EDRECOVERY.COM

The wonderful newsletter that edreferral publishes every month had some very interesting new research on the differences between women with and without eating disorders. Responses to 25 questions about body image, eating, self-esteem, general psychology were collected in 2002-2003 (N=268) and 2005-2006 (N=472). Wilk’s lambda was used to test discrimination.

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I found this journal article which I believe speaks for itself and which lists five ways to help prevent obesity and eating disorders in adolescents.  Mind you, I agree with most of this AND I believe that family dynamics play an exceedingly important role in this population!

Preventing Obesity and Eating Disorders in Adolescents: What Can Health Care Providers Do? by Diane Neumark-Sztainer, Journal of Adolescent Health, (March, 2009).

This article describes five research-based recommendations for health care providers to help prevent both obesity and eating disorders among adolescents that they see within clinical, school, or other settings. The recommendations are based primarily upon findings from Project EAT, a large, population-based study of eating and weight-related issues in adolescents.

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I encourage everyone to watch this video — I was quite impressed but I’m not ready to be vegan yet!

Let me know what you all think!!

I came across this material by Eve Cribbs, LMSW, in Royal Oak, MI.  It seems to me that this is something that could give all of us some pause for thought!

12 Reasons to Thank My Eating Disorder

1. Thank you for being consistent, predictable, reliable, loyal and always available when I am in need, unlike other relationships in my life.
2. Thank you for giving me something I can control. Even though it’s painful, it is a pain I know.
3. Thank you for providing me privacy through preoccupation, secret rituals, rules only for me, purging and binging. Without you as a privacy boundary, I would be gobbled up by the needs of others and lose even more of myself.
4. Thank you for helping me feel better about myself through secretly being selfish, critical and superior toward others while deep down hating myself.
5. Thank you for helping me control something in my life when my emotions and everything around me feels out of control.
6. Thank you for helping me secretly express anger toward others, resentment
   about pressures, and resistance to the expectation to be perfect.
7. Thank you for keeping my secret (at least for a while) that I am weak, needy, desperate and out of control, while pretending to have it all together on the outside.
8. Thank you for changing my neurobiochemestry so my anxiety and depressionare relieved if only for a short time.
9. Thank you for giving me relief from being the super cute, responsible, caring, smart, driven, accomplished, reliable, perfect person I expect from myself by reminding me that I’m messed up and imperfect somewhere (even if no one else knows).
10. Thank you for allowing me to take in good, if only for a while, until I purge, exercise, take diuretics, and/or use self-ridicule to give it back. I believe I don’t deserve good.
11. Thank you for giving me something miserable to focus on with a logical fix instead of focusing on real problems that overwhelm me and don’t have logical fixes.
12. Thank you for creating a barrier from unsolicited sexual attention, an excuse not to get physically close to others and help control my lack of sexual boundaries when I am too afraid and unskilled to cope with these issues myself.

It is crucial to understand that your relationship with food is based on a long-standing intimacy. It needs to be acknowledged as a functional means of coping with life in order to renegotiate it. It does no good to pretend that the eating disorder is all bad and you need to banish it forever. You will likely panic and judge yourself mercilessly when you inevitably run back into its arms. This is a long good-bye with a significant other, not a surgical removal. Take some time and comment about any reactions and any items not listed here.

I always get so excited when I have the privilege of announcing new things about Mirasol!  Mirasol has always been a very organic kind of organization, staying on the cutting edge by being extremely innovative in treatment.  Our adult program continues to be unique and extremely effective after 10 years (this July 1).

However, I’m an acute observer, and I’ve noticed a couple of gaps in treatment opportunities.  Many former clients have requested a tune-up or “refresher course”; others have schedules that don’t allow for more than an intensive workshop. So, we’re launching a new two-week program with a workshop format. During this new two-week program, clients will receive a personalized food plan prepared by our registered dietitian, work with an exercise physiologist on an individual exercise plan, and develop the skills necessary to begin and maintain their journey to wellness.  The program also includes neurofeedback training with an option to continue the treatment when they return home.
For women who have completed treatment and are looking for a renewal, this program will offer them the chance to reaffirm their commitment to themselves in mind, body, and spirit.  The cost of the program is $5000 a week.  It would be wonderful if you all could come!  Please give me a call with any questions you might have!

My other big news is that we are launching a new Transformational Living program.  Notice I didn’t call it “aftercare”, “extended care”, “step-down”, or “transitional care”. This new program is truly transformational, and is available to clients who have completed primary treatment at Mirasol or another program within the last two years.

Mirasol’s Transformational Living program focuses on brain training and life skills, preparing clients for life and all of its challenges when people finish the program.  The minimum length of stay is 30 days, but was designed to be flexible so we can meet the individual needs of our clients, and it will offer as many therapeutic hours as most primary treatment programs!

The cost of this program is $650 a day — an incredible value. All Mirasol therapists have at least five years of experience, continues to serve the finest quality food available, and offers a focused after-care program, lasting up to a year.  And all of this is included in the price of the program.

Please let me know if we can help any of you!