Why recovery blogs (such as this one) should be read with discretion

I write a recovery blog, so I understand the irony of this post. I need to write it anyway. When I had “active” anorexia, I never read a thing about it. I remember a couple of times people trying to send me a newspaper or magazine clipping on anorexia...

Fried Eggs and Thunder Thighs

Ooops! I wrote another one! (Don’t worry, the title will make sense if you read it.) A book regarding negative body image came into my head over Christmas so I set to writing it out in the New Year. This one is not about eating disorders, it is about negative...

Rehabilitate, Rewire, Recover, Second Edition

Okay so here is a very odd admission; it is common for me to forget what I have written in a book within 6 months of writing it. Rehabilitate, Rewire, Recover has been playing on my mind a little due to this. People would email me and thank me for writing it and while...

I’ve not been blogging because I like being lazy

lazy adjective 1. unwilling to work or use energy. This year, “unwilling to work or use energy,” sounds about right when it comes to writing, reading, accounting, or anything related to my computer. It’s been the most unproductive year I’ve had...

When therapists say shit like: “Maybe your hunger is actually you trying to fill a void in your life”

Not much that makes me feel like slamming my head against the wall as much as when I hear that someone’s therapist has told them that their hunger is not actually because they are hungry, but because they are trying to fill a void in their life....

Lunchbox policing

I had a teddy-bear shaped red plastic lunchbox in primary school. Mum packed it for me. Generally a sandwich, yoghurt, piece of fruit, bag of crisps, biscuits, jaffa cakes, and a chocolate bar or sweets. If it was a good day, cake. There were no lunchbox police when I...

When Eating Disorder Professionals are a Liability: Fear of Weight Gain

I feel like I have been writing/complaining about eating disorder professionals promoting restrictive eating for 100 years. I haven’t, but that’s how it feels. How is it not bleedingly obvious that telling a person with an restrictive eating disorder to...

Fear of Weight Gain: Fight, Flight, Freeze, Fawn

It took me about 10 years to realise that my tendency to hit the roof in rage whenever my mother offered me food was actually an expression of fear. I’m kind of embarrassed it took me that long as it seems so bloody obvious now that someone popping their head...

Permission to Eat

If you can’t give yourself permission to eat, you can’t fully recover. This is because full recovery means that you are eating without restriction. You can’t be eating without restriction if you are unable to give yourself unconditional permission to...

Eating Disorder Recovery: COVID-19

I am seeing a lot of memes etc on social media pointing out to the rest of the world that this pandemic is particularly difficult for people with eating disorders. This post isn’t doing to be like that. I just don’t believe that sort messaging effectively...

Eating Disorder Recovery and Sex Drive

I’m writing about my own experience. Your experience may be different so don’t overly compare and contrast. Some people don’t ever lose their sex drive when they have an eating disorder. Some people lose it and don’t want it back; not having a...

Recovering Alone

Link to a video I made on this topic: https://youtu.be/07j4fIwjRkg I’ve been told off in the past for being honest about the fact I recovered fully without any professional help. I’ve been told this can make people feel like they too need to try and...

You were never supposed to be micro-managing your food intake

You know how difficult and stressful it feels right? You’re always trying to work out the “right” way to eat. It never feels right though. So you do more research, and you ask more people. Maybe you talk to another dietitian or some new diet guru....

Mental Hunger: “I don’t know if I am hungry or not”

Mental hunger is your body cuing you to eat. Mental hunger is important. It is a very valid communication from your body as your body attempts to bring the desire to eat into your consciousness. I personally think that physical hunger is beside the point if you are in...

I cried after talking with your parents tonight

I cried after talking to your parents tonight. I often cry after talking to parents. There are a hundred reasons why. Maybe I will be able to outline some of them here. The main reason, is usually because I can’t answer the one question that they so desperately...

Compulsive Movement: The answer is still “yes.”

Yes, you still have to stop complusive movement. Even if it is tiny. Even if it if just walking, or cleaning the house. Even if you already gave up running and your gym membership. If there are still elements of compulsive movement in your life, yes, you need to stop....

Being Responsible For Your Recovery Isn’t The Same As Being Alone In Your Recovery

I wonder why, when it comes to mental health, people often interpret me saying “you are responsible for your actions and reactions” as “you have to do this alone?” If I were writing about physical health, nobody would assume that by saying...

If you’re not actively recovering, you are dying.

“Eating disorders kill.” You’ve heard it said plenty of times. If you’ve been in the recovery community for long, you probably know someone who died as the result of an eating disorder. It is not that you don’t know this shit....

Thanks for listening!

I’ve not written a blog for months. I’ve been moving house, had little internet connection, and been generally busy, and tired. I’m glad that this past couple of weeks I had felt like I have the time and space to start writing again, so there will be...

Unsuppressed Bodyweight. Unsuppressed Personality.

I think there are more things that change with recovery than don’t. It’s not only your eating and your body that will change, that’s for sure. Getting healthy means that just about every aspect of you will change (usually for the better). Change,...

Triple R Recovery Center

I’ve been harping on about how treatment for eating disorders is inadequate and/or misguided for years now. I’m happy to say that, thanks to the help of Becky Freestone, we’re about to really do something about that. It’s not like I’ve...

Recovery stories: Recovering from an eating disorder with bariatric surgery [Podcast]

In this podcast Tabitha talks to Donna about her experience of bariatric surgery and eating disorder recovery

“Thinner is better” is a cultural belief that’s making us sick

I’ve lived in England 29 years. USA 9 years. These two countries are culturally very different in many ways. They are culturally similar in some ways. One cultural similarity that they share, is the belief that thinner is better. That belief effects everyone I...

Food is so much more than just nutrition. By design.

I remember once, when I had an eating disorder, a new colleague (who didn’t know I had an eating disorder) asked me if a wanted a cupcake. “No thanks, I’ve already eaten,” was my response. “Tabitha.” she said, “Nobody eats a...

JD Ouellette: Experts by Experience Peer Mentoring in the Eating Disorder Field

This week, Tabitha talks to peer mentor JD Ouellette about experts by experience and peer mentoring in the eating disorder field.  JD Ouellette is a peer coach with a specialty in “Full Metal Apron” Eating Disorders Parent coaching. She is...

How to rewire your brain to believe that your weight doesn’t matter

I wrote a book recently on neural rewiring. So if you want more, you can find it here. If you have a restrictive eating disorder, you are likely scared of gaining weight — weirdly, this can still be true for those of us who dislike being thin and want to gain weight....