In The News: Eating Disorders April 2011



 
Award-winning video was a result of teen's battle with anorexia


The black-and-white video scenes fade in and out slowly, teen girls at school and home, the words reflecting their thoughts: "Would they like me if I was thinner?" "Why can't I stop?" "Can this really kill me?"
Savannah Dickson knows those thoughts all too well.
Two years ago, when she weighed 82 pounds and was suffering from anorexia, doctors gave the Lexington teen three weeks to live.
After two months of in- patient treatment and continuing long-term counseling, the Tates Creek senior is healthy and hoping her award-winning video will help others find their way to recovery.

Read in full: Award Winning Video



An 18in waist and size three feet: Former anorexic's life-sized Barbie reveals bizarre - and dangerous - proportions of famous doll

She's been a favourite with young girls for decades. But a life-sized Barbie is being used to demonstrate just how unhealthy the doll's proportions would be on a real woman.
The mannequin, which stands 5ft 9in tall, has a 39in bust, a tiny 18in waist and 33in hips. Even her feet would be disproportionate, at a tiny U.S. size 3.
Galia Slayen, who made the model, revealed that a real woman with the same dimensions would weigh just 110lb, giving her a BMI of 16.24 - a figure associated with eating disorders.





Demi Lovato Blames Bullies For Eating Disorder

Demi Lovato is convinced childhood bullying is to blame for her battle with an eating disorder, because she endured years of taunts about her weight.

The 18-year-old singer/actress was admitted to rehab last year to deal with a number of issues, including anorexia and bulimia, self-harming and bipolar disorder. 

Lovato has been candid about the emotional and physical stresses she has faced and she has now revealed her problems began when she was targeted by bullies as a child.  
Read in full: Demi Lovato



Mystery around South Korean model Kim Yuri's death


On 19th April 2011, the media reported that supermodel Kim Yuri committed suicide by ingesting poison. Recent autopsy reports, however, have proved that it was neither a suicide or a homicide.
On April 20th, the Kangnam Police reported, “There were no signs of damage or wounds internally and externally, nor were there signs of poisoning. The media reports of her death being a suicide are completely false.” 



 Claims plus-sized models 'encourage obesity'


First models were criticized for being too thin, now it seems they're too fat.


An Italian researcher says the fashion industry shouldn't promote plus size models because it will encourage women to gain weight.

Luca Savorelli claims thin models are good because they encourage women to be thinner and allowing plus size models to become the norm could encourage obesity.

"Obesity and being overweight is the problem of western society," Mr Savorelli says. "So what's going to happen here if we don't balance well?"
 
Read in full: Claims




Recovery Quote Of The Week: March 10, 2011

















He who trims himself to suit everyone will soon whittle himself away.
Raymond Hull

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

picsource:http://www.flickr.com/photos/funch/4658601693/sizes/l/



Body Image: My Own Worst Enemy





















 

 Looking back, I don’t remember a time that I liked my body or felt comfortable in my own skin. Somehow, early on, I came to the conclusion that my appearance fell far short of anyone else around me. My friends were thinner, prettier, and much more confident than I could ever hope to be. While they relished a new outfit, a skimpy summer bikini, and the physical changes that come with maturing, I was consumed with doubt and a deep feeling of inadequacy. I always felt fat. Always. I still do. I look through pictures of my childhood and staring back at me is evidence of a normal sized kid looking very uncomfortable at being caught on camera. There are pictures that show weight fluctuations but nothing that, in my opinion now, required much fussing over.

My mother was a dieter. She was always trying to lose weight and she never hesitated to take me along for the ride. I attended weight watchers with her. I attended overeaters anonymous with her. I counted calories with her. I learned the many evils that food presented and how its misuse was evident on thighs, tummies, and even the width of a wrist.  I don’t recall it all in great detail. For some reason it comes back to me in bits and pieces with a word here, an action there, or the recollection of a disapproving look.  I don’t think that my mother’s intent was to make me feel bad about my body, or insecure about my worth. At least I hope not. I think that she was uncomfortable with her own appearance and dealing with insecurities of her own. Inevitably, it managed to spill over into my life, wiggle its way in and, as time went on, I made it my own.

My self-talk became brutal. It carried a punch and I used it daily to beat down any chance of a positive self-image. I became my own worst enemy. Not only were those brutal words being said inside of my head, they began to spill out of my mouth in an attempt to save myself from humiliation. "After all", I'd tell myself, "how much can someone hurt you with their words if you’ve already beaten them to it?" I wouldn’t know the full impact of that for many years. I’m not sure that I know it now.  I did become more informed, eventually. With that came awareness, and with awareness came remorse. I felt such an overwhelming sense of loss. A sense of loss for the person I could have been and the life I could have had, had I learned early on what truly mattered, what truly made a person worthwhile. A sense of loss for the person I could have become if I had learned to appreciate myself, physically and otherwise.

Remorse is fine and dandy if you pay attention to the lesson learned, put it to good use, and let the rest go. Letting go takes practice and understanding. Remorse doesn’t benefit anyone as a constant companion. What I’ve come to realize is that somewhere down the line I have to let go and move on.  I have to make for myself a present (and a future) filled with what I wished-for for my younger self.  It’s in my hands. I’m responsible for giving it to myself. 

It's taking time. Little by little, I’m kicking out the negative stuff that’s roamed freely in my head for so long and I’m making room. I’m working hard to fill up those voids with more positive, understanding, self-appreciative, and loving thoughts. My intent is to make them permanent residents of my being.  This is perhaps the biggest and most important personal challenge I will ever face. The most difficult, too. Still, I don’t care how hard it proves to be, or how long it takes me. After all these years I finally understand how important it is and that  I can do this. I’m worth it.  I am worth it.

E.M.

You can find more reader submissions in the sidebar drop down menu.

Click here to share your ED/Body Image poetry, writings, or story

 picsource:http://www.flickr.com/photos/12910342@N08/3942092659/sizes/z/

Inspirational Recovery Quotes: Self-Respect


Every time you suppress some part
of yourself or allow others
to play you small, you are
in essence ignoring
the owner's manual
your creator gave you
and destroying your design.
Oprah Winfrey

Be noble minded! Our own heart, and not other men's opinions of us, forms our true honor.
Friedrich von Schiller

Never say anything about yourself you do not want to come true.
Brian Tracy

The soul that is within me no man can degrade.
Frederick Douglass

Create the kind of self that you will be happy to live with all your life.
Golda Meir

The conquering of adversity produces strength of character, forges self-confidence, engenders self-respect, and assures success in righteous endeavor.
Richard G. Scott

Think highly of yourself, for the world takes you at your own estimate.
Unknown

To free us from the expectations of others, to give us back to ourselves - there lies the great, singular power of self-respect.
Joan Didion

I will give thanks to thee for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are Thy works, and my soul knows it very well.
Psalms 139:14 Bible

The person we believe ourselves to be will always act in a manner consistent with our self-image.
Brian Tracy

The willingness to accept responsibility for one's own life is the source from which self-respect springs.
Joan Didion

They cannot take away our self-respect if we do not give it to them.
Mahatma Gandhi

Self-respect permeates every aspect of your life.
Joe Clark

Respect yourself if you would have others respect you.
Baltasar Gracian

To preserve an unclouded capacity for the enjoyment of life is an unusual moral and psychological achievement. Contrary to popular belief, it is not the prerogative of mindlessness, but the exact opposite: It is the reward of self-esteem.
Nathaniel Branden

I have often wondered how it is everyone loves himself more than the rest of men, but yet sets less value on his own opinions of himself than the opinions of others.
Marcus Aurelius 

A bar of iron costs $5, made into horseshoes its worth is $12, made into needles its worth is $3500, made into balance springs for watches, its worth is $300, 000. Your own value is determined also by what you are able to make of yourself.
Unknown

No one can disgrace us but ourselves.
Henry Wheeler Shaw

The greatest success is successful self-acceptance.
Ben Sweet

Self-empowerment - that's learning to respect other people's music, but dance to your own tune as you master harmony within yourself.
Doc Childre

Not respecting yourself is the same as committing suicide at a slow rate.
Unknown

The great thing in the world is not so much to seek happiness as to earn peace and self-respect.
Thomas Huxley

I am as my creator made me and since He is satisfied, so am I.
Minnie Smith

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.
Joyce Brothers

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

It is better to be hated for what you are than to be loved for something you are not.
Andre Gide

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

You start to look at it with a deeper respect and I think that deeper respect for what you do builds more self-respect.
Jimmy Chamberlin

Our value is the sum of our values.
Joe Batten

Blessed are they who heal us of self-despising. Of all services which can be done to man, I know of none more precious.
William Hale White

My work will be finished if I succeed in carrying conviction to the human family that every man or woman, however weak in body, is the guardian of his or her self-respect and liberty.
Mahatma Gandhi

Self-respect is the cornerstone of all virtue.
John Herschel

Trust yourself, then you will know how to live.
Johann von Goethe

I prefer to be true to myself, even at the hazard of incurring the ridicule of others, rather than to be false, and to incur my own abhorrence.
Frederick Douglass

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

Self-respect is the fruit of discipline; the sense of dignity grows with the ability to say no to one’s self.
Abraham Joshua Heschel

Would that there were an award for people who come to understand the concept of enough. Good enough. Successful enough. Thin enough. Rich enough. Socially responsible enough. When you have self-respect, you have enough.
Gail Sheehy

Every man has a property in his own person. This nobody has a right to, but himself.
John Locke

Never violate the sacredness of your individual self-respect.
Theodore Parker

Whatever good things we build end up building us.
Jim Rohn

Respect your efforts. Respect yourself. Self-respect leads to self-discipline. When you have both firmly under your belt, that's real power.
Clint Eastwood

It is easy to live for others, everybody does. I call on you to live for yourselves.
Ralph Waldo Emerson

That you may retain your self-respect, it is better to displease the people by doing what you know is right, than to temporarily please them by doing what you know is wrong.
William J. H. Boetcker

He that respects himself is safe from others; He wears a coat of mail that none can pierce.
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Women who set a low value on themselves make life hard for all women.
Nellie McClung

Self-respect cannot be hunted. It cannot be purchased. It is never for sale. It cannot be fabricated out of public relations. It comes to us when we are alone, in quiet moments, in quiet places, when we suddenly realize that, knowing the good, we have done it; knowing the beautiful, we have served it; knowing the truth we have spoken it.
Alfred Whitney Griswold

It is the highest form of self-respect to admit our errors and mistakes and make amends for them. To make a mistake is only an error in judgment, but to adhere to it when it is discovered shows infirmity of character.
Dale Turner

You must be true to yourself. Strong enough to be true to yourself. Brave enough to be strong enough to be true to yourself. Wise enough to be brave enough to be strong enough to shape yourself from what you actually are.
Sylvia Ashton-Warner

Make it thy business to know thyself, which is the most difficult lesson in the world. Yet from this lesson thou will learn to avoid the frog's foolish ambition of swelling to rival the bigness of the ox.
Miguel de Cervantes

The confidence which we have in ourselves gives birth to much of that which we have in others.
Francois de la Rochefoucauld

No man who is occupied in doing a very difficult thing, and doing it very well, ever loses his self-respect.
George Bernard Shaw

Self-respect is a question of recognizing that anything worth having has a price.
Joan Didion

I am a feminist, and what that means to me is much the same as the meaning of the fact that I am Black: it means that I must undertake to love myself and to respect myself as though my very life depends upon self-love and self-respect.
June Jordan

To have that sense of one's intrinsic worth, which constitutes self-respect, is potentially to have everything: the ability to discriminate, to love and to remain indifferent. To lack it is to be locked within oneself, paradoxically incapable of either love or indifference.
Joan Didion

What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies with in us.
Ralph Waldo Emerson

Perhaps the surest test of an individual's integrity is his refusal to do or say anything that would damage his self-respect.
Thomas S. Monson

I have no right; by anything I do or say, to demean a human being in his own eyes. What matters is not what I think of him; it is what he thinks of himself. To undermine a man's self-respect is a sin.
Antoine de Saint-Exupery

Without self-respect there can be no genuine success. Success won at the cost of self-respect is not success for what shall it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses his own self-respect.
B. C. Forbes

Low self-esteem is like driving through life with your hand-break on.
Maxwell Maltz

Let the river flow and you will be liberated. Let yourself go with current and you will find yourself. Let the wind so blow and you will be able to break yourself free very much like a ripened fruit of self-respect that sheds itself away from the tree of dependence. Let yourself be blown away humbling as a fallen petal and you will find yourself above the lowly dust of ground, to finally discover the truth of your existence for yourself.
Saba Hasan

There can be no failure to a man who has not lost his courage, his character, his self-respect, or his self-confidence. He is still a king.
Orison Swett Marden


pic source; http://www.flickr.com/photos/28481088@N00/2594495007/

Weighing The Facts Is 3 Today!


Weighing The Facts turns 3 today 
and I'm counting my blessings. 
I have had the pleasure of meeting 
so many amazing people through this blog 
and the eating disorder and body image communities.
 Whether you're a friend, subscriber, passerby, 
guest, and/or have contributed by 
sharing your poetry, stories, or comments...
I just wanted to let you know 
how much I appreciate you 
and to take a moment to say
Thank You! 
MrsM





Eating Disorders Awareness Week: Did You Know......?


Did you know that ...
  • Americans spend more than 40 billion a year on diet and beauty products
  • The average American woman is 5'4" and 140 pounds
  • The average American model is 5' 11" and 117 pounds
  • The current media ideal of thinness is achieved by less than 5% of the female population
  • more than 50% of 10 year old girls wish they were thinner
  • 8 out 10 women are not happy with their reflection 
  • 8 million people in the US suffer from an ED
  • 90% are women/girls
  • 10 to 15 percent are male
  • 15 percent of young women in the US who are not diagnosed with an eating disorder exhibit substantially disordered eating behavior and attitude.
  • Approximately 50 percent of anorexics will develop bulimia or bulimic behaviors.
  • 90 percent of women with eating disorders are between the ages of 12 and 25.
  • Approximately 60 percent of those with an eating disorder that seek treatment will recover.
  • Without treatment up to 20 percent of those with serious eating disorders will die.
  • 80% of children are afraid of being fat
  • In your lifetime 50,000 people will die as a direct result of their Eating Disorder.
 Click here for:
picsource:http://www.flickr.com/photos/royblumenthal/2574833687/
information compiled from the following sites:
http://www.eatingdisorderinfo.org
http://www.anred.com


Recovery Quote Of The Week: February 23, 2011





















Finish each day and be done with it. You have done what you could. Some blunders and absurdities no doubt crept in; forget them as soon as you can. Tomorrow is a new day; begin it well and serenely and with too high a spirit to be encumbered with your old nonsense.
Ralph Waldo Emerson


*See sidebar menu for more recovery quotes of the week and inspirational recovery quotes. 


picsource:http://www.flickr.com/photos/safetylast/3541609127/

Light a Virtual Candle: NEDA Week


ALNEDA (The Alabama Network For Eating Disorders Awareness) 
is once again hosting their  
Virtual Candlelight Vigil 
 for National Eating Disorders Awareness Week 2011. 
You are invited to light a candle in honor of individuals 
who have had their lives touched by an eating disorder. 
Celebrate recovery or show support for those still struggling. 


The colors of the candles and what they represent are:

White: Remembrance ( for someone who has lost their life to an ED)

Silver: Support (for anyone struggling with an ED)

Gold: Celebration (for someone in recovery or who has recovered from an ED)



Click here to see the lit candles.


pic source:http://www.flickr.com/photos/magnera/3984413077/

National Eating Disorders Awareness Week: Let's Get Started

Eating Disorders affect 1 in 5 women 
and more than a million boys/men.  

NEDA Asks That You Do  
Just One Thing 
 to spread awareness about eating disorders.

What Can You Do?

 NEDA:


Speak Up and Reach Out
  • If you're keeping your ED a secret please reach out and tell someone.
  • Share your story, struggles, and successes with others.
  • Find support in your community, online, friends, and/or family.
  • Seek professional help.


ED Resources and Information
please see sidebar drop down menus for more info/links/resources





NEDA Video PSA Contest: It's Time To Talk About It



National Eating Disorders Awareness Week is right around the corner and NEDA is having a Public Service Announcement Video Contest. Want to use your creativity and experience to help spread the word and have a chance at some great prizes, too?

Submit an original PSA for a chance to win one of three exciting prizes, including a trip to NEDA's annual Benefit Dinner in New York City, cash prizes, your PSA featured at NEDA's annual conference and more!

What you can win:

1st Place Grand Prize:

  • Airfare to/from New York City (domestic only).
  • Two NYC hotel nights.
  • One ticket admission to NEDA’s 10th Anniversary New York Benefit Dinner.
  • $200 prize/travel money.
  • PSA will be shown at the Benefit Dinner.
  • PSA will be featured on NEDA’s website and made available to media outlets.
  • PSA will be featured at NEDA’s annual conference in Los Angeles, CA, October 2011.

2nd Place Prize:

  • $100 in cash.
  • PSA featured on NEDA’s website.
  • PSA will be shown at NEDA’s annual conference in Los Angeles, CA, October 2011.

3rd Place Prize:

  • $50 in cash.
  • PSA featured on NEDA’s website.
  • PSA featured at NEDA’s annual conference in Los Angeles, CA, October 2011.
Find out more about the contest.


pic source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/blhphotography/413048219/sizes/z/in/photostream/
info source: http://www.nationaleatingdisorders.org/programs-events/video-contest.php

Recovery Quote Of The Week: January 19th, 2011

Life isn't about finding yourself. It's about creating yourself.
George Bernard Shaw
click picture to see larger version.


See sidebar menu for more Recovery Quotes of the Week and Inspirational Recovery Quotes.




pic source:http://www.flickr.com/photos/56695083@N00/4470486685/sizes/l/

News: Eating Disorders Recently In The News



Addictions & Answers: Behind the insidious 'art' of anorexia
NY Daily News

BILL: Now that Christmas is over, the lose-weight ads are all over TV.  My feeling is all diets work if you stick to them. But the flood of January advertising to "sculpt your body back to a thinner you" must sound very seductive to the anorexic-prone.

DR. DAVE: Did you see the news stories about Isabelle Caro, the 28-year-old French model who posed naked for international anorexia awareness two or three years back? She died last November after battling the eating disorder herself for almost 15 years.

BILL: Doc, why is IT so often a female disease?

DR. DAVE: Bill, that's another dangerous myth —that men have some immunity. Jeremy Gillitzer was an A-List male model with a perfectly sculptured body and Hollywood good looks. He recently died of anorexia –frail and emaciated at 38, weighing just 66 pounds.

BILL: Can't these people just look in the mirror and see something is radically wrong?

DR. DAVE: That's like saying to a meth addict, 'Can't you see you're killing yourself, why don't just stop?'



Study Refutes Myth That Eating Disorders Affect Whites Only

Business Week

FRIDAY, Jan. 7 (HealthDay News) -- Among Native Americans, women are more likely than men to develop eating disorders, a new study finds.

The researchers also found similarities between Native American and white women in terms of binge eating, purging and ever having been diagnosed with an eating disorder, according to the report published Jan. 6 in the International Journal of Eating Disorders.

"This commonality between Native American and white women refutes the myth that eating disorders are problems that only affect white girls and women," study leader Ruth Striegel-Moore, a professor at Wesleyan University in Middletown, Conn., said in a news release from the journal's publisher.
 Read Study Refutes in full here.  




Third annual Bristow race in San Dimas brings attention to eating disorders

sgv tribune

SAN DIMAS - Jackie Bristow's legacy is growing fast, and continues Saturday with another race through San Dimas.
Now in its third year, the annual Jackie Bristow Memorial 5K Run/Walk begins at 8:30 a.m. at the San Dimas Civic Center. Organizers raise funds and hope to bring attention to serious eating disorders in honor of the race's eponymous twin sister.
Bristow died Jan. 1, 2008, at age 19, from complications of anorexia and bulimia. Her death devastated her family, especially her twin Wednesday Vail, who shared Bristow's struggles with eating disorders.
Read 3rd Annual Bristow Race in full here. 




Four-year-old children in Ireland treated for anorexia

Irish Central

Children as young as four-years-of-age are being treated for anorexia in Irish eating disorder clinics.

Doctors have warned that the age of children presenting with disorders is getting younger and there is an increasing demand for services.

The founder of the Marino Therapy Centre, Marie Campion said she has seen patients as young as four presenting with cases of eating disorders.
Read 4 year old children in full here.  


Isabelle Caro, model in anti-anorexia campaign, dies 
USA today

PARIS (AP) — Isabelle Caro, a French actress and model whose emaciated image in a shock Italian ad campaign helped rivet global attention on the problem of anorexia in the fashion world and beyond, has died at the age of 28.
Caro had said she began suffering from anorexia when she was 13, and she weighed about 59 pounds (27 kilograms) when the photos that made her famous were taken.
After a 21-year-old Brazilian model died from the eating disorder, Italian photographer Oliviero Toscani produced a 2007 campaign for an Italian fashion house that plastered newspapers and billboards with a naked picture of a spectral Caro looking over her shoulder at the camera, vertebrae and facial bones protruding under the slogan "No Anorexia."



sources sited and linked above

Making A New Year's Resolution? Remember...


Your success and happiness lies in you. Resolve to keep happy, and your joy and you shall form an invincible host against difficulties.
Helen Keller

Happy New Year!

Also check out: New Beginnings



pic source:http://www.flickr.com/photos/pasotraspaso/3490194485/

December 2010: ED News


Link found between shoplifting and eating disorders in women
The Mainichi Daily News 

Women who habitually shoplift are also very often the victims of eating disorders, suggests a survey by Akagi-kohgen Hospital in Shibukawa, Gunma Prefecture.
The institute is a psychiatric hospital that specializes in treating disorders like alcoholism. It found that over 70 percent of female patients it surveyed who were receiving treatment for kleptomania also had eating disorders like bulimia.
"Shoplifting is of course a crime, but in these types of cases, treatment to prevent a recurrence is necessary," says hospital head Michio Takemura.
Takemura and others surveyed 132 male and female patients that had received treatment for kleptomania at the hospital and affiliated clinics in the Tokyo metropolitan area from January 2008 through July 2009. Of the 92 female patients, 68, or 74 percent, also had eating disorders. Of the 40 male patients, 4, or 10 percent, had eating disorders, showing that the correlation was much higher in the female patients.
Read Shoplifting/ED Link in full. 




Why are so many kids being treating for eating disorders?
ABC 15

Did you know that the rate of kids 12 and younger being hospitalized for eating disorders has risen 119% from 1999 to 2006? This is according to a recent study published by Journal of American Pediatrics.

This is such a scary statistic, but why is this becoming an issue for kids so young?
Caroline Miller is someone who has overcome the mental illness of eating disorders.
She wrote an autobiography called “My name is Caroline” in 1988 and at that time was one of the first books to discuss eating disorders and put a face on the disease. Caroline joined us on Smart Family to talk about this battle of eating disorders.
Read So Many Kids in full.



Tis The Season: Surviving The Holidays With An Eating Disorder
Sacramento Press

When we think of the holidays, our thoughts often go to family, friends, gift-giving, shopping and, yes, food.
Celebrating the season while sharing food with loved ones is part of our collective culture and something we look forward to. But for individuals struggling with an eating disorder, this can often be one of the most distressing times of year.
In the United States, an estimated 8 million girls and women and 1 million boys and men struggle with an eating disorder. Although the average age of onset is 14 to 16, there is no age, gender or cultural limit on who struggles or for how long. Women and men in their 30s, 40s and beyond struggle with anorexia, bulimia or binge eating disorder. An estimated 10 percent die.
Read Tis The Season in full.
Check out this and also this for more holiday survival tips. 



'Plus-sized' model Crystal Renn looks decidedly 'model-sized' in Zac Posen's new look book

Los Angeles Times

Crystal Renn, a former traditional-sized model who became the poster girl for plus-sized modeling after gaining weight and writing about her struggle with anorexia, is still ruffling feathers for seemingly dropping the pounds that make her "plus."
Renn, who co-stars in designer Zac Posen's pre-fall 2011 look book, was never plus-sized in the traditional, size-10-to-14 sense (she claims to be a size 8), but looks even tinier in the new photographs -- a fact that hasn't escaped chatty fashion watchers online. 
Read Crystal Renn in full.


Among Jewish women, eating disorders go under-reported
Stigma of mental illness on marriageability is cited
 The Washington Times

COCONUT CREEK, Fla. | Hilary Waller remembers begging her mother to let her fast on Yom Kippur. At 10 years old, she was a bit too young, but embracing the rigid discipline seemed desperately important.

"It felt like I was practicing not eating. It was something that was reassuring and gave me strength and a sense of pride," said Ms. Waller, now a 28-year-old teacher at a religious school in Blue Bell, Pa.

It was the same rush she got years later in college each time she saw the scale tip downward. Ms. Waller, who suffered from anorexia, starved herself until she stopped menstruating, lost some of her hair and was exercising several times a day.

Health experts say eating disorders are a serious, underreported disease among Orthodox Jewish women and to a lesser extent others in the Jewish community, as many families are reluctant to acknowledge the illness at all and often seek help only when a girl is on the verge of hospitalization.
Read EDs go under-ground in full.


I’m not fat, says ballerina faulted for ‘too many sugarplums’
Today MSNBC

A ballerina who overcame anorexia doesn’t need or want an apology from the New York Times critic who made a crack about her weight in a review of “The Nutcracker,” saying the comment hurt initially but is just part of being a professional in a field that demands perfection from those who work in it.
“As a dancer, I do put myself out there to be criticized, and my body is part of my art form,” Jenifer Ringer, 37, told TODAY’s Ann Curry during an interview Monday. “At the same time, I am not overweight."
Read Ballerina in full.



 all sources linked above

NEDA College Survey Project

NEDA is looking for participants for a survey about ED resources at colleges.

"Ever wondered if your college (or your child’s campus) offered eating disorder and body image resources? Is there treatment available on campus? Diagnosis? Prevention?

NEDA Announces its College Survey Project to review eating disorder-related services and programs available on college and university campuses. Complete the survey by 12/15 to be entered into a drawing for free NEDAwareness Week Workplace Kit!
Who is eligible to participate?
All college and university campus staff members who are involved in developing and implementing mental health and well-being programs and services related to eating disorders and body image issues on college and university campuses.

Why participate?
By filling out this short 15-30 minute survey, you can help NEDA identify what services and programs are available on campuses around the country for students struggling with, recovering from, and at risk of developing eating disorders and related body image issues.

What is the Deadline?
Submissions must be received by December 15, 2010. All participants will be entered into a drawing to win a free NEDAwareness Week Workplace Kit, complete with 2011 “It’s Time to Talk About It” Posters, How to Help a Friend Brochures, Helpline Cards and Pens!
Be sure your school is represented! Please forward the survey link to anyone who may be an appropriate participant in this study.

*This study has been approved through the Pace University Institutional Review Board."

Click here to participate in the survey.
*Share this and spread the word.

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Recovery Quote Of The Week: December 7th, 2010

Faith is the strength by which a shattered world shall emerge into the light.
Helen Keller

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



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Eating Disorder Recovery: Video Quotes


Video by Holdingon

Happy Thanksgiving!

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




picsource: http://www.flickr.com/photos/ewan_traveler/4146423231/

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 


picsource: http://www.flickr.com/photos/mattimattila/4001221570/

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


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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

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


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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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