Self-Worth Quotes: Eating Disorders Recovery

"You yourself, as much as anybody in the entire universe, deserves your love & affection."
Buddah

"Self-worth comes from one thing ... thinking that you are worthy."
Wayne Dyer

"A person's worth is contingent upon who he is, not upon what he does, or how much he has. The worth of a person, or a thing, or an idea, is in being, not in doing, not in having."
Alice Mary Hilton

"Accept everything about yourself, I mean everything. You are you and that is the beginning and the end, no apologies, no regrets."
Clark Moustakas

"The investments we make in ourselves, will always deliver the most profitable returns."
Sumner Davenport

"The way you treat yourself sets the standard for others."
Dr. Sonya Friedman

"Never be bullied into silence. Never allow yourself to be made a victim. Accept no one's definition of your life; define yourself."
Harvey Fienstein

“When you're a beautiful person on the inside, there is nothing in the world that can change that about you. Jealousy is the result of one's lack of self-confidence, self-worth, and self-acceptance. The Lesson: If you can't accept yourself, then certainly no one else will.”
Sasha Azevedo

"It took me a long time not to judge myself through someone else's eyes."
Sally Field

"When you understand that your self-worth is not determined by your net-worth, then you'll have financial freedom"
Suze Orman

"The greatest success is successful self-acceptance."
Ben Sweet

“Envy is a symptom of lack of appreciation of our own uniqueness and self worth. Each of us has something to give that no one else has.”
Elizabeth O'Connor

"As long as we look outside of Self - with a capital S - to find out who we are, to define ourselves and give us self-worth, we are setting ourselves up to be victims."
Robert Burney

"Every individual has a place to fill in the world, and is important, in some respect, whether he chooses to be so or not."
Nathaniel Hawthorn

“When your self-worth goes up, your net worth goes up with it.”
Mark Victor Hanson

"When it looks like everyone is against you, look inside for the truth."
Sumner Davenport

“The promises of this world are, for the most part, vain phantoms; and to confide in one's self, and become something of worth and value is the best and safest course.”
Michelangelo

"If I am not for myself, who will be?"
Pirke Avoth

"Other people's opinion of you does not have to become your reality."
Les Brown

"Nurture your mind with great thoughts, for you will never go any higher than you think."
Benjamin Disraeli

"We never know the worth of water until the well is dry."
Thomas Fuller

"Accept yourself as you are right now; an imperfect, changing, growing and worthy person."
Denis Waitley

“Who I am today is a constant reminder of what I took from my past challenges.”
Godsway Sappor

"Don't compromise yourself. You are all you've got."
Janis Joplin

"An individual's self-concept is the core of his personality. It affects every aspect of human behavior: the ability to learn, the capacity to grow and change. A strong, positive self-image is the best possible preparation for success in life."
Dr. Joyce Brothers

"There's only one corner of the universe you can be certain of improving, and that's your own self. So you have to begin there, not outside, not on other people."
Aldous Huxley

"After a while you learn the subtle difference between holding a hand and chaining a soul and you learn that love doesn't mean security and you begin to learn that kisses aren't contracts and presents aren't promises you begin to accept your defeats with your head up and your eyes open, with the grace of a woman, not the grief of a child and you learn to build your roads on today because tomorrow's ground is too uncertain and futures have a way of falling down in mid-flight after a while you learn that even sunshine burns if you get too much so, you plant your own garden and decorate your own soul instead of waiting for someone else to bring you flowers and you learn you really can endure that you really are strong you really do have worth and you learn and you learn with every good-bye you learn."
Anonymous

More on Self-Worth:
Self-Worth: The Unconditional Love Of Self
Self- Love Quotes
Using Affirmations

*See sidebar menus for more Inspirational Recovery Quotes and Quotes Of The Week

picture source:publicdomainpictures.net

Recovery Quote Of The Week: April 28th, 2009

"Try. Fail. Try again. Fail better."
Samuel Beckett


*See sidebar menus for more Recovery Quotes and Quotes of The Week.

picture source:Freephotos.sa

Eating Disorders And Seasonal Changes: Polls

Do the seasons affect your Eating Disorder in any way? Please take a moment to participate in the 2 polls located in the sidebar (one below the other) and share your experience. Choose all that apply.

*If the polls are lacking answers you feel you'd like to add, please feel free to add them in the comment section of this post.

Thank you.
MrsM


Completed Poll Results:

Do The Seasons Affect Your Eating Disorder? How has the arrival of spring made you feel? (choose all that apply) * please see additional related poll below
votes: 47

Yes, somewhat	12 (25%)
Yes, very much so	18 (38%)
Not that I've noticed	3 (6%)
Not at all	3 (6%)
Sometimes	10 (21%)
For the better	9 (19%)
For the worse	14 (29%)
I feel empowered	3 (6%)
I feel optimistic	9 (19%)
I feel anxious	16 (34%)
I feel renewed	7 (14%)
I feel depressed	15 (31%)
I feel hopeful	12 (25%)
I feel desperate	11 (23%)
I feel stronger	6 (12%)
I feel weaker	11 (23%)
I am bulimic	14 (29%)
anorexic	15 (31%)
compulsive overeater	8 (17%)
EDNOS	13 (27%)
Combination of EDs	14 (29%)

Which Season Makes You Feel Better/Worse? (choose all that apply)
votes: 43

Best in SPRING	17 (39%)
Best in SUMMER	9 (20%)
Best in FALL	12 (27%)
Best in WINTER	9 (20%)
Worse in SPRING	4 (9%)
Worse in SUMMER	20 (46%)
Worse in FALL	6 (13%)
Worse in Winter	15 (34%)

More Poll Results


Picture source:publicdomainpictures.net

Eating Disorders: A Look At What Other Bloggers Are Talking About

"Do It For Yourself": Overcoming Anorexia

Approximately seven million American women and one million American men suffer from an eating disorder. Ninety-five percent of these people are between the ages of 12 and 25. In this guest post, a Carleton woman tells her story and offers some thoughts about an issue that affects so many young men and women.

I am recovering from anorexia. I am writing this post anonymously because, ultimately, this post is not about me. It’s about me sharing a perverse logic that many women buy into in order to feel better about themselves by complying with societal standards.

I was the “nice, but not so pretty” friend. You know, the one guys went to for advice to snag the hot girl. I accepted my lot in life and didn’t think much of it, mostly because I didn’t think much of myself. My dad would tell me I was fat and boys ignored me. However, I lost some weight by cutting out junk food and got a boyfriend in high school, which made it easier to suppress my painful memories. I went to college, put on some weight by eating too many cookies, and I flipped out. I was so ashamed. I was disgusted with myself because I was fat and ugly again. Boys were never interested in me for being a good person, for accepting people as they were without judgment, for my sharp wit. No, that was nothing. My body was the only thing they wanted, and I wouldn’t get attention for being less than perfect.

I counted calories, and it worked. I got down to my normal weight, and I felt pretty again. However, why stop? Maybe, if I were thin enough, someone would put in the effort to get to know me for me, because I would be pretty enough. I saw love and my weight as having an inverse relationship: as weight decreases, love increases. Right?

Read in full here.

happybodies.wordpress.com

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Beating Eating Disorders Even Without A "Cure."

I couldn't help but think about eating disorder recovery when I read this article: Diabetes? Some beat it, but are they cured?

Some people with Type 2 Diabetes are able to control their blood sugar through the euphemistic "lifestyle changes," namely eating "healthier,"* losing weight, and exercising, to the point that they no longer need medication.
:::snip:::
And, though it sounds a little ominous, I think an eating disorder will always be waiting for me to slip. I don't believe recovery is all doom and gloom, but I'd be really stupid to forget that I am and will always be vulnerable to an eating disorder. American culture isn't conducive to eating disorder recovery, either, which only adds to the need to remain vigilant.

Here's the thing: we don't know how many people recover from an eating disorder only to fall back down the rabbit hole decades later. We know relapse is common and recovery can be a long and difficult road. We know that malnutrition is almost always the first step both in the initial descent into an ED and into relapse. We know that normalizing eating habits goes a long way in treating ED thinking. But we don't know about "cures," if there is one, if there will ever be one.

For me to stay healthy, I can't brag about how little sleep I'm getting or how stressed I am. These things make me nutty, which tends to lead to food restriction. Food restriction leads to overexercise and overexercise leads to stress fractures and The Boot. I can't go on a diet and expect a positive outcome. I can't be carefree about food and eating- I need to make sure I'm eating enough of EVERY different food group and that I'm getting enough fats and proteins.

Read in full here.

ed-bites.blogspot.com
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Susan Boyle: A Gift To Us All

A joyous wake up call just blasted stereotypes about women completely out of rigid cultural perceptions. It happened on the Britains Got Talent show. Susan Boyle, the wrong age, shape, size, and in the wrong hair style, makeup, dress and shoes according to cultural dictates of what constitutes desirable women, ploughed into the hearts and minds of everyone who heard her sing her audition piece, “I dreamed a dream,” from Les Miserables.

Away with rubbish!

Her magnificent voice, carrying the depth of human emotion, hit our senses with her first note. Her talent and strength never let up. As she carried through her song I believe we savored each moment both for the beauty she gave and for the cleansing in our minds of judgemental rubbish we’ve been carrying around for decades.

Her performance is moving through the world at the speed of light touching hearts and minds with a glowing light of love and respect for a whole person, a whole woman who doesn’t live by the beauty standards of high fashion models or celebrity film women.

Heart and dedication blast through formidable obstacles

Her heart and soul, her obvious dedication to her music, her blazing talent and miraculous range, brought a magnificent beauty to the attention of the world.

And it’s all the more wonderful because the stereotype and cultural belief has been, till this moment, that women with a certain appearance could never, even remotely have the power to light up humanity with the force of Susan’s heart coming through her incredibly magnificent voice.

The message to women with eating disorders

If you have an eating disorder, I hope with all my heart, that you will heed the cultural message that Susan Boyle brings to us all.

Read in full here.

stopeatingdisorders.com
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A Response: Making A Change

I'd like to respond publicly to another comment I received on my latest video post in the hopes that others out there are pondering the same thing and looking for some encouragement. "Things got better for a few days, and then a week, until I find myself staring at the same question - do I WANT to get better and be more than this? I fight it everyday and some days I give up and give in...other days I'm strong (so to speak) and don't eat at all, I can't allow it. How did you go about making that change? I can't seem to find the middle ground, or even solid ground at this point to stand on. It's either all or nothing, black or white..." The "all or nothing" attitude is something I understand well. I think many of us feel that way. So, at the very least, you're not alone. It is, nevertheless, frustrating. But first things first: if you are writing that paragraph above--if you're bothering to take the time to write to me, to even come here and read my blog--you do in fact WANT to get better and be more than "this." It might not seem like you want it when bad days come around, but bad days only last so long. If you're here, you're at a starting point. Or perhaps a middle point. Or better yet--a breaking point. And you can get past it. But you have to believe you can get past it. You have to take yourself by the shoulders, figuratively speaking, and say, "You can do this and you WILL do this." Nothing can come before that first move. Part of recovery is that every day struggle you speak of. It's a process. It's a journey. It's a tough place. But you're moving. Because you don't sit there, day after day, with the exact same mindset. You question. You falter. You feel. You hurt. You are at a loss. But you're getting somewhere. You're not stagnant and still. Know what I mean? It may actually (and understandably) be more frustrating to let days turn to a week or more of doing well, and then BAM--you suddenly feel you're back where you started. It's a let down. It's annoying. It certainly doesn't make you want to keep going, to try again. I feel ya on that one. You're forgetting one important thing, though: You aren't starting over from scratch. Those steps forward you made are not discounted or negated by the fact that you are now stalled again. If you start at point A and you are trying to get to point B, but you stop halfway there, it doesn't mean you're back at point A, does it? No.

Read in full here.

tearstowords.blogspot.com
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Labs Say You're Fine, Doctor Says You're Sick: What's Going On?

What are parents to do when they're pretty sure their child has an eating disorder yet all lab tests and the usual medical markers of health come back within normal ranges?

This is a situation that Marcia sees a lot, most recently in the case of a young college-aged patient. The student reported that although she knew she had an eating disorder, she was told by her doctor that her labs, weight, blood pressure and heart rate were all fine. The girl and her parents were left baffled and confused.

The same thing happened to Marcia as a young girl of 15 struggling with anorexia. In our book, we relate the story of the time when Marcia's grandmother, who was worried about Marcia's plummeting weight, took her to see their family doctor. He found no cause for alarm, despite the fact that Marcia was five-foot-six inches and 100 pounds. "He recommended that I put olive oil in my dry and brittle hair," recalls Marcia, "when he should have told me to add the olive oil to my food."

Even though doctors are far more educated today about the hazards of eating disorders than they were when Marcia was a teen (an extreme case like hers would most likely be noticed by even an obtuse doctor now), eating disorders are still often missed. Patient and family are eager to accept this poor but reassuring advice; after all they don't really want to admit that there is a problem. The professional in the white lab coat is giving them permission to look the other way, and it's just too convenient sometimes.

The reason this scenario -- normal lab results despite clear-cut anorexia – occurs so often­ is that the body works very hard and very effectively to compensate for starvation. The ups and downs of human evolution have ensured that the body is well-adapted to surviving famine. Usually labs will stay normal until the patient is in very serious medical trouble, and then things go downhill so fast families have no time to process what is happening.

Read in full here.

www.eatingdisordersblogs.com
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Born Anorexic?

For a long time the only acceptable narrative for this illness was about thinness and victimization. But I note a growing number of former and even some current patients who not only accept but endorse the idea that an eating disorder is a brain condition, a genetic predisposition and not a personal choice or weakness. They report feeling relieved and helped by this knowledge instead of demeaned.

Read in full here.

eatingwithyouranorexic.blogspot.com



sources linked above.

A Letter To My Body: ED Poetry And Writings

A Letter To My Body

Dear Body,

I can find nothing about you

to celebrate
besides my children
and it hurts.
Your betrayal haunts me,
and all of the rage that I feel
is taken out on you.
My silent hunger screams
inside of your skin,
but no matter how empty,
the heavy weight of you
will not let go.
You only remind me to feel ashamed.
Touched and taken with such hate
that I find it hard to love you,
and for that, I am truly sorry.
You have nothing to apologize for.
You should not have to ask
for permission to exist.
I'm still learning to let you
take up the space that you deserve.
The fullness and discomfort that I feel
makes me want to crawl out from under you,
but I will try to stay until...
you become a part of me.

By: Angela Minard

*See sidebar menu for more ED poetry and writings

*Click here to have your Eating Disorders/Body Image poetry/writings featured on Weighing The Facts


Read more about Angela Minard: Conversations With Claudia, The Voice Of An Eating Disorder

Be sure to visit Angela Minard's blog: Here and Now ~*~ 4 Angel "Poetry and thoughts on my journey toward healing and unlocking the silence within. Words are magic. Words have the power to heal, so find your voice, and fly!"


picture source:deviantart.com

Recovery Quote Of The Week: April 19th, 2009

"I found I could say things with color and shapes that I couldn't say any other way~ things I had no words for."
Georgia O'Keeffe

See also:
The Use Of Art Therapy In The Treatment Of Eating Disorders

Eating Disorders And Art Therapy

*See sidebar for more Inspirational Recovery Quotes and Quotes Of The Week.

Email Difficulties: Did You Send Mail?

I had a mailbox full of emails that were all accidentally deleted. I did manage to see some important subjects and requests before they disappeared. If you have emailed me over the last month or so (I have had limited access to the internet) and have not gotten a response from me I'd like to apologize and ask if you'd please contact me again. I can be reached at Mrsmenopausal@yahoo.com.
Sorry for the inconvenience.
Thanks!
MrsM.

Eating Disorders: In The News

'Normal' Educates and Entertains

Normal" is a musical that tackles the weighty and relevant subject of eating disorders and how one young girl's struggle affects her entire family.

Artistic Director Chase Kniffen writes in his program notes that "Normal" not only deserves a place in Stage 1's inaugural season, but that it was, in fact, the reason he wanted to create a new theatrical venue in central Virginia dedicated to new and recent works by American playwrights - especially musicals.

"Normal" fits the bill. The play, written by Yvonne Adrian with lyrics by Cheryl Stern, opened off Broadway in 2005 and has apparently not been professionally produced elsewhere since.

Anorexia is not a common topic for a play, much less a musical, but Kniffen and the cast of seven provide an open, in-depth and intimate view of the subject as well as the dynamics of the Freeman family as mother, father, daughter and son struggle to come to terms with the layers of dissonance that would drive a young girl to starve herself to be pretty "to the bone."

With strong voices and solid acting by veterans Ford Flannagan (the dad, Robert) and Julie Fulcher (the mom, Gayla), Dave Amadee's authentically touching portrayal of the concerned brother, Zachary, and Ali Thibodeau's debut in the heart-wrenching role of Polly, the show has a lot to offer. Angela Shipley, Debra Wagoner and Terri Moore round out the cast as a sort of Greek chorus in white, filling in the many roles of doctor, nurse, therapist, flight attendants and the like.

Read in full here.
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Hospital Funding Dispute Depriving Malnourished Children In South

A dispute between the Health Ministry and Soroka Medical Center in Be'er Sheva is delaying the establishment of a clinic to treat eating disorders among children. The patients, who are under-weight, under-nourished, and require intensive medical treatment, have been forced to travel to the center of the country for treatment.

Following the publication of a report in Haaretz a year and a half ago highlighting the lack of these services in the north and south of the country, the Labor, Welfare and Health Committee of the Knesset convened and directed the Health Ministry to develop a plan to provide hospital and out-patient facilities for the outlying population.

The Health Ministry's chief psychiatrist, Yaakov Polkovich, developed a plan to provide hospital facilities for these children in Haifa and Safed in the north, as well as in the south. But no budget has been allocated to make the facilities available in the south.

Polkovich told Haaretz that eight hospital beds for children with eating disorders were planned for Soroka Medical Center, in addition to out-patient facilities for another eight children. He said the Be'er Sheva hospital opposed the plan because it was seeking Health Ministry funding of about NIS 6 million instead for a separate building at the hospital at which these services would be provided. Polkovich said the dispute is ultimately over funding the project.

According to Health Ministry statistics, there are about 70,000 young Israelis, including many adolescents, who are malnourished due to anorexia and bulimia. In recent years, eating disorders have also been noted among young Bedouin residents of the south, who also have to seek treatment in the country's center. The Health Ministry has generally refused to fund travel expenses for these patients and their parents.

The Clalit health maintenance organization, which operates Soroka, indicated it is looking to the Health Ministry for funds. A spokesman for Soroka added "in order to provide comprehensive treatment to children with eating disorders, we are prepared to build a special unit with ten hospital beds and eight out-patient beds. We therefore need full funding for construction, equipment and ongoing operation of the facility. The Health Ministry has proposed providing partial funding which would not provide for the ongoing operation of the building."

Read in full here.
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KU Conducts New Research On Anorexia Nervosa

Researchers at the University of Karachi (KU) Department of Biochemistry have discovered that the appetite of patients suffering from anorexia nervosa could be increased by administering an amino acid called Triptophan into the body.

Anorexia nervosa is a disorder that decreases appetite and the will to eat. Dr Darkhshan J. Haleem, senior professor at the department, along with her PhD student Tafheem Malik, found out that starvation for long periods decreases the production of serotonin in the brain. The administration of the amino acid Triptophan alleviates the levels of serotonin, thus inducing hunger in the patient.

Both Malik and Dr Haleem will travel to Chicago to attend the 24th International Symposium on Cerebral Blood Flow, Metabolism and Function being held from June 29 to July 3.

“Anorexia nervosa is a psychiatric illness that describes an eating disorder characterised by extremely low body weight and body image distortion, with an obsessive fear of gaining weight,” explained Dr Naeem Siddiqui, a psychiatrist working with the Aga Khan University and the Sindh Institute of Urology and Transplant.

According to him, individuals who have anorexia are known to control body weight by voluntary starvation, purging, excessive exercise or other weight control measures such as diet pills or diuretic drugs. The disorder is a complex condition involving neurobiological, psychological, and sociological components, and can ultimately lead to death. While the condition primarily affects adolescent females, approximately 10 per cent of people diagnosed with it are male.

While the diagnosis of anorexia can be aided through biological tests, the diagnosis is based on a combination of behaviour, physical characteristics, reported beliefs and experiences of the patient. Anorexia is typically diagnosed by a clinical psychologist, psychiatrist or other suitably qualified clinician. Notably, diagnostic criteria are intended to assist clinicians, and are not representative of what an individual sufferer feels or experiences while living with the illness.

Read in full here.
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Was I Born Anorexic?

Just the other morning, my therapist and I agreed that pretty much everything wrong with me can be traced, in one way or another, back to my parents. This revelation, which has cost my insurance company thousands of dollars, is hardly groundbreaking. Long before the first neurotic was chained to an asylum’s basement wall, we have known that our parents ruin our lives. It has taken the miracle of modern genetic science, however, to discover that this is not totally their fault.

As a small child, I remember telling my mother that when I grew up I wanted to weigh 110 pounds.

According to a new and seemingly conclusive neuropsychological study, anorexia is the latest on the list of the various genetic maladies we can inherit from our parents. The researchers conducted neuropsychological testing on over 200 girls and young women being treated in hospitals for anorexia in the U.S., the U.K., and Norway. The results showed that 70 percent of the patients had suffered damage to their neurotransmitters, had undergone subtle changes in the structures of their brains, or both. They also found that these conditions occurred in the womb and were not due to external or environmental factors.

This news is of special interest to me. For a period of roughly three years, between the ages of 18 and 21, I suffered from a relatively serious case of anorexia. I know this revelation may be difficult to believe if you’ve ever seen me in a buffet situation (or if you have eyes), but I assure you the period is well documented in my medical and psychiatric records.

Read in full here.

sources linked above.

Recovery Quote Of The Week: April 11th 2009

"Adopt the pace of nature: her secret is patience."
Ralf Waldo Emerson

See sidebar for additional recovery quotes.

Eating Disorders: Art Therapy Poll

Have you tried art therapy to help you in your recovery or are you considering giving it a try? Was it/is it a useful tool or was it not something you found helpful? Please take a moment and share you experience by participating in the poll in the sidebar.

Would you like to have your ED Art and/or your experience with it featured here, on Weighing The Facts? If so please email me at mrsmenopausal@yahoo.com.

Thank you for participating.

Completed Poll Results:

Have You Used Art Therapy To Aid Your Recovery?
(choose all that apply)
Votes: 57

Yes, in therapy	20 (35%)
Yes, on my own	20 (35%)
It's helped me	26 (45%)
I didn't like it	7 (12%)
I do it regularly	8 (14%)
No, never	10 (17%)
Don't want to try it	4 (7%)
Know someone it helps	6 (10%)
Others' art helps me	9 (15%)
Love it	14 (24%)
I doodle in my journal	22 (38%)
Thinking about trying it	3 (5%)
I find it triggering	6 (10%)
Uninterested	2 (3%)
Yes, recently	14 (24%)
Yes, a long time ago	10 (17%)

*See more poll results here.

See also:
The Use Of Art Therapy In The Treatment Of Eating Disorders
Eating Disorders And Art Therapy
Relapse Prevention: Eating Disorder Recovery

News Articles: Eating Disorders

Milkshakes Medicine For Anorexic Teens

NEW YORK, April 4 (UPI) -- Parents are called on to feed their children high-calorie meals like milkshakes and macaroni and cheese in a therapy for anorexia nervosa, U.S. researchers say.

The therapy, known as behavioral family therapy, or the Maudsley Approach, calls on parents to supervise the eating habits of their anorexic child. The approach is being compared with a more established treatment known as Family Systems Therapy as part of an ongoing treatment study at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Westchester Division and five other centers nationally.

Both are outpatient therapies for adolescents ages 12-18.

"Anorexia is a life-threatening condition. Treating it early is very important since it is during the teenage years that this disorder usually takes hold," Dr. Katherine Halmi, founder of the Eating Disorders Program at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Westchester Division and professor of psychiatry at Weill Cornell Medical College, said in a statement.

Read in full here.
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Vegetarianism Linked To Eating Disorder

(ABC) - Young people may prefer a vegetarian diet that's rich in fruits and vegetables. But a new study shows it could also put them at a higher risk for eating disorders including binge eating, taking diet pills or using laxatives to lose weight.

An estimated one in 200 American children is now a vegetarian, according to the latest government statistics.

Vegetarian diets are often quite healthy for kids, exposing them to a wider variety of beans, fruits and vegetables and cutting out the fat.

But a new study finds that some young people may be turning to
vegetarianism as a weight loss strategy and in rare cases, their dieting behavior can be dangerous.

Researchers from the University of Minnesota surveyed more than 2,500 adolescents about their eating habits.

Results showed that both current and former vegetarians were more likely to practice binge eating and to try risky dieting tactics such as vomiting after meals, and taking diet pills or laxatives.

Read in full here.

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Eating Disorders Sending More American's To Hospital

The number of men and women hospitalised due to eating disorders that caused anemia, kidney failure, erratic heart rhythms or other problems rose 18 percent between 1999 and 2006, according to the latest News and Numbers from the Agency for Health care Research and Quality.

The federal agency's analysis also found that between 1999 and 2006:

- Hospitalizations for eating disorders rose most sharply for children under 12 years of age - 119 percent. The second steepest rise was for patients ages 45 to 64 - 48 percent.

- Hospitalisations for men also increased sharply - by 37 percent - but women continued to dominate hospitalizations for eating disorders (89 percent in 2006).

Admissions for anorexia, the most common eating disorder, remained relatively stable. People with anorexia typically lose extreme amounts of weight by not eating enough food, over-exercising, self-inducing vomiting, or using laxatives.

In contrast, hospitalisations for bulimia declined 7 percent. Bulimia - binge eating followed by purging by vomiting or use of laxatives - can lead to severe dehydration or stomach and intestinal problems.

Hospitalizations for less common eating disorders increased 38 percent. Those disorders include pica, an obsession with eating non-edible substances such as clay or plaster, and psychogenic vomiting, which is vomiting caused by anxiety and stress.

Read in full here.

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Miss Georgia USA Discusses Bout With Anorexia

Kimberly Gittings is hoping that come April 19 in Las Vegas, she’ll be able to add her name to the list of kids from Lilburn who’ve done well (behind, most recently, fellow Parkview High grad Jeff Francoeur).

That’s when the Air Force brat, UGA student and Miss Georgia USA titleholder will compete for the Miss USA crown. We talked with Gittings about Iraq, her ancestral home of Korea and Michelle Obama’s arms.

Q: No disrespect, but how does a girl who battled anorexia wind up in the pageant circuit? It seems like the pressure to perform and conform to a certain body type would actually exacerbate the disorder.

A: I suffered with anorexia when I was in middle school and high school. I’m 5 feet 10 inches and I weighed 97 pounds. So my parents were on the verge of hospitalizing me. I had heart palpitations, my liver was having issues, my hair was falling out, my nails kept breaking off, my period stopped. What I did to my body when I was younger will [negatively] affect my chances when I’m older if I ever want to conceive kids. But actually, pageants were something of a healing process. They allowed me to talk about what I was going through. [In pageants] you pick a platform that you’re passionate about and you talk about these issues across your state. For me, that’s what I picked. It gives me drive.

Q: Do you feel you’ve conquered it, or are there moments when you think, “I want to win and I need to be as thin as possible so I won’t eat today?” Do you still have it or another eating disorder?

A: I do not. I know how to live healthy now. I do not ever want to be back in that place again. It took a lot of time, money, effort and tears to get over it. Now I love to eat.

Read in full here.

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Eating Disorders On The Rise, Big Spike Among Children

A new report from the government Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality finds that the number of Americans hospitalized for eating disorders increased 18 per cent between 1999 and 2006.

Among children under age 12, the number more than doubled, but even middle-aged men and women are increasingly affected.

Many types of complications can land patients with eating disorders in the hospital, including kidney problems, anemia, and heart-rhythm disturbances.

In rare cases, patients even suffered life-threatening conditions such as total kidney or liver failure.

Anorexia and bulimia together accounted for more than half of the diagnoses, but they are not behind the rise in hospitalizations.

Read in full here.

sources linked above.

Recovery Quote Of The Week: April 4th 2009

"When the grass looks greener on the other side of the fence, it may be that they take better care of it there." Cecil Selig

*See sidebar for more Inspirational Recovery Quotes and Quotes Of The Week.