Eating Disorders Are Functional
Eating disorders serve a purpose.
They are functional.
They are not conditions acquired intentionally.
And when someone’s eating disorder begins, perhaps there are no other strategies for them to utilize. Perhaps engaging in eating disorder behavior is a means of survival. Perhaps following eating disorder rules is the only way for someone to make sense of an otherwise nonsensical experience.
I think it’s important to validate the function of an eating disorder.
The truth is, they work at doing a job. But they’re shapeshifters. I have yet to meet a person for whom the initial job of the eating disorder remained static throughout their experience.
A few exercises that I ask my clients to consider:
1. Write a thank-you note to your eating disorder. Thank it for doing a job. If you’re ready, end the letter inviting your ED to move on.
2. Make a list of ED functions at the start of your struggle. Compare it to the function of today’s ED. Make a list of skills, tools, that you have today that you didn’t have when your ED started. Use them!
3. Write out ED self and Healthy self dialogues. If your healthy self is quiet, write this as though you were offering support to a loved one. Do this anytime an ED thought shows up.
No matter how functional your eating disorder has been, know that you CAN function without it.
And life is better on the other side.
Recovery is worth every ounce of effort.
#eatingdisorderawarenessweek2020 #nedawareness #nedawarenessweek2020 #nedaweek #eatingdisorderrecovery #recoverywarriors #edrecovery #edawareness #eatingdisorderawareness #comeasyouare
Come As You Are
Diet culture. Fatphobia. Weight stigma. The media. Racism. Societal “beauty ideals.“ The computer you’re holding in your hand right now. Omnipresent access to images, of bodies that look like yours, and bodies that don’t. Omnipresent messaging about those bodies. Omnipresent access to food cures, food solutions, miracles.
Is it any wonder that the rates of eating disorders have doubled between the years of 2000 and 2018? And that is not to mention the MANY who are uncounted because of lack of screening or appropriate diagnosis.
Disordered eating is so elevated in our culture, that I no longer care about whether or not someone has an actual diagnosis.
A struggle with food is real and valid.
A struggle with body is real and valid.
If you’re not counted in the DSM, your struggle is real and valid.
Diagnosis or not, I see you. Your experience is real. Your experience is valid.
You might’ve been rewarded, congratulated, elevated for engagement in disordered behaviors. There’s a good possibility that you never thought a thing of it. Maybe your behaviors fell under the guise of “taking care of yourself.” Maybe your relationship with food became complicated in a response to watching a salacious documentary, or reading something on Dr. Google, or having a conversation with a friend that made you question yourself. Your body.
No matter the reason, your story is valid.
COME AS YOU ARE.
Galmiche M, et al. Am J Clin Nutr. 2019.
#eatingdisorderawarenessweek2020 #nedawareness #nedawarenessweek2020 #orthorexia #anorexia #atypicalanorexia #dsm #racism #recoverywarriors #edrecovery #edawareness #eatingdisorderawareness #comeasyouare #eatingdisorderecovery
It Takes a Village
Eating disorders are biopsychosocial conditions. They’re not caused by one thing, can’t be treated by a sole practitioner in isolation, and need to be fully understood with consideration of the context in which they exist.
The expression “IT TAKES A VILLAGE,” couldn’t be any more appropriate. Recovery is hard. Recovery without thoughtful understanding of every angle of the condition is nearly unfair.
If you’re struggling, I hope you have access to a doctor, a therapist, a psychiatrist, a dietitian and whoever else makes up your village.
If you’re a practitioner, collaborate, collaborate, collaborate. Seek supervision. This is good for you and imperative for thoughtful understanding of your client.
#EatingDisorderDietitian #EatingDisorderRecovery #nedawareness #nedaweek2020 #nedawarenessweek #edawareness #edrecovery #eatingdisorderawareness #eatingdisorderawarenessweek #eatingdisordertreatment #comeasyouare
Eating Disorders are NOT Captured in B&A Photos
Today is day two of seven dedicated to raising awareness about eating disorders. I’m here for it.
And Eating Disorder Awareness Week is contentious for many of my clients. A lot of them have strong feelings of dislike for this week.
Generally, this is about the global oversimplification of eating disorders. It’s about stereotypes. And it’s also about the omnipresent pre-and-post photographs that might flood your social media feed.
The fact is, most people with eating disorders don’t “look” as though they have an eating disorder. (Because it’s not a look) Bodies may or may not change as one heals their relationship with food. There may be no appreciable visual shift at all.
And if you are someone who has struggled, or is in the process of recovery, or who has recovered into much the same body as the one you had before your eating disorder, know that you represent the norm. And if your body has changed dramatically in the process of healing, know that you are welcome here, too.
The purpose of this week is to raise awareness. Of the most lethal of all mental illnesses. This is worthy of a week of dedicated effort. It is quite literally the least that we can do.
And if you get caught in a comparison trap, consider ducking out. Maybe skip searching for the pre/post photos. Consider protecting yourself first.
I am going to post about eating disorder awareness week, because I want to raise awareness, but am with you in being aware of these conditions, everyday.
Be gentle with yourselves and know that
YOUR STORY MATTERS.
#edawareness #edaw2020 #nedawareness #nedawareness2020 #eatingdisorderawareness #eatingdisorderawarenessweek2020 #neda #recovery #edrecovery #eatingdisorderdietitian #beforeandafter #eatingdisorderrecovery #comeasyouare
Forget Everything You Know About Eating Disorders
There really is only one prerequisite required for the development of a clinical eating disorder or disordered eating: ONE MUST BE HUMAN.
Forget everything that you have heard about eating disorders affecting only cis/het white affluent females.
You’re missing the majority of eating disorders if you stop there.
Over the last almost twelve years, I have treated clients while they have been homeless. I have treated clients with food insecurity. I have treated people across the gender spectrum. I have treated people from a range of racial and ethnic backgrounds. I have treated young clients. I have treated clients who are well into their retirement years. I have treated clients who have required weight restoration. I have treated clients who have been subject to extraordinary weight discrimination. I have treated clients in able bodies. And I have treated clients in differently able bodies.
I have treated clients who have wanted to get better in the moment. I have treated clients who have felt apathetic about recovery in the moment. I have treated clients who have recovered. And I have treated clients who were unable to win the battle against their disease.
For many, eating disorders are invisible illnesses. (This does not mean that an illness is invalid.) It is easy to focus on all of the incredible attributes of the humans who walk into my office. They are some of the bravest, wisest, funniest, and more sincere people I have ever met.
No one chooses to develop an eating disorder. No one. This is not a selfish disease. This is the utilization of resources. I am ever humbled by just how well eating disorders work. And I am more humbled by being able to be a part of the process as a client chooses to move through the world in a different way.
Forget everything you think you know about eating disorders. The only prerequisite for the development of one is the state of being human.
#nedawareness #nedawarenessweek2020 #neda #eatingdisorderrecovery #comeasyouare #recovery #edrecovery #effyourbeautystandards #effyourbodystandards #haes #healthateverysize #eatingdisorderawarenessweek2020
Your Eating Disorder is Real
Your eating disorder is REAL.
Your eating disorder is VALID.
You don’t need to be at your worst, your weakest, your most vulnerable, your most distressed or in the most pain to be recognized. Or worthy of attention and care. If you have access to care, please accept help. If you don’t, I’m sorry and I see you and I’m glad that you’re here.
Pain is not a contest.
Be gentle this weekend, lovelies.
#eatingdisorderrecovery #recovery #healing #support #BingeEatingDisorderRecovery #BingeEatingDisorder #OSFEDRecovery #OSFED #Bulimia #BulimiaRecovery#Anorexia #AnorexiaRecovery #ARFIDRecovery #ARFID #intuitiveeating #Orthorexia #orthorexiarecovery #Selfcare #eatingdisorderdietitian
Smiling is Not a Treatment for Depression
Smiling is not a treatment for depression.
Dieting is not a solution for negative body image or a disharmonious relationship with food.
#throwback #antidiet #depression #mentalhealth #diet #nodiets #fatactivism #fatpositive #haes #bodypositivity #bodyautonomy #bodytrust #eatingdisorderrecovery
Body Talk is Only Damaging
Body talk is ONLY damaging.
It might feel like lifting someone up, but that is only reaffirming the message that getting smaller, or larger, is the goal. That changing a body, is the goal. We can accomplish more than temporarily altering a body. Aim higher.
It might feel like an innocuous water cooler conversation. Just the thing that you do with your pals, casually. And this might be a thing that you have done for years. Decades, even. And in real life, it has done nothing good for any of the humans engaged in the conversation.
And you may have whispered, under your breath, about a human who you observe and feel inclined to pass judgment on. You may believe that human is unaware of your dissection. I assure you, they are not.
Body talk is only damaging.
It misses a struggle.
It perpetuates weight bias.
It is not about you.
And it can do REAL harm.
Body comments are helpful for no one.
Shhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.
#bodyimage #bodytalk #body #health #healthyliving #weightbias #weightloss #weightgain #weightneutral #weightstigma #haes #fatpositive #fitness #wellness #fatliberation #eatingdisorderrecovery #bodyautonomy
A Body is Not a Destination
READY OR NOT.
One minute: walking 40 yards.
Two minutes: putting on socks & shoes.
Three minutes: putting pants over my e-stim devices, balancing, and buttoning.
Four minutes: putting on and zipping a jacket, hat, and gloves.
Five minutes: putting on a bra - sitting, hooking in front, (trying to do this repeatedly, often settling for one, but not both hooks) twisting to position. Shirt on while holding something for balance.
Six minutes: getting from my car in a handicapped spot, grabbing my walker from the back seat, holding the car for balance, walking to most any place I go now. Not many, at the moment.
Ten minutes: changing my earrings. Which is why I don’t, mostly.
Twenty minutes: washing my hair. Holding onto the railings and the walls. Lathering with one hand at a time.
All of the rest of my time: getting accustomed to living more efficiently, limiting my output, nesting. Staying in. Getting good at asking for accommodation. Enjoying friends who think about space before I ask them to.
Mine is a body with more experience with multiple sclerosis than anything else.
Early on, from age 15-24 or so, I lived as though I didn’t have a chronic illness. I avoided it. Was complimented on “looking so good,” despite my diagnosis. I treated 13 flares in high school. One more in grad school. Then things got quiet. Fast forward to a change in a disease state, I can’t avoid my reality. My skin burns and tingles in patches, randomly. I can’t move the way I do in my dreams. Some days are better than others.
This body is not what I expected. But it is still in process.
This body is not a destination.
And this body gives me the gift of doing work that I love. My destination of choice. Where I sit and connect to other humans and my disease, my disability, is rarely part of a session. My brain, however demyelinated, is still great at nutrition counseling. I ask clients for physical assistance; open a bottle, a bag, a door. Because my body is not why my clients arrive, this doesn’t matter.
Two humans in a space, together.
Earth suits carrying stories.
I’ll put all of my minutes into this. ❤️
#ThisIsMS #MultipleSclerosis #ChronicIllness #Disability #spoonie #NutritionTherapy #fitness #fashion #relationship #style #human #help #nourish #BodyStories #bodyimage #TheBodyIsNotADestination
Calories Are Good
Here’s the thing, it’s alright to choose a lower-calorie item.
Diet culture might encourage this choice. An eating disorder might encourage it.
Sometimes this will be reflective of what is available to you. Sometimes this will be reflective of the way you feel about eating in a given moment. Maybe you’re eating with a human who has a lot of energy about food. Maybe you’re eating in a way that feels self-protective. Maybe you’re eating in a way that will limit unwelcome input from friends and family and strangers. Maybe you’re eating in hopes of changing your body.
No matter the reason, not getting enough food, energy, will lead to food preoccupation, seeking out of food, ultimately, eating. Usually in a way that does not feel comfortable or is reflective of body desires.
Calories are good. You need them. And likely, many more than you believe you do.
So yes, you can choose a lower-calorie something. And trust that you will eat more, later. This is not a mistake, but rather your body accommodating your food choice and reestablishing homeostasis.
Often, this process of reestablishing homeostasis leads my clients to feel pretty crummy about themselves. I don’t know if that’s part of your story. And as I say in session, this is not a reflection of your humanity. This is biology. This is your body having your back.
Want to be a little less obsessed with food? Think about choosing meals and snacks that are satisfying. In my book, satisfaction can only come with adequacy. This won’t work perfectly. Because nothing about eating is supposed to be perfect.
Experiment with what works for you.
This process is not about getting it right on the first go.
BE CURIOUS.
BE GENTLE.
BE KIND.
#intuitiveeating #foodhacks #energy #nourish #eatingdisorderrecovery #bodytrust #lowcaloriemeals #antidiet #wellness #dietitiananna