How many times has a client walked into a therapists office, only to be disappointed by the conversation of coping skills. We have it all the time and sooooooooo many of my clients tell me they don’t work or that they can use them for a while but slip back into behaviors. Why? Why does this happen? It’s a big …
The relief of commitment
There have been two commitments I have made in my life. The first was too recovery and the second was two my husband. Both were utterly terrifying but both have made me feel more secure than I ever dreamed possible. I have always been an anxious person and for many years used the avoidance behaviors of an eating disorder to …
Open letter to Ke$ha
Dear Ke$ha, I just wanted to say thank you for publicly announcing your decision to go into treatment. Seeking treatment for an eating disorder is often the most difficult decision. It feels like there are so many things in the way: work, school, fear of people knowing your secret, not believing you are worthy of treatment, not believing recovery is …
Holiday reflections and gifts of recovery
Today is the day after Christmas and this one was particularly special. I gave birth to my second son 17 days ago. My dad and stepmom traveled all the way from Pensacola to be here. And we my parents, my new family, and my husband’s family all spent the day together. It really was a gift. When I was a …
Who am I without my eating disorder?- a Recovery activity
In recovery from an eating disorder, we often find that we have lost ourselves to the ED. We don’t know what we are good at. We haven’t been allowed to be good at anything. We do not know what we like. Liking things was an indulgence that was for weaker individuals. We become the eating disorder. It dictates how we …
The eating disorder voice explained…sort of
Over and over again, people with eating disorders and the clinicians who treat them refer to “the eating disorder voice.” You won’t find it described in the DSM or really anywhere but it is very real piece of the ED picture. There are two different ways that “the voice” clinically manifests. The first is simply in beliefs and the second …
The Myth of Accountability
Accountability, in the general sense, means to be held responsible for your actions. It typically means that if you do not live up to goals, promises, or expectations there will be some sort of punishment. Doesn’t sound very therapeutic, does it? I frequently have discussion, both personally and professionally, about accountability. Clients find that following a meal plan or not …
“Mommyrexia” and the value of motherhood
I am nearing the end of my second pregnancy and the nerves are starting to set in about the strangest things. Of course, I’m nervous about having a second child. Having one already shook my life up quite a bit. What will two do? I’m nervous about lack of sleep again and being good enough and all of those other …