double joints and anxiety
This research sparked a big response on a group I belong to and how so many of our children who have an eating disorder, are also double jointed and flexible.It may be something my readers also relate to and recognise in their children or themselves. It’s an interesting concept and one that further research would […]
stupid phrases for people in crisis
Originally posted on communicating across the boundaries of faith & culture: God will never give you more than you can handle. While some may believe it is theologically correct, depending on your definitions, it is singularly unhelpful to the person who is neck-deep in a crisis, trying to swim against a Tsunami. A wonderful phrase…
no more meds
Yes we are still here! But our journey means the blog is not something that now gets a lot of posts. I debated with making it an advocacy, education blog etc but that was never the point of this blog. There are better forums for the advocacy ED awareness but not here. This is our […]
risk factors for eating disorders
From NEDC Newsletter 2016 Eating disorders are complex mental illnesses. To date, no single cause has been identified. Rather, widespread research suggests that the onset of an eating disorder is unique to the individual and often involves the integration of multiple factors (Culbert, Racine, & Klump, 2015; Rikani et al., 2013). Understanding these known risk […]
anorexia and the heart
I’ve written in brief about heart problems with anorexia, but it’s any eating disorder that can also produce severe heart problems. This is the hidden killer for many. I found that not knowing Sophie’s true heart rate until she was in hospital to be a very critical issue. The GP and others treating her before […]
My opinion on "healthified food"
Now a days you can find “healthified” recipes for pretty much any food out there. It might not taste the same as the original but it a sort of copy cat/fake version of the original.What is my opinion on this, and does it encourage disordered eating?My opinion is that it is great. For the average person who eats balanced i think its great… somedays you want a normal pizza, otherdays you want a pizza made with a cauliflower crust. Somedays you want pasta other days you want zoodles. Some days you eat oreo cookies and other days you eat banana and oat cookies. I love that you can choose…. i mean one day i might want to go to a “healthy or raw food …
It’s not your fault that you suffer from a mental illness, but it IS your choice to recover
During the weekend i had a conversation with my mum where she was talking about mental illnesses and eating disorders and how they are doing alot more research regarding these areas and how mental illnesses arent a choice… though the fact that this isnt common knowledge is sort of scary. (I mean shouldnt people know by now that people dont choose an eating disorder, depression, anxiety or panic attacks or bipolar etc etc? It’s not exactly something someone willingly chooses to live with and wants it a part of their life.) Anyway, my mum then reminded me that it wasnt my fault that i had developed an eating disorder in the past or that i struggled with mental illness and i told her that i never …
Long day in school, sunshine and endless hunger
Hello :)It is Tuesday evening and I am sitting wrapped up in blankets as i am freezing despite it being around 18 degrees outside today, but ive had to walk around wearing my jacket in school and double layers in doors. It feels like a throw back to the past when i was freezing despite it being summer and warm, though now i blame it on the stress and my body is just weird when it comes to temperature… either i am really warm or really cold, and not to mention that i have bad blood circulation to my feet and hands so they are always icy cold. However, that was not what i was going to write about, hahaha.This morning i woke up feeling positive, despite …