Support For Those With an Eating Disorder This Christmas

The holiday season can be a wonderful time of thanksgiving and fellowship with friends and family, but for those suffering with anorexia, the absolute abundance of food during the holiday season can be overbearing and difficult to cope with.  Since the holidays tend to revolve around food and feasting, this can be the most challenging time of the year for anorexia sufferers, particularly as overwhelming feelings of panic, anxiety, and fear may be invoked.  It is not uncommon that the pressure of holidays such as Christmas can instigate a worsening of behaviors for many with eating disorders.  With the support of loved ones, Christmas doesn’t have to be associated with deterring feelings or anxiety about food, but rather a day to commemorate love, family and friends.  If you or a loved one is struggling with anorexia, please continue reading here for tips and support during this holiday season.

Be encouraged that recovery is possible and can continue to be maintained, even during difficult time periods.  If you have been in recovery from anorexia, what advice can you share for those who are struggling during this holiday season?

Mood Disorders with Teenagers

As a teenager, it is common to experience an intensity of emotions that can lead to feelings of being overwhelmed or distressed. Eating disorders, such as anorexia, or self-injurious behaviors can develop in teenagers as a coping mechanism or a way to manage such intense emotions.  Learning and adapting healthy coping skills is essential to positively managing the various emotions and mood disorders teenagers might experience.  Dr. Margret Nagib, a psychologist at the Timberline Knolls Residential Treatment Center, discusses the topic further in this podcast.

Eating Disorders are a Guy Thing, too.

Theodore E. Weltzin, MD, FAED
Medical Director, Eating Disorder Services at Rogers Memorial Hospital
December 1, 2011

A growing body of evidence indicates that men are as concerned about body image as women and that it’s not unusual for a male to have an eating disorder.

Approximately 10% of anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa eating disorder patients are male. If you include binge eating disorder, as many as one in four of all eating disorder patients are males...finish reading article

Recovery Through Seasons Of Change

After reading the article "Season of Change", it occurs to me that if you are in recovery from anorexia, you may find that one of the greatest struggles throughout your journey is the ability to make or accept change.  Particularly, if you have suffered with anorexia for a great length of time, you may find yourself unable to let go of deeply rooted behaviors/habits that have enabled you to feel “safe” while in your eating disorder.  Though the thought of embracing new behaviors may bring feelings of fear and apprehension, allow yourself to be secure and confident in knowing that letting go of some things facilitates the possibility of new and superior things to replace what has been lost.

With this New Year approaching, what are changes you are hoping to make for yourself and the continued progression of your recovery?

How to Deal With Stress Over the Holidays

 

How to deal with stress over the holidays
 

Myfoxspokane.com
... on Earth this year -- or at the very least some peace of mind -- watch and listen to the advice on how to cope from best-selling author Dr. Gregg Jantz.

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Win One of Ten Free Books Offered in Drawing

DRAWING ENDS December 15, 2011.
Please complete the contact form, enter "Managing Your Anger" in message, and you will automatically be entered into our December 15, 2011 drawing!

Every Woman's Guide to Managing Your Anger

By Dr. Gregory L. Jantz with Ann McMurray @ www.aplaceofhope.com

 

Women juggle the bowling balls of family and finances, children and schedules, church and community, work inside and outside the home.  Within this time-pressured vise, self-care and personal reflection get squeezed out. Over time, each new responsibility, each additional task can feed the flame of anger and resentment.  Injuries and pain of the past weaken the ability to bounce back from frustrating, difficult or stressful situations.  Old wounds, unhealed, break open afresh with present problems.  This pain hurts; when you get hurt, you get angry.

Anger can be an empowering, supercharged emotion shielding a person from the inevitable darts of life.  But like a drug used to cope in the short-term, anger creates an impossible situation long-term.  What do you do when your repertoire of responses grows shorter and shorter, with more and more synonyms for rage?  What do you do when anger is all you think you have left to feel? 

Welcome to Every Woman's Guide to Anger.  This book addresses the unique situations and pressures that contribute to anger in women.  Women have unique reasons for their anger; to counter these you need to marshal unique resources to overcome anger and live a life of contentment and peace.

Purchase @ A Place of Hope Bookstore

Dr. Jantz has generously donated 10 books to be given away in this drawing!

Weight Matters Workshop: The Body Image Transformation Experience, BITE®

Fran Weiss, LCSW-R,BCD,DCSW,CGP, DPNAP (212) 362-6019
Specializing in the emotional components of disordered eating,
weight regulation, obesity, bulimia and body image.

 

Mondays, NYC (January-May, 2012)
Led by Fran Weiss, LCSW-R,BCD,DCSW,CGP Associate Clinical Professor, Mount Sinai School of Medicine; Sr. Psychotherapy Consultant, New York Obesity Research Center, St. Luke's Roosevelt Hospital Center.

For more information, registration and setting up a consultation, and visit www.FranWeiss.com.

The Weight Matters Workshop (BITE®) is a structured 20 week group, separated into Workshop I + II, to explore and change the powerful habits and compulsions regarding eating and weight that can cause lifetime suffering. BITE® augments existing individual therapy, nutritional, and exercise programs, grappling with issues of body image, shame, "fat as armor" and eating to mask emotional distress and anxiety.

Workshop I addresses the questions: "Why can't I just do it? Why can't I regulate my impulses and change my eating patterns?" The focus is on understanding your personal roadblocks, respecting the experiences that formed them, and most of all keying into your own power to manage destructive thoughts and impulses.

Workshop II takes this to a higher level, teaching you how to listen to your body, which is constantly changing in response to internal and external cues. Somatic and movement techniques are explored that help you move towards attunement and mastery.

*Individual consultation required for admission to the Workshop.
*Insurance reimbursement for Group psychotherapy may apply. 

FranWeiss.com | biddoc@aol.com | Tel: (212) 362- 6019

National group honors student for organizing charity walk

Good for you | Nova Beall
Source: http://www.tampabay.com

Bailey Monarch, 18, was chosen as Volunteer of the Year by the National Eating Disorders Association for organizing the first Tampa Bay NEDA 5K Walk held earlier this year at Al Lopez Park in Tampa. More than 350 walkers participated in the spring event, raising about $33,600. She was honored in October at NEDA's national conference in Los Angeles.
...Continue reading here.
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What are ways that you might be able to become involved in raising awareness about eating disorders?

The “Healthy” Eating Disorder

By Michelle Fiscus
Source: http://herndon.patch.com

It is possible to eat too healthy. But by that point, your diet isn’t really healthy it’s just restrictive. More and more people are adopting what they consider a healthier lifestyle and that includes overhauling their diet. Under most circumstances, that’s great; but not when it takes control of your life.
...Continue reading here.
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What are some examples of dieting fads that could potentially lead to more restrictive eating behaviors? 

Personal Matters: Eating disorders and our family dynamics

Personal Matters  
Susan Britt
Source: http://www.gloucestertimes.com

Eating disorders are epidemic in America, and are likely to be at their most destructive and intense during this holiday period from Thanksgiving through New Year's Eve because holidays tend to stir up suppressed feelings.
...Continue reading here.
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The holidays can be a particularly stressful time, especially if you are attempting to maintain recovery from an eating disorder.  What are effective ways of coping and managing stress during this holiday season without engaging in eating disorder behaviors?