– Treatment Update –
I just wanted to give a quick update about the status of my return to treatment, since I wrote a couple days ago that I hadn’t had much luck. Fortunately, after a month of trying to get into a treatment program, I started the IOP program at Monte Nido last night. This is actually a really cool opportunity for me. It was a year ago that I read Carolyn Costin’s book 8 Keys to Recovery from an Eating Disorder (covered with newspaper so that I could read it on the subway to and from work). The book was pivotal for me, and ended up being what started me down the road to recovery. Not...
Read MoreI Went Through Treatment — Why Aren’t I Recovered?
I’ve been out of treatment for more than two months now. And yet it feels as though I’m no closer to recovery than I was this spring. My therapist and nutritionist have each in turn recommended different groups and programs to try — one of them being Anorexics and Bulimics Anonymous (ABA). I’m at my strongest when I’m among peers, they both reminded me — not isolated. I’ve attended other kinds of This-or-That Anonymous meetings, but I’ve never been able to connect with the ironclad 12-step model or the insistence on giving oneself over to a “higher power” (albeit, in...
Read MoreChildren as Heirs to the Culture of Thin
We’ve seen the campaigns: activists calling for the end of excessive Photoshopping; retailers and advertisers pledging to represent diverse body types; and organizations of every kind promoting confidence and positive body image. So why does the culture of thin still reign? Because its unrealistic standards and harmful ideals are being imprinted on the most vulnerable among us: our children. Click here to read my article on eating disorders in children, “Today’s Lesson: Thinner Is Better” on HealthyPlace.com, America’s largest consumer mental health site. Share...
Read MoreBDD and Eating Disorders: The Stranger in the Mirror
Have you ever wished your nose were smaller, or your hair were straighter, or your hips were narrower? Have those thoughts ever consumed your entire day? Have they ever kept you imprisoned in your own home? Feeling self-conscious about one’s physical appearance is not uncommon. But if it becomes a self-loathing so intense that it interferes with your daily life, it might be another beast altogether. Body dysmorphic disorder (BDD) is a mental illness in which sufferers fixate on their flaws, whether these flaws are real or perceived. Body-centric, critical thoughts are intrusive, consuming,...
Read MoreMidway Through Recovery: What Do I Need?
Throughout recovery from an eating disorder, you need different things at different points of the process. Early on, your needs may be very concrete: you need encouragement during meals, regular check-ins with your support system, a shoulder for the copious tears that accompany recovery. I’ve always found it difficult to articulate my needs; it has been even more difficult to come up with an answer now that I’m here in the middle ground. My needs are less concrete now, because my task is to gradually take responsibility for my own recovery. I need to bring myself to follow my meal plan, even...
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I'm a writer, a mental health activist, and a 20-something in recovery from an eating disorder. This blog chronicles my journey through the middle ground toward full recovery.
