Eating Disorders and Family Life: Household Triggers
In the last two posts I have looked at the way that eating disorders operate in a family setting when a parent is the sufferer in recovery. The first post addressed how to continue with mealtime support. The second on mealtime tension and shopping etc. This post looks...
Extreme Hunger in Anorexia Recovery
Ready and waiting for the criticism that I may get as a result of writing about this. I don’t care. I don’t believe that shielding adults in recovery from eating disorders from the events that can, and do often, happen along the recovery path helps anyone....
Eating Disorders and Family Life — Mealtime tension, shopping, food choices and exercise
In my last post on eating disorder recovery for an adult with children, I wrote about mealtimes and how to make them (more of a ) a success in terms of recovery goals with kids at the table. This week I wanted to touch on the impact that the eating disorder may or may...
Eating Disorders: How to Support an Adult with Children Present
I don’t have kids. However, the issue comes up for some of the people whom I coach who do. We’ve had to problem solve around this and there is never a one-size-fits-all answer. The purpose of these blog series is to help you anticipate things that...
Questioning Perfectionism In Anorexia
I am often told by eating disorder therapists and literature that I am a perfectionist. I am not a perfectionist. I was not a perfectionist before Anorexia. I was not a perfectionist during Anorexia. I am not a perfectionist now. If you don’t believe me, ask my...
Eating Disorder Recovery — A Matter of Life and … Half Life
Eating disorders are a matter of life and death. They can and do kill. Let’s not forget that. But they are also, for many, a matter of life and half life. I’m talking about the people for whom having an eating disorder turns from a year into a lifetime....
Meditation for Eating Disorders — A Cynics Guide
It cracks me up that people assume I am a spiritual person because I meditate. I’m not. I don’t meditate because I am trying to be a good person either. I meditate because it helps me keep my shit together. I’m a twice certified yoga instructor....
Turn Post-Festivity Eating Disorder Stress into Recovery Motivation
First off, thank you for following and reading this blog. Something that started as a place for me to blow off steam now has over 5000 followers! Those of you who write to me, tweet to me, and reach out mean so much. When you share a post, you know that you are...
Anosognosia and Eating Disorders — When We Don’t Know We Are Sick
Anosognosia is pretty messed up — and it messed me up good and proper! It means “without knowledge” and refers to the lack of insight that a person suffering from a disease has about their condition. It explains why, even in an incredibly emaciated state,...
Inpatient Treatment for Eating Disorders — A Kick Start. Not A Cure
I want to start with this: Inpatient treatment for eating disorders save lives. I often tell adults suffering from eating disorders who are underweight and struggling to re-feed themselves to seek inpatient treatment. It is the kick start to weight restoration that...
Negative Energy Balance or Energy Deficit in Anorexia
This post explains negative energy balance in eating disorders. What is a negative energy balance (sometimes called energy deficit)? Anything that means that the energy you put out is greater than the energy you put in. The most common — although not only —...
Thanksgiving Day Eating Disorder Contract and Survival Tips
Thanksgiving day is on the near horizon. I know that people suffering from eating disorders in the USA are already having a hard time dealing with the pre-Thanksgiving meal anxiety, so here are some tools to help everyone enjoy the day. Thanksgiving Day Eating...
How to Survive Thanksgiving for Adults with Eating Disorders
I’ve lived all of my life in the UK apart from the last six years so thankfully (pun intended) I didn’t have to deal with Thanksgiving when I was at my sickest with Anorexia. I did, however, have to deal with Christmas and other UK holidays. And...
Binge Eating in Eating Disorder Recovery
This blog is based on my personal experience. We are all individuals, and you should always do what is right for your own body. Many of us in recovery from eating disorder experience binge eating. I certainly did, and I wrote about it extensively in my book,...
Support for Parents of Adults with Eating Disorders
This post isn’t just for parents of adults with eating disorders. It’s for parents, spouses, grandparents, cousins, siblings, friends, loved ones, colleagues, neighbors, uncles, aunts, children, and in fact anyone who knows or cares about an adult...
7 Tips for Getting a Person with an Eating Disorder to Eat with Eva Musby
In this podcast you will hear my conversation with Eva Musby. We talk about her experience with family-based therapy (or family-based treatment) as a mother. We also go into the key points that Eva addresses in her book and give you Getting a Person with an...
How Anorexia Affected My Personality (Introvert/Extrovert)
Anorexia affected my personality in many ways. Today I am going to focus on the introvert/extrovert aspect. First off: I pass no judgement whatsoever on the values associated with introversion and extroversion, None whatsoever. This post is nothing to do with saying...
Eating Disorders and Money – Part Two
Last week I wrote about eating disorders and money for the first time. One thing the comments on Facebook and the post confirmed is that many people suffering from eating disorders also experience strange feelings/thoughts/ behaviours around money. In this post...
Anorexia and Money: Recovery meant I had to look at that relationship too!
What on earth has Anorexia got to do with money? More than you think. At least in my case. And, according to the comments and emails I get, I am not alone in having a very whacked relationship with money when I had an eating disorder. Starting at the beginning:...
Sustaining Eating Disorder Recovery — Conscious to Unconscious Competence
Last week I wrote about unconscious incompetence moving to conscious incompetence. Where that places you is knowing what you’re not great at. This week we’ll look into the next stages of eating disorder recovery so far as this model of competence goes....
Conscious Incompetence in Adult Eating Disorder Recovery
“Conscious Incompetence” sounds like one of those whack psych terms that I am convinced psychologists make up so that they sound more scientific and complicated than they really are. Bear with me. All conscious incompetence really means is stuff you...
Why I don’t use “Anorexic” to describe people with Anorexia Nervosa
I understand that most people just use the term “Anorexic” to describe a person with Anorexia out of habit and convenience. I just prefer not to use it myself. So much so, that I often use the term “eating disorder” just because that...
Eating Disorder Behaviours: Why Taking the Stairs Can Kill You
Eating Disorder Recovery means addressing the small things as well as the big and obvious ones. That is what I am writing about today. If you have an eating disorder, you are going to hate this post. Or rather, your eating disorder is going to hate this post. You will...