Driving into work today I saw an advertisement for a personal trainer. The tag line said “strong is the new skinny.” As soon as I read it, my blood started to boil. As a therapist working in eating disorder recovery work, I couldn’t imagine a more wrong statement to be making. We’ve taken exercise…something that should be about enjoyment, fun, caring for our bodies and placed another level of ... Continue Reading »
Managing the Holidays with an Eating Disorder
The holidays are fully upon us, and with them comes a variety of emotions and challenging situations. Although for some the holidays may bring joy, for many others they are filled with scheduling uncertainty and the possibility of dysfunctional family members. This is true especially if you’re working on recovery from an eating disorder. Where a holiday meal is joyous to some, people working ... Continue Reading »
Recovery is Tough, But You’re Tougher
Eating disorder recovery work is hard, it takes time, and a lot of effort. Often times it feels like playing a game of whack-a-mole, where you hit one problem down just in time for another one to pop its ugly head up. Here’s the trickiness of it. Developing an eating disorder can happen without even the realization that it is actually happening. It begins with small decisions to use food to ... Continue Reading »
Yes, It’s Possible to Love Your Body
Developing a healthy body image, a good relationship and perspective of your body, can be incredibly difficult. Daily we as a society are inundated with images of what a “good” body should look like, what is acceptable and what is not in our appearance. And we know that these unrealistic images and standards can increase an individual’s negativity about their own body. In our work as eating ... Continue Reading »