Eating Disorders: Inspirational Recovery Quotes #5

Dedicate yourself to the good you deserve and desire for yourself. Give yourself peace of mind. You deserve to be happy. You deserve delight.
Mark Victor Hansen

Nothing happens by itself... it all will come your way, once you understand that you have to make it come your way, by your own exertions.
Ben Stein

In order to succeed, we must first believe that we can.

Michael Korda

You can't pick the hand you're dealt, but you can choose how you play your cards.
T. H

Nobody can make you feel inferior without your consent.
Eleanor Roosevelt

Confront your fears, list them, get to know them, and only then will you be able to put them aside and move ahead.
Jerry Gilles

When you come to the end of all the light you know, and it's time to step into the darkness of the unknown, faith is knowing that one of two things shall happen: Either you will be given something solid to stand on or you will be taught to fly.
Edward Teller

It's not who you are that holds you back, it's who you think you're not.
Anonymous

The thing always happens that you really believe in; and the belief in a thing makes it happen.
Frank Loyd Wright

Flowers grow out of darker moments.
Corita Kent

Always direct your thoughts to those truths that will give you confidence, hope, joy, love, thanksgiving, and turn away your mind from those that inspire you with fear, sadness, depression.
Bertrand Wilbertforce

Some things have to be believed to be seen.
Ralph Hodgson

To accomplish great things, we must not only act, but also dream; not only plan, but also believe.
Anatole France

Too many of us are not living our dreams because we are living our fears.
Les Brown

You gain strength, courage, and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You are able to say to yourself, "I have lived through this horror. I can take the next thing that comes along." . . . You must do the thing you think you cannot do.
Eleanor Roosevelt

It's not what you go through that defines you; you can't help that. It's what you do AFTER you've gone through it that really tests who you are.
Kwame Floyd

The vision that you glorify in your mind, the ideal that you enthrone in your heart - this you will build your life by, and this you will become.
James Allen

Believe it can be done. When you believe something can be done, really believe, your mind will find the ways to do it. Believing a solution paves the way to solution.
Dr. David Schwartz

You can conquer almost any fear if you will only make up your mind to do so. For remember, fear doesn't exist anywhere except in the mind.
Dale Carnegie

Prepare your mind to receive the best that life has to offer.
Ernest Holmes

Man never made any material as resilient as the human spirit.
Bernard Williams

Listen to the mustn'ts child.
Listen to the don'ts.
Listen to the shouldn't haves,
the impossibles, the won'ts.
Listen to the never haves,
then listen close to me.
Anything can happen child.
Anything can be.
Shel Silverstein

See also Using Affirmations

See sidebar for more inspirational quotes and quotes of the week.

sources:
http://inspirationalquote.blogspot.com/2006/08/quotes-on-believing-in-yourself.html http://www.happypublishing.com/quotations/belief-quotes-believing-in-yourself.htm
http://www.realmentalhealth.com/inspiration/inspirational_quotes
picture source: MrsMenopausal

Eating Disorders News: July

To Hell and Back: Appetite for Life Regained

Kate Benson Medical Reporter July 26, 2008

IT'S been six months since Lucy Howard-Taylor wished she was dead. For almost four years, the demons of anorexia nervosa rode on her back, convincing her she was worthless, unattractive, dull and unnecessary in the wider scheme of life.

"I had some very poisonous conversations with my anorexic demon," she says as she recalls her descent into hell with a compelling combination of fragility and strength.

Howard-Taylor, 19, seems an unlikely hero in the war against eating disorders, but her new book, Biting Anorexia, is being hailed by experts as one of the "most stunning" ever written on the subject.

Read in full here.

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Senate Passes Scaled-Back Mental Health Parity Bill

By Kay Lazar, Globe Staff

Patients with autism, eating disorders, substance abuse problems or post traumatic stress disorder would have greater access to treatments under proposed legislation that passed the state Senate today.

The measure differs from a more sweeping version of the "mental health parity" bill that passed the House earlier. That proposal would require insurance plans to cover all mental health disorders the same as physical conditions and would allow any treatments that were medically needed.

Both the Senate and House versions would maintain the current law's requirement that health insurers provide full coverage for nine of the most common psychiatric conditions: schizophrenia; schizoaffective disorder, major depression; bipolar disorder; paranoia and other psychotic disorders; obsessive-compulsive disorder, panic disorder; delirium and dementia; and affective disorders.

Read in full here.

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Quebec Considering Voluntary Charter Against Anorexia, Ministers Says

The Canadian Press

PARIS — Quebec is considering following France's example in the fight against anorexia, the provincial culture minister says.

Christine St-Pierre said Wednesday she is looking at tabling a voluntary charter against anorexia which fashion professionals, the advertising industry and media would be invited to sign.

She did not rule out resorting to tougher legislation if the results from the voluntary charter are unsatisfactory.

St-Pierre, who is also Quebec's minister responsible for the status of women, said she is very interested in France's approach to fighting anorexia.

"It inspires me a lot," she said.

Anorexia nervosa is an eating disorder characterized by low body weight and an obsessive fear of gaining weight.

Read in full here.

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Family Meals Can Help Teen Girls Avoid Drugs, Alcohol

HealthDay News

Eating meals together as a family can reduce a teen girl's risk of turning to alcohol or drugs, a new study suggests.

In families who ate at least five meals a week together, the teen girls were much less likely to drink alcohol, or smoke marijuana or cigarettes five years later, said study author Marla Eisenberg, an assistant professor of pediatrics at the University of Minnesota Medical School.

The same effect wasn't seen for boys in this study, although Eisenberg can't say why.

"One of the key findings we have here is for girls," she said. "We found girls who had regular family meals had half the odds of initiating cigarettes, alcohol or marijuana use in the five-year time period."

Read in full here.

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London College Creates Eating Disorders Course For Parents

Eating Disorders Help Blog

Effective early treatment is paramount in a person's battle against anorexia, and the support of loved ones is a key part of that treatment. But friends and family members are often unsure of exactly how to be supportive.

"King's College London has begun a course to give carers necessary skills. The Collaborative Caring Course teaches the necessary skills to understanding eating disorders, such as anorexia and bulimia, and the consequential behavioral changes."

Read in full here.

sources: http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/to-hell-and-bac-appetite-for-life-regained/2008/07/25/1216492732908.html

http://www.boston.com/news/health/blog/2008/07/senate_passes_s.html http://canadianpress.google.com/article/ALeqM5gMNXRsFfWlsnvSwCk4lb7cQTkM_g http://www.forbes.com/forbeslife/health/feeds/hscout/2008/07/23/hscout617671.html

http://www.eatingdisordershelpguide.com/blog/2008/07/london-college-create-eating-disorders.html
picture:http://www.everystockphoto.com

New Student Health Study: Teens, Eating Problems, and Anxiety

According to research published in the Journal of Advanced Nursing, teens are dealing with eating problems at a much higher rate than may have previously been suspected. The studies involved 372 students between the ages of 15 and 17, with 57% being girls and 43% being boys. The health studies were done a year apart, involving the same students in each study.


The results showed:

• 18% of the participating students admitted to having eating problems in the first or second survey.

• 5% admitted to eating problems in both studies.

• Students who reported ongoing eating problems were more likely to also report multiple health complaints and psychological problems.

• Those with anxiety earlier in adolescence were 20x more likely to have ongoing eating problems.

• Teens dissatisfied with their appearance had recurring eating problems, reporting anxiety earlier in adolescence.

• 66 students reported eating problems: 23 reporting those problems only in the first survey, 24 only reporting them in the second survey, 19 reporting them in both surveys.

• Teens with previous problems with anxiety were much more likely to suffer sustained eating problems.

• Teens with no previous anxiety issues only experienced temporary eating problems and dissatisfaction with their appearance.

• Girls were 2x more likely to report eating problems on one occasion than boys.

• Girls were 5x more likely to have ongoing eating problems.

• 63 percent of the students who reported eating problems were normal weight, compared with 79 percent of the students who didn’t report any eating problems.

• 37 percent were overweight and none were underweight, compared with 20 percent and 1 percent of the students without problems.

"The researchers also found higher levels of psychological problems and health complaints in students who only reported eating problems in one of the two surveys."

“Our study backs up previous research that shows that eating problems often fluctuate in children of this age and in 50 to 60 percent of cases last about one to two years” says Lea Hautala. “However in ten per cent of cases their eating problems can persist into adulthood.

“Although almost a fifth of the students who took part in our study reported eating problems at some point, these problems clearly sorted themselves out in the majority of cases. However, one in twenty students continued to report problems.

“We believe that our results point to the need for schools to screen adolescents with psychological problems or multiple health complaints for eating problems, as these are the two key predictive factors that emerged from our study.”

Sources: http://psychcentral.com/news/2008/06/05/teen-eating-problems-and-anxiety/2412.html
Journal of Advanced Nursing
Lea Hautala from the Adolescent Psychiatry Clinic at the University of Turku, Finland
Wiley_Blackwell
picture source: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.5/

SUICIDE PREVENTION: Hotlines, Resources, Information

THINKING OF SUICIDE?
Click Here and Read This First

Hotlines:

National Suicide Hotline: 1-800-SUICIDE (1-800-784-2433)

National Suicide Prevention Lifeline.org:1-800-273-TALK (1-800-273-8255)

Thursday's Child: 1-800-USA-KIDS (1-800-872-5497)

Boys and Girls Town National Hotline: 1-800-448-3000

Hotlines: Scotland


Resources:

The Jed Foundation: the nation’s leading organization working to prevent suicide and promote mental health among college students

AAS :American Association of Suicidology

NSSP: National Strategy for Suicide Prevention

SPAN USA: Suicide Prevention Network USA

AFSP: American Foundation for Suicide Prevention

NSSP Around the World: Suicide Prevention Organizations, Resources, Plans, and Documents from around the world

National Suicide Prevention Lifeline

CASP: Canadian Association for Suicide Prevention

IASP: International Association for Suicide Prevention

Choose Life: A national strategy and action plan to prevent suicide in Scotland

Befrienders Org

see also above hotlines that are linked to the site resources.


Facts and Information

Understanding and Helping the Suicidal Individual: Warning signs, facts, ways to help

Additional AAS Suicide Fact Sheets

AAS Support Group listings

Suicide Facts: from AAS (American Association of Suicidology)

1. Suicide is preventable. Most suicidal individuals desperately want to live; they are just unable to see alternatives to their problems.

2. Most suicidal individuals give definite warnings of their suicidal intentions, but others are either unaware of the significance of these warnings or do not know how to respond to them.

3. Talking about suicide does not cause someone to be suicidal.

4. Approximately 32,000 Americans kill themselves every year. The number of suicide attempts is much greater and often results in serious injury.

5. Suicide is the third leading cause of death among young people ages 15-24, and it is the eighth leading cause of death among all persons.

6. Youth (15-24) suicide rates increased more than 200% from the 1950’s to the late 1970’s. Following the late 1970’s, the rates for youth suicide have remained stable.

7. The suicide rate is higher among the elderly (over 65) than any other age group.

8. Four times as many men kill themselves as compared to women, yet three times as many women attempt suicide as compared to men.

9. Suicide occurs across all age, economic, social, and ethnic boundaries.

10. Firearms are currently the most utilized method of suicide by essentially all groups (male, female, young, old, white, non-white).

11. Surviving family members not only suffer the trauma of losing a loved one to suicide, and may themselves be at higher risk for suicide and emotional problems.

sources:
http://www.suicidology.org/index.cfm Somethingfishy.com
http://www.something-fishy.org/
www. Metanoia.org
www.google.com
picture source: http://www.freedigitalphotos.net

Fighting Disordered Thoughts: Anorexia

Laxative Abuse for Weight Loss

Many with Eating Disorders abuse laxatives (a medication used, in several forms, to bring about a bowel movement) in a misguided attempt to rid the body of the food they've eaten before calories can be absorbed. This is impossible as laxatives are designed to artificially stimulate nerve endings in the colon, the last part of the digestive tract, where indigestible fiber resides after food has already been digested in the small intestine. Others use them to deal with constipation brought on by starvation (severe restriction of food intake does not supply enough bulk to stimulate bowel movement).

Laxative abuse causes the body to rely on the artificial stimulation of the colon in order to bring about bowel movements. Though the scales may show a decrease in weight it is only temporary. It is not true weight loss but due to loss of water. Eventually, the use of laxatives may cause weight gain. The body, confused by the loss of water, will hold onto it, causing edema.

Laxative abuse can result in several of the same conditions as diuretic abuse, and more:

• laxative dependency
• electrolyte imbalance
• potassium deficiency
• dehydration
• painful cramps
• vomiting
  
• edema
• diarrhea
• constipation
• gastrointestinal bleeding
  
• anemia
• increased risk of colon cancer
• bowel damage
• Melanosis Coli
• hemorrhoids
  
• loss of protective mucus lining the intestines, causing infection
• kidney damage
• fainting
• dizziness
• liver damage (rarely)
  
• death

How To Stop Abusing Laxatives:
gurze.com

1. Stop taking laxatives right now, and do not take any more unless your physician instructs you to do so. Remember that stimulant-type laxatives are especially harmful to the body (see the reverse side).

2. Drink at least 6 to 10 cups of water (and decaffeinated beverages—not caffeinated beverages because they act like a diuretic, promoting loss of fluid) a day. Restricting your fluid intake at this time promotes dehydration and only worsens the constipation.

3. Including some physical activity in your regular daily pattern can also help to regulate your bowel function, although you should discuss the intensity and type of activity first with your health care provider or therapist. Too much or too vigorous exercise can worsen constipation, due to the effects on your metabolism and fluid balance.

4. Eat regularly. It is important that you spread the amount of food recommended to you on your meal plan across at least 3 meals a day, and to eat these meals at regular intervals.

5. Eat more foods that promote normal bowel movements. The healthiest dietary approach to promoting normal bowel function is to eat more whole-grain breads, cereals, and crackers and wheat bran or foods with wheat bran added. This dietary approach should be done in tandem with drinking more fluids. Vegetables and fruits also contribute to normal bowel function. Prunes and prune juice are not recommended because the ingredient in prunes that promotes bowel movements is actually an irritant laxative, and long-term use of prunes and prune juice can result in the same problem as long-term use of laxatives.

6. Write down the frequency of your bowel movements on a sheet of paper. If you are constipated for more than 3 days, call your physician, dietitian, or psychotherapist.

Read also:What to expect from laxative withdrawal.
gurze.com

The abusive use of laxatives can cause serious, often irreversible damage and can ultimately result in death. Treatment for laxative abuse can take time but is possible. Speak with your doctor for treatment options.

If you are suffering with an eating disorder please reach out for help:
Eating Disorder Help: Hotlines, Organizations, and Websites


Read more about laxative abuse:
ANRED
NEDA



information compiled from the following sources:
http://www.anred.com/lax.html
http://www.nationaleatingdisorders.org/nedaDir/files/documents/handouts/Laxative.pdf
http://www.gurze.com/client/client_pages/laxativeabuse.cfm
picture: http://everystockphoto.com

Diuretic Abuse for Weight Loss

Sometimes those with eating disorders will use diuretics in an attempt to control their weight. Though this may produce lower numbers on the scale it does not reflect a loss of body fat but a loss of water. This is a dangerous practice as water is essential to health. Dehydration can cause damage to your body and ultimately result in death.


Water does many things for us including:

• aiding digestion
• maintaining body temperature
• removing toxins
• transportation of nutrients

The body must be properly hydrated in order to function properly. The adult body consists of 60-70% water. The human brain consists of approximately 85% water. Blood is approximately 90% water. When you are thirsty you are already dehydrated. When this happens your body pulls water from it's organs and tissues.


Dehydration can acerbate conditions such as:

• asthma
• allergies
• migraines
• rheumatoid arthritis
• angina
• constipation
• colitis
• body aches and pains
• eczema/dry skin
• etc
  

Complications of Dehydration include:

• Kidney Damage
• Cardiac Arrhythmias
• Heart Palpitations
• Salt Imbalance
• Electrolyte Imbalance
• Fluid Retention
• Potassium Deficiency
• Dizziness
• Dry Eyes
• Constipation
• Hypotension
• Death
  

More information on what dehydration can cause can be found here.

Every day you lose water naturally simply by breathing, urinating, sweating, and bowel movements. It is important that you replenish your body with the water it needs in order to keep you healthy. The most commonly recommended amount is 8 - 8 oz glasses of water a day but the formula changes depending on climate, age, activity, illness or health conditions, pregnancy or breastfeeding, and so on.


The following are approximate water needs for an average, healthy adult living in temperate climate according to the Mayo Clinic:

• Replacement approach. The average urine output for adults is about 1.5 liters (6.3 cups) a day. You lose close to an additional liter of water a day through breathing, sweating and bowel movements. Food usually accounts for 20 percent of your total fluid intake, so if you consume 2 liters of water or other beverages a day (a little more than 8 cups) along with your normal diet, you will typically replace the lost fluids.

• Eight 8-ounce glasses of water a day. Another approach to water intake is the "8 x 8 rule" — drink eight 8-ounce glasses of water a day (about 1.9 liters). The rule could also be stated, "drink eight 8-ounce glasses of fluid a day," as all fluids count toward the daily total. Though the approach isn't supported by scientific evidence, many people use this basic rule as a guideline for how much water and other fluids to drink.
• Dietary recommendations. The Institute of Medicine advises that men consume roughly 3 liters (about 13 cups) of total beverages a day and women consume 2.2 liters (about 9 cups) of total beverages a day.

"Even apart from the above approaches, if you drink enough fluid so that you rarely feel thirsty and produce 1.5 liters (6.3 cups) or more of colorless or slightly yellow urine a day, your fluid intake is probably adequate."

If you are suffering with an eating disorder please reach out, seek help.
Eating Disorder Help: Hotlines, Organizations and Websites

sources: http://www.diseasesdatabase.com/result.asp?glngUserChoice=3520&bytRel=2&blnBW=False&strBB=LR&blnClassSort=True
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/water/NU00283
picture: http://www.freedigitalphotos.net/details.php?gid=140&sgid=&pid=1496

Seeking A Diagnosis For Eating Disorders

Eating Disorders are among the most common psychiatric problems affecting women but diagnosis can still be elusive. More than half go undiagnosed. When seeking a diagnosis of /recovery from an eating disorder the first and most important step that should be taken is to see a physician for a complete assessment. You must be honest with the doctor and disclose all. There are tests that need to be done to assess your physical condition. This should be followed by a mental health assessment done preferably by an eating disorder specialist. Many who suffer from eating disorders may discover comorbid conditions such as depression, obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), personality disorders, and anxiety disorder.

Medical tests should be done to:

• determine if there is another cause for the symptoms
• assess what physical impact the disease has had
  
• determine if there is need for immediate medical intervention

The tests recommended by NEDA (National Eating Disorder Association) are as follows:

Recommended Laboratory Tests

Standard

• Complete Blood Count (CBC) with differential
• Urinalysis
• Complete Metabolic Profile: Sodium, Chloride, Potassium, Glucose, Blood Urea Nitrogen, Creatinine, Total Protein, Albumin, Globulin, Calcium, Carbon Dioxide, AST, Alkaline Phosphates, Total Bilirubin
• Serum magnesium
• Thyroid Screen (T3, T4, TSH)
• Electrocardiogram (ECG)

Special Circumstances

15% or more below ideal body weight (IBW)

• Chest X-Ray
• Complement 3 (C3)
• 24 Creatinine Clearance
• Uric Acid

20% or more below IBW or any neurological sign

• Brain Scan

20% or more below IBW or sign of mitral valve prolapse

• Echocardiogram

30% or more below IBW

• Skin Testing for Immune Functioning

Weight loss 15% or more below IBW lasting 6 months or longer at any time during course of eating disorder

• Dual Energy X-Ray Absorptiometry (DEXA) to assess bone mineral density
• Estadiol Level (or testosterone in males)
  

Criteria for Level of Care

Inpatient

Medically Unstable

• Unstable or depressed vital signs
• Laboratory findings presenting acute risk
• Complications due to coexisting medical problems such as diabetes

Psychiatrically Unstable

• Symptoms worsening at rapid rate
• Suicidal and unable to contract for safety

Residential

• Medically stable so does not require intensive medical interventions
• Psychiatrically impaired and unable to respond to partial hospital or outpatient treatment

Partial Hospital

Medically stable

• Eating disorder may impair functioning but not causing immediate acute risk
• Needs daily assessment of physiological and mental status

Psychiatrically stable

• Unable to function in normal social, educational, or vocational situations
• Daily bingeing, purging, severely restricted intake, or other pathogenic weight control techniques

Intensive Outpatient/Outpatient

Medically stable

• No longer needs daily medical monitoring

Psychiatrically stable

• Symptoms in sufficient control to be able to function in normal social, educational, or vocational situations and continue to make progress in recovery.

• 
  

Please visit NEDA for more information.

*Diagnostic criteria for eating disorders such as described in DSM-IV may not be entirely applicable to adolescents. The wide variability in the rate, timing and magnitude of both height and weight gain during normal puberty; the absence of menstrual periods in early puberty along with the unpredictability of menses soon after menarche; and the lack of psychological awareness regarding abstract concepts (such as self-concept, motivation to lose weight or affective states) owing to normative cognitive development limit the application of those formal diagnostic criteria to adolescents. In addition, clinical features such as pubertal delay, growth retardation or the impairment of bone mineral acquisition may occur at subclinical levels of eating disorders. The use of strict criteria may preclude the recognition of eating disorders in their early stages and sub-clinical form (a prerequisite for primary or secondary prevention), and may exclude some adolescents with significantly abnormal eating attitudes and behaviours, such as those who vomit or take laxatives regularly but do not binge. Finally, abnormal eating habits may result in significant impairment in health, even in the absence of fulfillment of formal criteria for an eating disorder. For all of these reasons, it is essential to diagnose eating disorders in adolescents in the context of the multiple and varied aspects of normal pubertal growth, adolescent development and the eventual attainment of a healthy adulthood rather than by merely applying formalized criteria.

Position: In clinical practice, the diagnosis of an eating disorder should be considered in an adolescent patient who engages in potentially unhealthy weight control practices and/or demonstrates obsessive thinking about food, weight, shape or exercise and not only in one who meets established diagnostic criteria. In such adolescents, an eating disorder should be considered if the teenager fails to attain or maintain a healthy weight, height, body composition or stage of sexual maturation for sex and age.

Read in full here.

See also: Eating Disorder Self-Assessment Tests and Quizzes: Do I Have an Eating Disorder?


Sources:National Eating Disorders.Org
http://www.cps.ca/ENGLISH/statements/AM/am96-04.htm
picture: http://www.everystockphoto.com

Eating Disorders: Recent News Articles

Ask your father: why are you on a diet? Timesonline

Flora, aged 10, wants to know why she has to eat all her dinner when Mummy is on a diet.

The answer really depends on what sort of diet you are on. If you swing chaotically between feast and famine, there is no positive way of explaining your attitude to food to your daughter. If, however, you are trying to adopt long-term healthier eating habits, there is no harm in being honest.

But let's be realistic; wanting to feel “healthier” usually means hoping to look slimmer. A child inevitably picks up on this, as well as your general attitude towards body image and eating.

So look out for the words you use when you talk about yourself. Be aware of those moments when you catch yourself in the mirror and say, “God, I look like a melted candle from the waist down”, while your daughter watches on, soaking up the jaded self-criticism like a sponge. Avoid too the pitfall of branding certain foods as “good” or “bad”. Never say, for instance, “Aren't you lucky you can eat chocolate, while poor old Mummy has to stick to boring salads.”

Read in full here.

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Brittany Snow: Dieting Was 'My Best Friend' People

"I remember looking around at all these women who were on the soap opera who were working out and dieting," Snow says. Taking their cue, a 12-year-old Snow tried her first diet, called Eat Right 4 Your Blood Type. "I took it to the extreme," the Hairspray star admits, which included a two-month stint when she "lived on pineapple." After losing 10 lbs. on the diet, Snow says she heard compliments and felt accepted by those around her. Soon it was a feeling she couldn't get enough of. "It kind of progressed into this thing where I needed to always be dieting and losing weight and more weight," she says in the site's interview series Half of Us, which addresses mental health issues and ways to get help. "It became my life and I didn't have any friends and this was definitely my best friend and I held on to it really tight."
Read in full here.

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Teens' help gives hope: North Shore News

Looking to make a difference in their community, three North Vancouver teenagers founded the charitable company Help Gives Hope ... the students established Help Gives Hope in February, a charitable company that seeks to help North Shore teens deal with various issues.

"We are teenagers ourselves and we have been in tough situations that deal with certain issues," Brennan said. "Teenagers are more receptive to people who have been in their situation. A lot of times when adults try and help teens, they mean well but a lot of it doesn't come across as well as if a teen is saying it. That's why we can help."

The company sells T-shirts with all proceeds going to three non-profit organizations: the Looking Glass Foundation for Eating Disorders, the West Coast Alternatives Society and A Place to Call Home.

"We picked these organizations because they are all non-profit and not governmentally funded," he said. "They also deal with three big issues facing teenagers -- eating disorders, drugs and alcohol, and homelessness."

Read in full here.

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When Eating Is The Enemy: Sun Post

... Food Addicts in Recovery Anonymous, or FA, is a nationally recognized support group that helps members battle food issues. Some members are fighting overeating, some undereating and others bulimia, but all are looking for a way to control their eating habits.

After more than three years in the program, Ray, a 76-year-old Tracy resident, said several of his weight-related health problems are cured. (Because the group operates on the same principals as Alcoholics Anonymous, members are not allowed to give their last names.)

“It saved my life,” Ray said. “I was a pre-diabetic with sleep apnea, high blood pressure and a cancer survivor, and now it’s all gone.”

Read in full here.


Sources:
http://women.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/women/families/article4269096.ece http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20058701,00.html
http://www.canada.com/northshorenews/news/look/story.html?id=60ddb5b8-0d9e-48a8-8e61-d7a5a3fce549
http://sunpost.net/content/view/2040/173/
picture:http://www.freefoto.com

EDNOS: Eating Disorders Not Otherwise Specified

Eating disorders not otherwise specified (EDNOS) involves disordered eating patterns. EDNOS is described in the DSM-IV-TR as a "category [of] disorders of eating that do not meet the criteria for any specific eating disorder." (Wikipedia)

Many with Eating Disorders are diagnosed with EDNOS. Those with EDNOS suffer the same signs, symptoms, health risks, and emotional turmoil as anyone else with eating disorders but may find it more difficult receiving treatment due to not meeting the criteria that qualifies them for treatment coverage from their insurance carrier.


Warning signs may include, but are not limited to:

• Hiding food to avoid eating
  
• Limiting food to certain types
  
• Excessive exercise
• Binging; eating a large amount of food in one sitting
  
• Use of laxatives or diuretics
• Hiding eating behavior due to embarrassment/shame
• Overeating to the point of feeling sick
• Showing unhealthy interest in weight and/or body image
• Purposely going long periods of time without eating
  
• Obsessing over calorie/fat content of foods
  

Diagnostic Criteria

 1 For females, all the criteria for Anorexia Nervosa are met except that the individual has regular menses. 

2 All the criteria for Anorexia Nervosa are met except that, despite significant weight loss, the individual’s current weight is in the normal range.

 3 All the criteria for Bulimia Nervosa are met except that the binge eating and inappropriate compensatory mechanisms occur at a frequency of less than twice a week or for a duration of less than 3 months.

 4 The regular use of inappropriate compensatory behaviour by an individual of normal body weight after eating small amounts of food (e.g. self-induced vomiting after the consumption of two biscuits.

 5 Repeatedly chewing and spitting out, but not swallowing, large amounts of food.
 6 Binge-eating disorder: recurrent episodes of binge eating in the absence of the regular use of inappropriate compensatory behaviours characteristic of Bulimia Nervosa. (Eating Disorders Org)

EDNOS is still a Disorder!

It is important to recognize that despite the lack of specific classification the presence of EDNOS symptoms is serious. The potential exists for these symptoms to develop into a categorical diagnostic eating disorder. Should a person NOT eventually exhibit such symptoms of a more specifically classified eating disorder the results can still be severe and most seriously, death. Any person exhibiting any symptoms above or additional symptoms ... should immediately consult a trained medical professional or psychiatrist for treatment. (EatingDisordersOnline)

If you, or someone you know, has EDNOS, it is extremely important that you take action and seek help.

Please see sidebar for link to Eating Disorders Help: Hotlines, Organizations, Websites



FINDING Balance : dedicated to consumer awareness and understanding of EDNOS


Sources:
http://www.eatingdisorders.org.nz/What-is-the-DSM.836.0.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eating_disorder_not_otherwise_specified
http://eatingdisordersonline.com/explain/ednos.php
picture: http://www.flickr.com/photos/sylvia/94180907/