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I was sent this by my dear friend from British Columbia, Tracy Lambeth. It is wonderful!

A while back, at the entrance of a gym, there was a picture of a very thin and beautiful woman. The caption was “This summer, do you want to be a mermaid or a whale?”

The story goes, a woman (of clothing size unknown) answered the following way:

“Dear people, whales are always surrounded by friends (dolphins, seals, curious humans), they are sexually active and raise their children with great tenderness.

They entertain like crazy with dolphins and eat lots of prawns. They swim all day and travel to fantastic places like Patagonia, the Barents Sea or the coral reefs of Polynesia.

They sing incredibly well and sometimes even are on cds. They are impressive and dearly loved animals, which everyone defend and admires.

Mermaids do not exist.

But if they existed, they would line up to see a psychologist because of a problem of split personality: woman or fish?

They would have no sex life and could not bear children.

Yes, they would be lovely, but lonely and sad.
And, who wants a girl that smells like fish by his side?

Without a doubt, I’d rather be a whale.

At a time when the media tells us that only thin is beautiful, I prefer to eat ice cream with my kids, to have dinner with my husband, to eat and drink and have fun with my friends.

We women, we gain weight because we accumulate so much wisdom and knowledge that there isn’t enough space in our heads, and it spreads all over our bodies.

We are not fat, we are greatly cultivated.

Every time I see my curves in the mirror, I tell myself: “How amazing am I ?! “

I have to mention again the article in the New York Times that discusses insurance companies in California appealing a decision in the lower courts that would make insurance companies pay for eating disorders treatment, and other mental conditions just as they pay for medical treatment. I’ve also read a several articles where a couple of psychologists maintained that people with eating disorders can be treated just as well on an out-patient basis.

Have they done a thorough literature review on the recovery rates of people from eating disorders? Stuart Agras tells us that only 32% of all people who have had treatment are eating disorder free at the end of a year. This included inpatient, residential, and outpatient therapy. Anorexia is the leading cause of death in young women. 20% of people with anorexia will die.

I see the women who admit to Mirasol for treatment. A good number of these women wouldn’t live if they didn’t receive the care they need. A couple of days in the hospital for refeeding doesn’t cut it. I’m talking about treating them nutritionally, physically, emotionally — real mind/body treatment because that is the way someone recovers from an eating disorder much more quickly than they would in outpatient therapy.

I remember the court case in Minnesota where Kitty Westin sued Blue Cross of Minnesota because they refused treatment for her daughter, Anna, who died from an eating disorder. Anna was only 16. Now Minnesota pays for eating disorder treatment.

A few lawsuits that would cost the insurance companies $1,000,000 or more will get their attention and paying for treatment will seem much cheaper in comparison to paying out large amounts in lawsuits.

Insurance companies are making huge profits. They need to care for the women in our society who suffer from these conditions.

We all need to get behind the lawsuits. We need to write or call our congressmen. We need to shout loud and clear. We need to let people know that we will not accept this kind of treatment — or should I say non-treatment?

Grrrrrr………….

Nine Reasons Not to Get Treatment

I love to answer the phones at Mirasol and speak with people who are calling us for information. Some people have been to several different treatment centers and are old pros at the admission process. Some people have never been to treatment but have been seeing a therapist. Other people are simply out there, very ill, and they’ve never attempted to get any help.

When I talk to people about previous treatment or lack of previous treatment, I get the comment, “I don’t think I’m sick enough for treatment.” They have an unbelievable list of reasons they shouldn’t get treatment.
See if you can identify with anything on this list:

1. I don’t want to. Wow, what a concept. I think I’ll wait. I’d rather have a root canal!

2. I’m not sick enough. Everyone (yes, everyone) has used this excuse at some point. Other variations include:
a. I’m not thin enough. My weight is okay. I’ll be the
heaviest person in treatment.
b. My labs are okay. I’m really healthy.
c. I don’t have serious health consequences.
d. If it were really a problem, my spouse / doctor / friends / parents would have said something.

3. I can’t take the time off from work – This excuse is not unreasonable, but what about having a life-threatening disorder? What about getting fired from your job because you can’t do the work? What about getting treatment, coming back, and doing super work for your boss? You need to be around to do your job and to do a good job.

4. It’s too expensive – Clients say this and parents say this! However, there are ways to find money. Some treatment centers have sliding scales. There are free, research-run programs in some areas. I know of a behavioral health lender that has very reasonable terms for the borrower. Many other people borrow money from family members. I remember one patient I had who borrowed $5000 from 10 different family members. Still, finances are a barrier for many people.

5. I had treatment before, and it didn’t work – This is another excuse that I hear frequently from people. How about saying this? “I didn’t fail treatment, but the kind of treatment I had failed me!”

6. I can do this on my own — This is another one that everyone has used, usually to put off therapists, doctors, and parents. If you could do it on your own, you would have done it by now.

7. There’s no treatment near me — You’ll have to be creative. You can find treatment of some kind, even if you’re going to AA or Al-Anon meetings.

8. I’m too old – Adolescent females are not the only people in the universe who have eating disorders. At Mirasol, my oldest client was a woman who was 74! More and more older women are showing up with eating disorders.

9. Shame — So many people with eating disorders feel a lot of shame. “What will everyone say if they know I’m going for treatment?” It’s none of their business first of all. You tell them you’re going to a retreat center. Sometimes it seems like jumping off of a cliff without any idea of where you’ll land! But take a risk and do it!

There are lots of reasons to NOT seek treatment, and many of them are valid. However, reasonable or not, they are still excuses and they help keep you sick.

October 2, 2011. Does anyone out there know where the time is going? I have so many things that I’ve planned on doing. I have a list of articles to write and a huge list of blogs, but somehow I end up working with prospective clients during the day. I absolutely love doing that. I answer the phone that is strictly for admissions and I love telling people about the magic of Mirasol. I love telling people about how I literally can see people, after two weeks of treatment, begin to light up like little light bulbs. I get to see the roses in their cheeks as they’re making eye-contact with me when we say hello.

What could ever be better than that?

However, I have so much knowledge that I have to get out to all of you who are in recovery, in early recovery, or are still suffering. I would also appreciate it if there is something you particularly have questions about or if there’s something you want to learn about eating disorders. I’m your gal.

I saw an article the other day in our local paper, the Tucson Daily Star, titled More Hospitals Offer Alternative Therapies. The article was a reprint from the Los Angeles Times.

Hospitals today are offering meditation and relaxation training. Medical, clinical hypnosis is offered as well and is a god-send in helping release some of the patients fear and stress. Over 65% of all hospitals offer alternative therapies for pain management. Massage therapy and body work in particular are effective.

It’s not only hospitals and treatment centers that want alternative therapies but the patients themselves want the best that both conventional and alternative medicine can offer.

I remember when I opened Mirasol in July of 1999. In August of that year, my husband and I went to an IAEDP (International Association of Eating Disordered Professionals) conference in Phoenix. At that time, I had a staff of 4 people including myself. I was doing biofeedback with finger temperature sensors. The programs were only 2 weeks long. I still talked extensively about integrative treatment and people thought I had holes in my head.

They weren’t laughing in my face but almost. Who ever heard of something called neurofeedback? Whoever thought about using body work and acupuncture with eating disorders? Even the terms Mind/Body/Spirit was still rather new and not embraced by the treatment community. At that time the only therapeutic modalities were cognitive-behavioral therapy and interpersonal therapy. Maybe a facility would throw in a horse.

No one is even thinking about laughing now. Today everywhere I look, I see the words holistic, alternative, and organic, and I see a huge list of therapies. I see even programs that are strictly medical model talking about Mind, Body, Spirit.

I used to feel resentful as the years went by and more and more centers began to use alternative therapies. “They’re just copying me,” I thought.

Now I look upon all places using alternative therapies with joy! People need to heal from the tops of their heads to the bottoms of their feet (or tippy-toes). I can’t imagine any person truly healing without healing their whole selves – Mind/Body/Spirit.