Patient Advocacy: Winning the Battle Against Blue Cross Blue Shield
As much as I don’t want to spend another minute on this topic, I think it’s necessary to talk about this last week and what has happened with Blue Cross Blue Shield. Let’s put the happy ending of the story first: I won my battle with Blue Cross Blue Shield and was able to return to treatment as of last night. I have learned two things from the experience of successfully going up against my insurance company on my own: It is possible to reverse an insurance company’s decision. They bank on most people giving up after the first few “no’s,” so you just have to make sure to push them far enough....
Read MoreWhat an Eating Disorder in Recovery Sounds Like
Wait… You’re not over that eating disorder yet? During National Eating Disorders Awareness Week (NEDAwareness), I did a fair amount of preaching to the choir about early intervention. Presumably, some of it reached the general public, but since the overwhelming majority of my followers — if not all of them — are people who have been affected in some way by eating disorders, most weren’t new to this conversation. That’s not a bad thing. This population needs education and awareness, too. However, a somewhat jarring conversation at work toward the end of NEDAwareness...
Read MoreRecovery Resolutions for 2016
Recovery Resolutions I get pretty sentimental around holidays. And since there’s not much else that says “New Year’s Eve” like resolutions and reminiscing on the past year, that’s what this post is about! The year 2015 has been difficult, but in very different ways than 2014 was. In 2014, everything was new to me — health was new, weight restoration was new, honoring my thoughts and feelings was new, relationships were new, even my voice was new (or, perhaps, renewed). The highs were high and the lows were low, but there was something exhilarating about that. The newness of it...
Read MoreA Good Enough Recovery
I say often that I hesitate to admit here when I’m struggling. I say that I don’t want to be anything dimmer than a beacon of a recovery. The thing is, I’m fairly certain that no one expects me to be that. As is usually the case, the only expectations of which I’m falling short are my own. Still, I worry about disappointing people. I worry about not being able to achieve my goals as a recovery advocate and maybe even a clinician. I worry that admitting my struggles will make them more real, or bigger and badder, as if the eating disorder will take on a life of its own...
Read MoreThe Middle Ground Named Top Eating Disorder Blog of 2015
Well, THIS was quite surprising. This Sunday PsychCentral.com released its annual list of the Top Eating Disorder Blogs — and ranked The Middle Ground as No. 5 on the list! Needless to say, I’m pretty thrilled. Not because of the accolade per se — though, of course it always gratifying to be recognized for one’s hard work. I’m thrilled because it forces me to acknowledge something that I might not have done unsolicited: That I’ve succeeded in forging a new identity. For those of us who have suffered from an eating disorder for many years, one of the hardest parts of...
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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.
