Blogs
I was in London earlier this month for the Eating Disorders International Conference held by b-eat, the largest eating disorders charity in the UK. The event gave me the opportunity to see eating disorder treatment from two perspectives: my own, and the one faced by families in England. I came away feeling the chasm between science and practice is just as deep on both sides of the pond, but the content is different.
We all can get in a rut sometimes. It’s hard to get out of a rut. You have to pull yourself up out of your hole. How can you do that when you feel so defeated?
Bipolar Disorder can defeat you like no other disease can. It affects our brain and that affects how we function; which, in turn, affects our relationships and our daily existence. I’ve found myself alone, hopeless, and incapable of doing anything about it. At least until I found the tools in which to combat that feeling of being in a rut.
Gift Giving and Keeping Score
Yesterday, I went to work and we had a baby shower for a co-worker. The food was excellent, the decorations beautiful, and a table was full of gifts. No matter if it's a baby shower, a bridal shower, Christmas, or a birthday party, I can't help but feel that your gift gets entered into a silent competition in the minds of everyone watching. It's as if each gift goes through a rating system. A score is given for the level of creativity, thoughtfulness, expense, quantity, and quality for the gift itself as well as how it is wrapped. And somehow the overall score given to your gift correlates to how much you love that person, or even worse, how you rate as a person on a scale of worth.
There are a lot of style guides out there on how to use Twitter properly. Many will tell you what you should and shouldn't do. They tell you how to get followers…how to get retweeted…how to build multiple streams of revenue using Twitter DMs as your combo pathway to Hell & Easy Street. I'm simply going to tell you how to use Twitter without losing your ADHD self in it.
There was a noise in our car that had been there for a while. So, we went to Pep Boys to have it checked out. It turned out that the noise was a bad rotor in the brake system, but the break pad was fine. It was nothing to worry about right now. The car would still run fine. However, while they were there, they found out that the radiator was leaking. It cost $309 to fix it. I immediately went into stressed out mode. We had money to fix it, but just barely and we’d be sitting tight until the end of the month. I freaked out. I hate bills. They are always a trigger for a bipolar episode to start.
I've noticed that parents react to a child's eating disorder diagnosis with a range of emotions: fear, anger, annoyance, optimism, hope, even humor. Unfortunately, mothers and fathers don't usually respond with the same emotion at the same time. One parent's fear can lead to withdrawal, the other spouse may instinctually move in to protect.
I decided I would spend some time implementing important new habits in my life that would help me to be healthier- which in turn would help my anxiety.
Edmund J. Bourne says, "One of the most powerful and effective methods for reducing generalized anxiety and overcoming a disposition to panic attacks is a program of regular, vigorous exercise...
Sometimes I wonder why they work with me. Who? Well, it's me we're talking about here, so it could be anybody. But today I'm referring to a magazine I'm writing articles for. I'm so disorganized. I seem to mess up paperwork on them every time. Can you relate with being so disorganized you lose important papers?
Amanda_HP
Eating With Your Anorexic author and HealthyPlace blogger, Laura Collins, has a bold message for parents of children and teens with eating disorders - "It's not your fault!"
A lot of the information on the causes of eating disorders points the finger at parents. Parents, says Collins, are blamed by many researchers and treatment professionals as playing some role in the causes of eating disorders in their children. She wants more evidence-based research into the causes of eating disorders as well as eating disorders treatment recommendations.
I want to ask you a favor. Just for right now, try to set aside everything you’ve heard about eating disorders.
Forget all the magazines, movies, rumors, and that girl in science class. Forget the after-school special, the celebrity photo, and your own relationship with food and weight. Let's start over fresh. Before my daughter developed a life-threatening eating disorder, I had a lot of ideas I needed to forget. Let me offer you a new view.