Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving!
I hope your day was filled with love, support, friends, and family.
MrsM




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Eating Disorders and The Holidays: Links To Help See You Through

Surviving Thanksgiving When You Have An Eating Disorder

12 Ideas To Help

Resources: hotlines, websites, organizations

Relapse Prevention

Coping With The Holidays When You Have An Eating Disorder

Giving Thanks 


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Recovery Quote Of The Week: November 22, 2010

Life is a great big canvas, and you should throw all the paint on it you can.
Danny Kaye


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


Image source: MrsM

EDs Seen Around The Web: November 2010

When Mom Has an Eating Disorder, Everybody Suffers
parentdish.com

It's every mom's nightmare: Finding out your daughter has an eating disorder. Even worse is knowing you're probably to blame.

Teresa Coates, a 40-year-old mom and solo parent of two, was anorexic in high school. She survived on 3 Musketeers bars and not much else. After high school she continued her bizarre eating habits until one day she went into convulsions at work and was rushed to the hospital. The ER doctor told her if she ever wanted to have children, which she did, she would have to start eating.

Teresa's daughter recently turned 13 and she worries about her. A lot. "I worry genetically about my daughter because I come from a family of very heavy women. And that was a concern when she came home from the hospital. I remember being worried about that. It's a hard thing to know you're genetically predisposed to not be thin."

She does feel, however, that her daughter is off to a much better start than she was at her age. "I came from a real working-class family. We didn't eat a lot of fruits and vegetables and the vegetables we ate came from cans. My take on healthy food wasn't really there. I've been cognizant trying to teach both my kids how to tell if food is good for you. They both read labels, a lot. They eat a lot of fruit and vegetables. They're very aware that you need to drink water."

But that doesn't mean it's easy.
Read in full: When Mom Has An ED 


Making Sense of ED Mortality Statistics
ANAD.org 
By Kathy Chen, MA
Chicago Professional School of Psychology

The topic of eating disorders (EDs) and mortality can be particularly sensitive because of the controversial findings in the research and perhaps their implications.  The common belief appears to be that EDs, especially anorexia nervosa (AN), are associated with a low rate of survival.  Many factors influence the results of research regarding EDs and mortality; yet, the more confusing point seems to be the ways in which these results are recorded.  Therefore, reviewing the research and examining the methods that lead to a study’s results could provide mental health professionals as well as friends and families with a more in-depth understanding of the relationship between mortality and EDs.

The first step to understanding the relationship between mortality and EDs is to study the specific parts of information presented in the research.  First, there are multiple definitions used to determine the rate of death in EDs (Neumärker, 2000).  For instance, the term “mortality rate” is different from the term, “standardized mortality ratio.”  The mortality rate is usually expressed as the number of deaths per 100,000 of the population, whereas the standardized mortality ratio (SMR) is the number of observed deaths divided by the number of expected deaths in a specific population.    In addition, when authors write of mortality rate, they usually refer to the crude mortality rate, which includes the number of deaths out of the total number of people studied during a specific amount of time.  Let me give you a simple example.  Let’s imagine we are researchers who have 100 people in our study.  If we check back with these people in 10 years and find that 5 of them have passed away, then the crude mortality rate would be 5 percent.  To calculate the SMR, let’s again think of a simple example.  We are researchers who have 100 people in our study.  This time these 100 people are adolescent females with AN.  We observe that 50 of them have died within a certain amount of time.  However, let’s say that the expected number of deaths for adolescent females without an ED is 10.  Therefore, the SMR in this hypothetical example would be 5.  This result means that the sample of adolescent females with AN has a level of mortality that is 5 times greater than the average adolescent female population without an ED.  Though these terms may seem similar, they can nonetheless impact the ways in which readers interpret these results.  Thus, when one reads research findings, one would likely want to be aware of the different ways that mortality is measured for the purpose of having a more comprehensive understanding of the research findings.
 Read in full: Making Sense of ED Mortality Statistics


Binging to Lose the Bulge: The Dangers of Drunkorexia
richlandchronicle.com

The disorder ‘anorexia' isn't a new one, but the dangerous eating disorder has now found a new partner. Drunkorexia is a new slang term used to describe people who don't eat in order to save the calories for their alcoholic beverages later.
Although it's not an official medical term, drunkorexia is starting to become widely known across college campuses. College students seem to be the main target, and narrowing it down further, female college students.
The restriction of food in order to binge on drinking is the same concept as other deadly eating disorders including bulimia.
During an interview with ABC News, Savannah, a 22-year-old graduate from the University of Texas talked about her experience being a proclaimed ‘drunkorexic'.
"It was just something I always did while in college as a normal part of my diet so that I could stay skinny but still go out and drink," Savannah said. "I do know a lot of people who skip meals to drink, drink heavily and don't gain any weight. Obviously, their success in this way encourages others to try it. I've done [drunkorexia] for years and I'm still healthy. I'm still skinny."
Read in full: The Dangers of Drunkorexia 

University Course to Study Bulimia and Anorexia

  walesonline

by Helen Turner, South Wales Echo 

EATING disorders are to be studied by students and professionals at a new course launched by Cardiff University.
The Collaborative Working in Eating Disorders module, run by the university’s School of Nursing and Midwifery Studies is the first of its kind in Wales and supports the implementation of a recent Assembly Government report.
In Wales, more than 1,000 new cases of eating disorders such as anorexia and bulimia are diagnosed each year.
Such disorders can lead to enduring mental health problems often affecting sufferers’ physical, social and psychological wellbeing.
Read in full: University Course to Study


sources linked above

Recovery Quote Of The Week: November 13, 2010

Kites rise against, not with the wind. No man has ever worked his passage anywhere in a dead calm.
John Neal


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

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Veterans Day Thank You

To all who have served and all who are currently serving, thank you and God bless. 

Child Of God: Eating Disorders Poetry

Child Of God

Whats wrong with this child that wanders alone

So lost in the dark and frightened

Who scared this beautiful child of God

And put her in the dark that she hides in

What is this child of God looking for

Often does she wonder

Answers to questions that she can’t find

Or to scared to want the answers

Who hurt this beautiful child of God

Does she hurt herself

By binging and purging and starving herself

What will it take to heal this child of God

Often does she wonder

The answers lies within the child of God

She has all the answers.

by: Jaquita King



*Please see sidebar menu "submissions" for more Eating Disorders and Body Image Poetry by readers.  




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Eating Disorder & Body Image: Share Your Poetry/Writings

Writing is a very powerful tool for many with Eating Disorders and an excellent way for others to relate and be inspired. Do you have a poem(s) and/or writing(s) about your struggles, experiences, or recovery with your Eating Disorder that you'd like to share with others? Weighing The Facts would like to feature your writing here so that others can relate, find support, and encouragement towards recovery.

Participation may be anonymous or credited, whichever you feel comfortable with. Poems/writings must be your own work. If you're interested in participating please contact me at Mrsmenopausal@yahoo.com.

Thank you.

MrsM


*Check out the sidebar menu for submissions and read the wonderful poetry and writings others have already shared on Weighing The Facts.




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Eating Disorders In The News: November 2010

Unplanned Pregnancies More Common In Women With Anorexia Nervosa

Times of India 

Women with anorexia nervosa are much more likely to have both unplanned pregnancies and induced abortions than women who don't have the serious eating disorder, according to a new study.

The study has been conducted by University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Norwegian researchers.

Lead author Cynthia M. Bulik said that these results may be driven by a mistaken belief among women with anorexia that they can't get pregnant because they are either not having menstrual periods at all or are having irregular periods.

"Anorexia is not a good contraceptive. Just because you're not menstruating, or because you're menstruating irregularly, doesn't mean you're not at risk for becoming pregnant," said Bulik.

"Physicians and other health care providers need to be aware of this as well. Doctors who treat women and adolescent girls, in particular, "need to make sure that they have the conversation about sexuality and contraception as clearly with patients with anorexia as they do with all other girls and women," she added.
Read in full: More Common In Women With Anorexia Nervosa

Eating Ourselves Sick 

HeraldSun.com 

DANGEROUS eating habits are becoming so normal they affect nearly one in two women, new research reveals. A Victoria University study has found almost half of the participants had experienced at least one episode of vomiting, laxative or diuretic abuse or uncontrolled binge eating to control their weight in the previous six months.

It also found more than 90 per cent of the 209 women were dissatisfied with their bodies, causing extreme dieting among older women as well as younger ones.
Researcher Lyndsey Nolan, a psychology lecturer at Victoria University, said the findings were alarming.

"Women have begun to resort to destructive means to achieve weight loss," Dr Nolan says.
Read in full: Eating Ourselves Sick 


Kirstie’s Beating Teenage Anorexia
Walesonline

KIRSTIE McLEAN knows only too well the hell caused by anorexia.
The 17-year-old’s weight plummeted to just over five stone last year, and she has been battling the condition ever since.

This year she fought back from the illness to be a finalist in the Miss Cardiff beauty pageant. Kirstie, a student from Rumney, Cardiff, said more needed to be done to spot the condition earlier.
“When I went to the doctor’s I wasn’t half as bad as I got,” she said.

“They should be taught how to recognise it and visit their patients regularly to stop it before it gets out of control.”

Kirstie said airbrushed models and film stars in magazines portrayed an unrealistic image of health and beauty.

“They are causing people to put themselves in danger by trying to do the impossible,” she said.
Read in full: Kirstie's Beating Teenage Anorexia

Children As Young As 8 Treated For Eating Disorders 

Walesonline 

Doctors must be better trained to spot life-threatening eating disorders in young children.
That is the demand from health professionals today as doctors admit to a “lack of awareness” in dealing with eating disorders in young children, who they sometimes simply diagnose as fussy eaters.

The call comes as figures reveal children as young as eight are being admitted to Welsh hospitals
suffering from eating disorders.

The alarming data uncovered by Wales On Sunday shows youngsters are developing life-threatening conditions like anorexia having barely reached primary school.

Our research reveals the shocking age of the youngest patient in the country, but also shows children aged nine, 10, and 11 have been hospitalised.

But experts warn the figures reveal “the tip of the iceberg” and the problem is increasing.
Read in full: Children As Young As 8

300 Calories a DAY: Portia de Rossi Cries to Oprah as She Reveals Shocking Details of Her Anorexia
Dailymail

Portia de Rossi has sat down for a tearful interview with Oprah in which she discusses the depths of her anorexia and how she was almost 'proud' of dropping to under six stone, weighing in at just 82 lbs.
De Rossi, who has changed her name to Portia Degeneres since marrying partner Ellen Degeneres, choked up while promoting her memoir 'Unbearable Lightness: A Story of Loss and Gain.'

'It wasn't that I was proud of it,' she tells Oprah in the interview airing in the U.S. on Monday. 'But it was certainly a recognition for my self control.'
Read in full: Portia de Rossi

How Ricci Beat Anorexia
Toronto Sun

The threat of a hospital stay prompted actress Christina Ricci to fight her anorexia issues as a teen.
The star was just 16 when doctors and her parents urged her to consider a drastic cure for her eating disorder - but Ricci wasn't happy about the idea of being strapped to a bed for weeks.
She tells Black Book magazine, "They were going to hospitalize me, and I was worried about people force-feeding me through a tube. I didn't want that, so I fought the disease."
Ricci won her battle and now insists she'll never go back to starving herself to stay thin: "I still think about it, but I could never do it again. I remember the overwhelming feeling of hopelessness when I was in the middle of it. My brain had basically become my biggest tormentor. I'd become afraid of myself."
Read in full: Ricci

'I Heart Anorexia' T-Shirts -- Is Artist Alexsandro Palombo's Work Chic or Cruel?

NY Daily News

Is it weighty commentary or making light of a serious issue?

"I heart Anorexia" artist Alexsandro Palombo is drawing some heavy criticism online for his drawings of celebrities, depicted as skeletons.

Palombo's drawings of famously thin celebrity Victoria Beckham, with her head perched upon a pile of leopard-print bones, as well as designer Rachel Zoe, also drawn as a skeleton, perched on a toilet have some critics crying foul. 

"Want to become a perfect Skeleton fashion victim but you don't know how?," he wrote on his blog Humor Chic.  "Every day just eat a nice apple for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Make sure it's always a glamorous red one, it gives the idea of substance. Don't drink water, an apple contains enough liquid. Replace it with champagne and lots of coke."

Palombo is clearly poking fun at the whole idea of idealized perfection, but not everyone is laughing.
Read in full: I Heart Anorexia

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