Eating Disorders Awareness Week 2012: Choosing Recovery

It's the first day of National Eating Disorders Awareness Week, 2012.
Let's talk about RECOVERY...


What is an Eating Disorder?

eating disorder

Function: noun

: any of several psychological disorders (as anorexia nervosa or bulimia) characterized by serious disturbances of eating behavior

Eating disorders involve extreme behaviors, attitudes, and feelings surrounding food, weight, and body image which are harmful to a person's health and well-being.

Eating disorders are dangerous and can be fatal.

Though someone may be suffering from one eating disorder, they may also exhibit behaviors /traits of other eating disorders (or trade one eating disorder for another).
Eating Disorders Symptoms
Do I have an eating disorder? (self-assessment tests)


Is Recovery Possible?

Many, many people have recovered from their eating disorder and gone on to live healthily and happily. It takes time. It's a process. You can expect to experience ups and downs along the way but it is definitely possible.


What defines Recovery from an Eating Disorder?

Opinions vary, both medically and individually, but my favorite description of recovery is found in the book 8 Keys to Recovery from an Eating Disorder: Effective Strategies from Therapeutic Practice and Personal Experience by Carolyn Costin and Gwen Schubert Grabb. It says;

Being recovered is when the person can accept his or her natural body size and shape and no longer has a self-destructive relationship with food or exercise. When you are recovered, food and weight take a proper perspective in your life, and what you weigh is not more important than who you are; in fact, actual numbers are of little or no importance at all. When recovered, you will not compromise your health or betray your soul to look a certain way, wear a certain size, or reach a certain number on the scale. When you are recovered, you do not use eating disorder behaviors to deal with, distract from, or cope with other problems.

 Why would I want to Recover? What are the benefits? 

The benefits are too many to list in full. Here are just a few:

• Increased Energy
• A better sense of self
• Self-respect
• Self-acceptance
• Self-confidence
• Being more comfortable around others
• Being more comfortable in your own body
• Physical and emotional strength
• Feeling more peaceful
• Increased passion for life
• A better appreciation for your body
• A more comfortable relationship with food
• Better relationships with family and friends
• Better physical and emotional health
• Healthier hair, skin, and nails
• Longer life expectancy 
• A more loving relationship with yourself 

...and the list goes on and on.


What steps do I need to take to Recover? 

The first step is admitting that you have an eating disorder.
The second step is to decide that you want to recover.
Step three is to find professional eating disorder treatment.

There are several options available for professional help in recovering.

Here are a couple of  resources to help you with deciding your plan of action for recovery:
Something Fishy
Help Guide. org

 Check out the non-profit org, Mentor Connect for recovery mentoring. It's free.

Here is a list of more Eating Disorder Organizations and websites that you can contact for help and info.


What can I do, in addition to professional eating disorder treatment, to enhance my recovery efforts?
here are a few suggestions:

• surround yourself with positive, loving, supportive people
• journal
• use positive affirmations each morning, at bedtime, and throughout the day.
• join a support group
• visit positive recovery forums and sites
• take time for yourself
• be forgiving, kind, and loving to yourself
• be patient
• take a step back, and rethink before reacting
• make a relapse prevention plan
• take care of yourself
• nurture your mind, your body, and your spirit, daily
• volunteer/help others

 I asked readers three questions about recovery:

1.What has recovery meant for you?
2.What are the benefits of recovery?
3.How did you deal with your emotions when ED was speaking louder than your recovery?

Here are their amazing and insightful answers:

A said: Recovery for me has been an awakening of my real and authentic self. I lived for so long in the grips of ED and yearning for approval and acceptance from others. I was constantly looking outwards and thought that if I could fix the external aspects of myself, somehow I would be happy. Once I admitted to myself that I needed help and asked for it, I realized that the only way to happiness was to seek within first. 

The days when ED yelled in my head and tried to break me down, I yelled back and constantly challenged my distorted thoughts. With the help of a wonderful therapist, family, and friends, I began to see that ED was very simple, black-and-white, and that I wasn't any of those things. 

The benefits of recovery are that I actually accept and like myself just as I am. I am my own best friend instead of my own worst enemy. Most days I can see myself clearly and I am beautiful, inside and outside. Recovery for me is about choosing love and life, and I have never looked back.

S said: I want to be in healthy relationships with those close to me. I want companionship but I also want the capability to live alone. I want to use food as fuel not as an emotional crutch. I want to have a healthy body, regardless of its size. I want to be okay with the resulting size.

I want to sprint towards life, not away from death. I want to run a marathon and be healthy enough to do so. I want to compete in challenges regardless of fear of failure. I want to chase down every dream and capture them. I want to live.

L said: Recovery means peace and freedom to me. The benefits are wonderful - no more shouting in my head, able to work, smiling and laughing without the guilt, meeting friends for a cheeky drink or two etc.

When my ed spoke louder than my recovery I did my best to not respond. It was a struggle to get through the days without giving into it but I wanted to prove it wrong. So I did :)


B said: Recovery means to be me that i will be strong (mentally and physically) and healthy. Recovery will allow me to love myself and my body and accept that i can not be perfect because no one actually is. Recovery shows me everyday that i can do anything.

The benefit of recovery is that i will be happy and truly learn to love life and myself. I have learned that being a smaller size is not a good thing, and a healthy size is a good thing.

I've learned to say, "No, I'm not listening to you" or "You already said that." I deal with my emotions by repeating positive quotes or watching a pro-recovery video on youtube. I've found that writing down all the negative comments my ED makes and then counteracting them with positive ones is the best. But, above all, i refuse to restrict and let my ED win me over because I'm stronger than that.

K said:  I am not in recovery yet, in all reality I think I'm relapsing, but I still have my hopes and dreams. Recovery means freedom and time. Freedom to think about things. Freedom to act with integrity to myself. Freedom to not hide myself. It will mean all the time I spend obsessing about my disordered behaviours can be spent on the life I want to live.

One day - this ED won't even be an option for me. I'll face stressful situations with a healthy set of coping skills. At the moment my flirtations with recovery, ED has still been an option. But I want to fight this, I need to fight this, so one day I'll look back at the journey I've taken and know I'll never go back.

Life with an ED is a half life, a life in the shadows. I want more. I will get there. There isn't an alternative.

Choose Recovery! When you have an eating disorder, recovery is the most important factor in being able to live a healthy, happier life... to living the life you deserve. Recovery will cause the world to open up wide so that you can experience it completely and enjoy the life you desire for yourself.

MrsM

see sidebar menu for more recovery inspiration
 
©Weighing The Facts

resources:

 8 keys to recovery excerpt http://blogs.psychcentral.com/weightless/2011/08/what-full-recovery-from-an-eating-disorder-means/

Weighing The Facts Turns 4 Today!

Weighing The Facts turns four today! 

What a wonderful experience these past 4 years have been. I have had the pleasure of meeting some of the most amazing people through this blog, and the eating disorders, body image, and mental health communities. Whether you have shared your comments, and/or amazing poetry and stories here (and on facebook), are a subscriber, or passerby, I'd like to take this opportunity to let you know how much I appreciate you and to say THANK YOU!

MrsM :)

Recovery Quote Of The Week: February 20, 2012

It is good to have an end to journey towards; but it is the journey that matters in the end. 
Ursula K. Le Guin

picsource: http://www.flickr.com/photos/tonyj1961/4890307512/in/photostream/

Inspirational Recovery Quotes: Fear

Fear: False Evidence Appearing Real.
Unknown

The only thing we have to fear is fear itself--nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror which paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advance.
FDR

Fear sometimes stops you from doing stupid things. But it can also stop you from doing creative or exciting or experimental things. It can cloud your judgment of others, and lead to all kinds of evil. The control and understanding of our personal fears is one of the most important undertakings in our life.
Helen Mirren

Fear is a darkroom where negatives develop.
Usman B. Asif

There are very few monsters who warrant the fear we have of them.
Andre Gide

Many of us crucify ourselves between two thieves - regret for the past and fear of the future.
Fulton Oursler

Fear has a large shadow, but he himself is small.
Ruth Gendler

Inaction breeds doubt and fear. Action breeds confidence and courage. If you want to conquer fear, do not sit home and think about it. Go out and get busy.
Dale Carnegie

Fear is static that prevents me from hearing myself.
Samuel Butler

Each time we face our fear, we gain strength, courage, and confidence in the doing.
Theodore Roosevelt

Fear cannot take what you do not give it.
Christopher Coan

There are four ways you can handle fear. You can go over it, under it, or around it. But if you are ever to put fear behind you, you must walk straight through it. Once you put fear behind you, leave it there.
Donna A. Favors

There is a time to take counsel of your fears, and there is a time to never listen to any fear.
George S. Patton

Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, and fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small doesn't serve the world. There's nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We are born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us, it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.
Marianne Williamson

Fear is only as deep as the mind allows.
Japanese Proverb

To fear is one thing. To let fear grab you by the tail and swing you around is another.
Katherine Paterson

Many of our fears are tissue-paper-thin, and a single courageous step would carry us clear through them.
Brendan Francis

The thing you fear most has no power. Your fear of it is what has the power. Facing the truth really will set you free.
Oprah Winfrey

Fear is the highest fence.
Dudley Nichols

The whole secret of existence is to have no fear. Never fear what will become of you, depend on no one. Only the moment you reject all help are you freed.
Buddha

You block your dream when you allow your fear to grow bigger than your faith.
Mary Manin Morrissey

Ultimately we know deeply that the other side of every fear is freedom.
Marilyn Ferguson

Fearlessness requires attention and receptivity--it takes focus to stand in the still eye of a tornado and not be swept away by it.
Susan Piver

If you are distressed by anything external, the pain is not due to the thing itself, but to your estimate of it; and this you have the power to revoke at any moment.
Marcus Aurelius

Don't let the fear of the time it will take to accomplish something stand in the way of your doing it. The time will pass anyway; we might just as well put that passing time to the best possible use.
Earl Nightingale

The enemy is fear. We think it is hate; but, it is fear.
Gandhi

Fear is a habit; so is self-pity, defeat, anxiety, despair, hopelessness and resignation. You can eliminate all of these negative habits with two simple resolves: I can!! and I will!
Unknown

Obstacles are like wild animals. They are cowards but they will bluff you if they can. If they see you are afraid of them... they are liable to spring upon you; but if you look them squarely in the eye, they will slink out of sight.
Orison Swett Marden

The key to change... is to let go of fear.
Rosanne Cash

Fear can't hurt you any more than a dream.
William Golding

Courage is fear holding on a minute longer.
George S. Patton

You can't stop being afraid just by pretending everything that scares you isn't there.
Michael Marshall

Fears are educated into us, and can, if we wish, be educated out.
Karl Augustus Menninger

The greatest mistake we make is living in constant fear that we will make one.
John C. Maxwell

Fear of failure must never be a reason not to try something.
Frederick Smith

"Fearless" is living in spite of those things that scare you to death.
Taylor Swift

Fear is the cheapest room in the house. I would like to see you living in better conditions.
Hāfez

Thinking will not overcome fear but action will.
W. Clement Stone

Courage is fear that has said its prayers.
Dorothy Bernard

Nothing in life is to be feared, it is only to be understood. Now is the time to understand more, so that we may fear less.
Marie Curie

When a resolute young fellow steps up to the great bully, the world, and takes him boldly by the beard, he is often surprised to find it comes off in his hand, and that it was only tied on to scare away the timid adventurers.
Ralph Waldo Emerson

You gain strength, courage, and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You must do the thing which you think you cannot do.
Eleanor Roosevelt

Expose yourself to your deepest fear; after that, fear has no power, and the fear of freedom shrinks and vanishes. You are free.
Jim Morrison

Do not fear mistakes. You will know failure. Continue to reach out.
Benjamin Franklin

It is better by noble boldness to run the risk of being subject to half the evils we anticipate than to remain in cowardly listlessness for fear of what might happen.
Herodotus

I believe that every single event in life happens in an opportunity to choose love over fear.
Oprah Winfrey

The big lesson in life, baby, is never be scared of anyone or anything.
Frank Sinatra

Fear is the tax that conscience pays to guilt.
George Sewell

Fear is the main source of superstition, and one of the main sources of cruelty. To conquer fear is the beginning of wisdom.
Bertrand Russell

Fear can keep us up all night long, but faith makes one fine pillow.
Unknown

Have no fear of moving into the unknown. Simply step out fearlessly knowing that I am with you, therefore no harm can befall you; all is very, very well. Do this in complete faith and confidence.
Pope John Paul II

The key to success is to focus our conscious mind on things we desire not things we fear.
Brian Tracy

Action conquers fear.
Nivio Zarlenga

I am not afraid of tomorrow, for I have seen yesterday and I love today.
William Allen White

Fear makes the wolf bigger than he is.
German Proverb

Do the thing we fear, and death of fear is certain.
Ralph Waldo Emerson

For me it's important to be in balance. To not let fear get in the way of things, to not worry so much about protecting yourself all the time.
John Frusciante

I must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration. I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over me and through me. And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path. Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain.
Frank Herbert

We must build dikes of courage to hold back the flood of fear.
Martin Luther King, Jr.

What are fears but voices airy?
Whispering harm where harm is not.
And deluding the unwary
Till the fatal bolt is shot!
Wordsworth

You can discover what your enemy fears most by observing the means he uses to frighten you.
Eric Hoffer

Courage is not the lack of fear but the ability to face it.
Lt. John B. Putnam Jr.

I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear.
Nelson Mandela

Fear of something is at the root of hate for others, and hate within will eventually destroy the hater.
George Washington Carver

Fear is a tyrant and a despot, more terrible than the rack, more potent than the snake.
Edgar Wallace

Even the fear of death is nothing compared to the fear of not having lived authentically and fully.
Frances Moore Lappe

Anything I've ever done that ultimately was worthwhile... initially scared me to death.
Betty Bender

In order to succeed, your desire for success should be greater than your fear of failure.
Bill Cosby

The cave you fear to enter holds the treasure you seek.
Joseph Cambell

Fear defeats more people than any other one thing in the world.
Ralph Waldo Emerson

What we fear comes to pass more speedily than what we hope.
Publilius Syrus

Excessive fear is always powerless.
Aeschylus

Things done well and with a care, exempt themselves from fear.
William Shakespeare

Let us never negotiate out of fear. But let us never fear to negotiate.
John F. Kennedy

I more fear what is within me than what comes from without.
Martin Luther

Fear has its use but cowardice has none.
Gandhi

He who is not everyday conquering some fear has not learned the secret of life.
Ralph Waldo Emerson

If we let things terrify us, life will not be worth living.
Seneca

Never be afraid to try something new. Remember, amateurs built the ark… professionals built the Titanic.
Unknown

To be a star, you must shine your own light, follow your own path, and don't worry about the darkness, for that is when the stars shine brightest.
Napoleon Hill


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



picsource:http://www.flickr.com/photos/56695083@N00/4254697416/

This Week's R.I.S.E: 10 Ways To Love Yourself Better This Valentine's Day

It's true, loving yourself more does improve your life. How well can things go if you're worst enemy is yourself? How good can you feel if you're always concentrating on perceived flaws, past mistakes, and shortcomings?

This week's R.I.S.E. (recovery inspiration strength exercise) is to love yourself better. When we truly love ourselves the world responds to our positivity... and so do we. 

10 Ways To Love Yourself Better

1. Put down the mirror. Without taking your appearance into consideration, make a list of all the wonderful things that make you special.

2. Dump the negativity. We all have flaws. There is no such thing as a perfect human being. Stop negative self-talk in it's tracks and replace those thoughts with positive, loving statements. Say them aloud. Say them with meaning.

3. Help someone in need. Lend a shoulder, and ear, a hug of support, volunteer at a soup kitchen, visit with the elderly... do something that makes the life of another happier, easier, and more enjoyable. Helping others, helps ourselves.

4. Smile. The act of smiling actually makes you feel better. There's a chemical reaction that occurs when we smile which makes us feel happy, lowers our blood pressure, lowers our stress levels, and adds years to our life. Smiling at a stranger affects their day, too, so be generous and give some smiles away.

5. Be grateful. No matter what is going on in your life there is always something to be grateful for. Start giving thanks before your feet even hit the floor in the morning. Being grateful in the midst of difficult times shifts our focus and allows us to get some perspective.

6. Take a time out. Our days can get hectic. Take the time to slow down, pause, take a few deep breaths, and re-balance yourself. A few moments can make a big difference in how you feel.

7. Mix it up. Do something out of the ordinary, something different from the usual scheduled routine of your day. Leave for work early and take a different route. Walk to an appointment instead of driving or taking the bus. Meet up with a friend for lunch, a movie, or simply for coffee and catching up.

8. Change your environment. Add elements that will treat your senses and lift your spirits. Scented candles, a great painting or photograph, play your favorite music, add a jar with a collection of things that you've collected while walking on the beach... the choices are endless.

9. Get out. Don't isolate. Interact with others in person.

10. Laugh. Watch a funny movie, get together with funny friends, tell a few corny jokes. In a pinch, fake it. Even fake laughing will make you feel better. Like smiling, laughing causes a chemical reaction that benefits us in many ways.

If we really love ourselves, everything in our life works.
Louise L. Hay


Happy Valentine's Day!

©Weighing The Facts


See sidebar menu for more R.I.S.E.

SED: Selective Eating Disorder Revisited

Selective Eating Disorder may also be known as SED, picky eating, fussy eating, food phobia, selective eating, or perseverative feeding disorder.
SED is not listed as an official eating disorder in the DSM

SED is common in young people with autistic spectrum disorders, this is likely caused by Sensory Integration Dysfunction. It is also found with other special needs adolescents. It is commonly accompanied with severe refusal behaviors when non-preferred foods are presented. SED can be caused by an extra sensitive taste sensation caused by more Fungiform papilla than average, this is the most common cause of SED. It is also found in people with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. People with the Autoimmune disorder Coeliac Disease are often picky eaters.
Wikipedia

Selective Eating Disorder affects both children and adults.

The cause of SED is unknown.


Contributing factors may include:

• early negative food association
• negative food experiences (such as; choking, acid reflux, gastrointestinal troubles)
• problem behaviors
• negative behaviors learned at the dinner table
• ASD
• Anxiety Disorder
• OCD (mild form)

One theory suggest that those with SED are 'super tasters,' who taste food more intensely than others.

It is unknown how many adults suffer from SED as most who suffer from this disorder go to great lengths to hide it. You can help by filling out this survey at Duke.

Typically, though food choices vary per person, foods deemed acceptable by many with SED are usually bland, refined foods, high in carbohydrates and, for some, on the salty side. Many with selective eating disorder deem foods such as french fries, cheese pizza, pasta, and often chicken fingers as acceptable.


Symptoms may include:

• an aversion to certain foods
• an aversion to certain food aromas
• an aversion to certain food textures fear of certain foods
• unwillingness to try new foods narrow range of foods deemed acceptable
• restriction is usually to 10 foods or less
• distress when presented with foods deemed unacceptable
• some restrict to allowing only certain food brands
• nausea/vomiting due to odor or texture of certain foods

Most with SED will show no outward physical signs and may appear healthy upon a physical exam.


Health Effects and Concerns include:

• loss of essential nutrients (due to limited food choices)
• malnutrition
• heart problems
• teeth health (if acceptable foods are high in sugar)
• gastrointestinal problems due to lack of fiber
• proper growth in children
• high blood pressure due to diet
• bone health
• obesity

Treatment for SED:

Treatment helps individuals both acquire and practice needed skills or to modify problematic behaviors. An essential aspect of treatment is educating individuals about their bodies: how their sensitivities make sense given their biological inheritance, learning histories, and natural tendencies. In addition, skills can be taught to help manage fears of certain necessary foods. Practice sessions are typically recommended, during which time new foods are tried in the therapy room, restaurants, or other common environments.
DukeHealth.Org

*The intention of The American Psychiatric Association is to make a final decision as to whether Selective Eating Disorders will be included in the next edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-V), 2013 

Support Resources for Selective Eating Adults:
Picky Eating Adults
Empowered Parents 
Fussy-Eaters 
Picky Eating Adult Support Videos 


See also: Selective Eating Disorder: SED 
See sidebar menu for more Eating Disorders information and resources.

sources:http://www.livescience.com/10301-adult-picky-eaters-recognized-disorder.html http://www.emaxhealth.com/1506/picky-eating-common-autistic-children-may-be-nutritional-risk.html http://www.livestrong.com/article/496331-selective-eating-disorders-in-children/ http://uktv.co.uk/really/item/aid/614285 http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-1293356/Fussy-eaters-classed-having-eating-disorder.html

picsource:http://www.flickr.com/photos/21560098@N06/4420104834/in/photostream/

Recovery Quote Of The Week: February 9, 2012

No one can predict to what heights you can soar. Even you will not know until you spread your wings.
Unknown

picsource:http://www.flickr.com/photos/falcon1961/3811994880/in/photostream/

Eating Disorders Recovery: A Request For Help

In response to several emails and comments concerning recovery, I'd like to invite you to share your recovery experience here, on Weighing The Facts, so that others who are struggling can benefit.

There's so much to be gained from reading/hearing what others have been through and how they manage to survive the struggle, emotions, set backs, doubts, and fears that are so much a part of the journey. No matter what your story, there is a common connection and that connection is powerful and healing. You can make a difference, inspire others, and help reinforce the fact that recovery is indeed possible.

If you would like to help please send me an email at mrsmenopausal@yahoo.com. I plan on compiling all entries into one post.

Please submit only original work and include if you would like to remain anonymous, be credited by a pen name, or your real name.

I'm setting a deadline of February 20th so the post can be a part of Eating Disorders Awareness Month 2012.

I hope you'll participate.
Thank you,
MrsM


picsource:http://www.flickr.com/photos/vinaydeep/2742035426/in/photostream/

Eating Disorders News and Views: February 7, 2012

Integrative Medicine to Treat Eating Disorders
By Carolyn Coker Ross, MD
psychcentral.com

Integrative medicine can be defined as “a healing-oriented discipline that takes into account the whole person — body, mind and spirit — including all aspects of lifestyle. It emphasizes the therapeutic relationship and makes use of both conventional and alternative therapies.”
Complementary and alternative therapies used in integrative medicine can include acupuncture, chiropractic, herbal medicine, dietary supplements and others that give the clinician a wide array of treatments for difficult conditions. This is particularly true in the integrative medicine approach to eating disorders.
Read Integrated Medicine in full


Council ‘Pleased’ at Action Against Bullying Teacher
 hestar.co.uk

 A COUNCIL has said it is ‘pleased’ action was taken in a case of a teacher found to have bullied a bulimic colleague who later died at school.
Moira Ogilvie, former acting deputy headteacher at Rotherham’s High Greave Junior School, was found guilty of unacceptable professional conduct and sanctioned by the General Teaching Council this week.
The committee found she had ‘bullied, intimidated, undermined and victimised’ Britt Pilton, who collapsed and died at the school, aged 29, in February 2009.
Her inquest ruled her stress and bulimia had been worsened by issues at work.
Read Bullying Teacher in full


Vancouver Media Maven Ralks About Her Eating Disorder
 vancourier.com

Rachel McHollister has suffered from anorexia since she was 14 years old. Now an owner of a boutique public relations firm, she first started restricting what she ate. As she got older, she binged and purged. She’s been fighting the disease for 13 years and continues to wage war against it on a daily basis.

McHollister recently participated in a UBC panel discussion on body image and related issues such as self-esteem, social pressure, and media messages that can contribute to eating disorders to raise awareness of the issue.
Read Media Maven in full


La Scala Fires Ballerina Over Frank Talk of Anorexia 
 latimes.com

An act of whistle blowing has landed a ballerina at La Scala in Milan, Italy, in big trouble. The famed company has reportedly told her to hand in her pink tutu in exchange for a pink slip.
Mariafrancesca Garritano, who has danced with the company for about 17 years, has  been fired following an interview with a British weekly in which she said that one in five dancers at La Scala Theatre Ballet suffers from anorexia. The interview, which ran in Britain's Observer, contains an unflattering account of how the company pressures its dancers to lose weight.
Read La Scala Fire Ballerina in full


Children Under 10 in Northern Ireland Treated for Eating Disorders
 bbc.co.uk

 A number of children under 10 have been treated in hospitals in Northern Ireland for eating disorders.

The Department of Health has not published the exact number, but up to 12 children were hospitalised in the three years between 2007 and 2010.
Nearly 80 teenagers have received hospital treatment for conditions such as anorexia in the past five years.
It is understood up to £4m is spent each year on adults and teenagers who travel to England for treatment.
Ann McCann from the Eating Disorders Association said the organisation had dealt with a girl as young as eight, who had been bullied for being a "little bit overweight".
She said the numbers of children affected are growing - the vast majority are girls, but one in ten are boys.
 Read Children Under 10 in full


Openness About Eating Disorders Overdue
 therepublic.com

 Although we don’t exactly shout it from the rooftop, my family never has hidden the experience of our middle daughter’s struggle with anorexia nervosa, the eating disorder that leads some people — and especially smart and pretty young women — to starve themselves.
Very often, the conversation produces a flash of understanding.
There was the baseball executive. The City Council member back in Wisconsin. The fellow parishioner. The neighbor. The casual professional acquaintance.
All had firsthand experiences with eating disorders.
Surprised? You shouldn’t be.After all, the theme of National Eating Disorders Awareness Week, to be held Feb. 26 to March 3, is “Everybody Knows Somebody.”
Read Openness in full


The Realities of Living With Eating Disorders
With support and therapy, sufferers can still live a fulfilling, normal life
Sally Chaster / timescolonist.com

am in my early 50s, and I have struggled with a severe and debilitating eating disorder since I was six.
I suffer from anorexia, but there are many other serious, debilitating eating disorders, including bulimia, binge eating and others.
People with these disorder may be underweight, normal weight, overweight or obese, and may die at any size from any of the disorders. They can be young or old, male or female, any colour, nationality or religion.
How can people help? The answer to that is "nothing" and "everything."
Eating disorders are mental illnesses which often result in medical problems. There is increasing evidence of a genetic predisposition to eating disorders, and the trigger for activating a disorder may be any number of things.
Read The Realities in full 


Crystal Renn Reveals The Truth About Her Recent Weight Loss 
 huffingtonpost.com

With her background in plus-size modeling, Crystal Renn always finds herself on the hot seat about her weight. Is she gaining? Losing? What size is she? It's all a bit ridic, if you ask us.

But Renn herself has been vocal about her struggles with anorexia -- she once confessed to surviving on Diet Coke and sugar-free Jello -- and in a new interview with "Entertainment Tonight," she rebuts rumors that she's recently slipped back into unhealthy eating habits.

The model defended her weight loss back in February 2011, saying:
Read Crystal Renn in full 


EveryBODY’s Beautiful Shines the Light on Eating Disorders
 kingstonthisweek.com

When you look in the mirror what do you see? Do you see someone confident staring back, who looks great, flaws and all? Or do you see someone who never quite looks good enough?

In today’s world, where society is inundated with images of what is deemed to be perfection, many people are often plagued with feelings of doubt when it comes to their own body and body image. And sometimes those doubts can lead to more serious issues, including eating disorders.
“These are issues that directly or indirectly affects everybody,” says Pam Fountas, founder and host of EveryBODY’s Beautiful, a fundraising event Friday, Feb. 10, in support of local eating disorder clinics.
“I’d argue that 99.9 per cent of the population knows what it’s like to not feel comfortable in their own skin at one point or another in their lives.
Read Shines in full

Possibilities: Inspirational Recovery Quotes

Nothing is impossible, the word itself says 'I'm possible'!
Audry Hepburn

Think about your future possibilities and the fact that your potential is virtually unlimited. You can do what you want to do and go where you want to go. You can be the person you want to be. You can set large and small goals and make plans and move step-by-step, progressively toward their realization. There are no obstacles to what you can accomplish except the obstacles that you create in your mind.
Brian Tracy

I dwell in possibility…
Emily Dickinson

Whether you believe you can or not, you're right.
Henry Ford

Faith makes things possible, not easy.
Unknown

Our aspirations are our possibilities.
Samuel Johnson

You and I are essentially infinite choice-makers. In every moment of our existence, we are in that field of all possibilities where we have access to an infinity of choices.
Deepak Chopra

What is now proved was once only imagined.
William Blake

Go as far as you can see; when you get there you'll be able to see farther.
Thomas Carlyle

The future is simply infinite possibility waiting to happen. What it waits on is human imagination to crystallize its possibility.
Leland Kaiser

Start by doing what's necessary; then do what's possible; and suddenly you are doing the impossible.
St. Francis of Assisi

There is no planet, sun, or star could hold you, if you but knew what you are.
Ralph Waldo Emerson

The possibilities are numerous once we decide to act and not react.
Gloria Anzaldua

The Wright brother flew right through the smoke screen of impossibility.
Charles F. Kettering

In our efforts to be human, God does not leave us to fend for ourselves… In community - communion - we are reminded that everything is possible.
Dolores R. Leckey

Each day means a new twenty-four hours. Each day means everything's possible again.
Marie Lu

Believing in fate produces fate. Believing in freedom will create infinite possibilities.
Ayn Rand

Sometimes I've believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast.
Lewis Carroll

In this moment, there is plenty of time. In this moment, you are precisely as you should be. In this moment, there is infinite possibility.
Victoria Moran

Impossible situations can become possible miracles.
Robert H. Schuller

When everything is lost, anything is possible.
Robert Inman

Alleged ‘impossibilities’ are opportunities for our capacities to be stretched.
Charles R. Swindoll

It’s kind of fun to do the impossible!
Walt Disney

I am neither an optimist nor pessimist, but a possibilist.
Max Lerner

Every man is an impossibility until he is born.
Ralph Waldo Emerson

Begin to free yourself at once by doing all that is possible with the means you have, and as you proceed in this spirit the way will open for you to do more.
Robert Collier

The difficult we do immediately; the impossible takes a little longer.
Air Force motto

Nothing is impossible to a willing heart.
John Keywood

If I were to wish for anything, I should not wish for wealth and power, but for the passionate sense of the potential, for the eye which, ever young and ardent, sees the possible. Pleasure disappoints, possibility never. And what wine is so sparkling, what so fragrant, what so intoxicating, as possibility!
Soren Kierkegaard

It's the possibility that keeps me going, not the guarantee.
Nicholas Sparks/The Notebook

A thought, even a possibility, can shatter and transform us.
Friedrich Nietzsche

If everyone woke up tomorrow morning and said, "It's possible; whatever it is, it's possible," and spent a whole day having an "it's possible" day, then we would be going down the kind of road I'm interested in--because I do believe it is possible.
John Bird

So often we dwell on the things that seem impossible rather than on the things that are possible. So often we are depressed by what remains to be done and forget to be thankful for all that has been done.
Marian Wright Edelman

Without leaps of imagination, or dreaming, we lose the excitement of possibilities. Dreaming, after all, is a form of planning.
Gloria Steinem

Your range of available choices -- right now -- is limitless.
Frederick Frieseke

I realized that if what we call human nature can be changed, then, absolutely anything is possible. And from that moment, my life changed.
Shirley Maclaine

You do not need to know precisely what is happening, or exactly where it is all going. What you need is to recognize the possibilities and challenges offered by the present moment, and to embrace them with courage, faith and hope.
Thomas Merton

All things are possible until they are proved impossible. Even the impossible may only be so, as of now.
Pearl S. Buck

The impossible is often the untried..
Jim Goodwin

I am always doing that which I cannot do, in order that I may learn how to do it.
Pablo Picasso

Let your imagination release your imprisoned possibilities.
Robert H. Schuller

Become a possibilitarian. No matter how dark things seem to be or actually are, raise your sights and see possibilities - always see them, for they're always there.
Norman Vincent Peale

Limitations live only in our minds. But if we use our imaginations, our possibilities become limitless.
Jamie Paolinetti

It is our duty as men and women to proceed as though the limits of our abilities do not exist.
Pierre Teilhard De Chardin

If you only look at what is, you might never attain what could be.
Unknown

Man would not have attained the possible unless time and again he had reached out of the impossible.
Max Weber

My mother gave me a bumblebee pin when I started work. She said: "Aerodynamically, bees shouldn't be able to fly. But they do. Remember that."
Jill E. Barad

We all have possibilities we don't know about. We can do things we don't even dream we can do.
Dale Carnegie

Rebellion against your handicaps gets you nowhere. Self-pity gets you nowhere. One must have the adventurous daring to accept oneself as a bundle of possibilities and undertake the most interesting game in the world--making the most of one's best.
Harry Emerson Fosdick

A seed hidden in the heart of an apple is an orchard invisible.
Kahlil Gibran

Our thoughts and imagination are the only real limits to our possibilities.
Orison Swett

Most people are not really free; they are confined by the niche in the world that they carve out for themselves. They limit themselves to fewer possibilities by the narrowness of their vision.
V.S. Naipaul

You must do the thing you think you cannot do.
Eleanor Roosevelt 

It is very dangerous to go into eternity with possibilities which one has oneself prevented from becoming realities. A possibility is a hint from God. One must follow it.
Soren Kierkegaard

The only way of finding the limits of the possible is by going beyond them into the impossible.
Arthur C. Clarke

Stop thinking in terms of limitations and start thinking in terms of possibilities.
Terry Josephson

The purpose of life for man is growth, just as the purpose of life for trees and plants is growth. Trees and plants grow automatically and along fixed lines; man can grow as he will. Trees and plants can only develop certain possibilities and characteristics; man can develop any power which is or has been shown by any person anywhere. Nothing that is possible in spirit is impossible in flesh and blood. Nothing that man can think is impossible. Nothing that man can imagine is impossible of realization.
Wallace D. Wattles

I'm in my prime. There's no goal too far, no mountain too high.
Wilma Rudolph

Every one's got it in him, if he'll only make up his mind and stick at it. None of us is born with a stop-valve on his powers or with a set limit to his capacities, There's no limit possible to the expansion of each one of us.
Charles Schwab

What great things would you attempt if you knew you could not fail.
Robert H Schuller

You never know what you can do until you try.
Unknown

No matter what the level of your ability, you have more potential than you can ever develop in a lifetime.
James T. Mccay


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

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Recovery Quote Of The Week: January 26, 2012

If you search the world for happiness, you may find it in the end, for the world is round and will lead you back to your door. 
Robert Brault




picsource:http://www.flickr.com/photos/snugglepup/4544140905/in/photostream/

Raising Eating Disorders Awareness In Memory of Sarah Fasano

Eve Simonetti is on a mission to raise awareness for eating disorders in memory of her friend, Sarah Fasano.

Eve says, "Over the past 8 years i have been suffering from an eating disorder that has nearly killed me and taken my life. Not many people realize just how powerful this disorder is. I have been to over a dozen treatment facilities and have met hundreds of girls/women who are fighting for their life with this as well but we have very limited resources. Recently i have lost a friend from my most recent treatment center, The Renfrew Center. My roommate Sarah Fasano. Not just for her but for all of my friends silently suffering, i would like to raise awareness of this vicious disease and just how many women it affects. Sarah was very passionate about NEDA and recovery, so i would like to pay a tribute to her and the other soldiers we have lost along the way in the battle against the body."


 Statistics show:

• 70 million individuals are affected by eating disorders worldwide, with 24 million being American.
• 10 to 15 percent are male.
• 90 percent of women with eating disorders are between the ages of 12 and 25.
• Currently approximately 11 percent of high school students have been diagnosed with an eating disorder.
• 15 percent of young women in the US who are not diagnosed with an eating disorder exhibit substantially disordered eating behavior and attitude.

Eve added, "Sarah was active and passionate about NEDA and I really cant think of anything else that would serve as more of a testimony than this."

All donations raised in honor of Sarah Fasano will go to NEDA (National Eating Disorders Association). Please consider making a donation and help Eve raise awareness about eating disorders.
Donations can be made here. 

Sarah Fasano Music on YouTube

See more Eating Disorders Statistics


picsource:http://www.myspace.com/sarahfasano/photos/52849510

This Week's R.I.S.E. :What Would You Say To A Friend?

This week's R.I.S.E. (Recovery Inspiration Strength Exercise) is What would you say to a friend?

Have you ever noticed that when someone you care about is hurting that you're able to give support, comfort, and advice from a place of love that seems reserved just for them? Do you ever hear what you're saying and think, "why can I say this to someone else and not to myself?"

For many of us, we see other people's problems and solutions much clearer than we see our own. Sometimes the solution seems so obvious and uncomplicated. Even complicated solutions still seem doable. Why is that? The reasons range from complicated to down right simple.

We're just too close to the problem.

Everything seems harder to accomplish when it's personal. It gets bogged down in the muck of our personal "stuff."

We're dealing with things like:

• Our past experiences/history
• How we feel about ourselves
• Fear of change 
• Fear of failure
• Feeling undeserving

.... and the list could go on and on.

So this week take a problem you're dealing with and pretend you're advising, comforting, and supporting a friend. Writing it down in letter form will help you reach your true "friend" voice (Dear insert your name here ). Don't read it when you're done writing it. Put it away for a day... or three. When you have a few moments to be all alone, grab yourself a cup of warm tea, settle into a comfy spot, and read it, slowly. Then read it again, out loud.

Now, follow your own advice.

You are deserving, and worthy of it.

©Weighing The Facts



picsource:http://www.flickr.com/photos/mel_rowling/6122321048/in/photostream/

Recovery Quote Of The Week: January 14, 2011

There are no shortcuts to any place worth going.
Helen Keller


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

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Eating Disorders News and Views: January 10, 2012

Binge Eating Disorder May Be Added to DSM-5

The DSM-5 Feeding and Eating Disorders Work Group is proposing a number of diagnostic changes. Here’s an overview.
Criteria for “binge eating disorder,” the fruit of an explosion of research on the subject since publication of DSM-IV, are being proposed for inclusion in DSM-5. The addition of the disorder, defined as recurrent eating of “an amount of food that is definitely larger than most people would eat in a similar period of time under similar circumstances,” is among the major changes proposed for the chapter on feeding and eating disorders. Virtually identical criteria for binge eating disorder were listed in the appendix to the chapter in DSM-IV but it was not included as an official diagnosis.
Read Binge Eating Disorder DSM-5 in full.


Women with Anorexia May Have Categorical Learning Deficiencies

Recent research has focused on examining the cognitive abilities of people with eating issues and in particular, of women with anorexia nervosa (AN). “These studies are important for a better understanding of AN given the possibility that cognitive deficits may (a) contribute to the development and persistence of AN, (b) result from neurological changes associated with the disease, or (c) influence the choice of treatment approaches,” said Megan E. Shott of the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Colorado. More recent studies have discovered that although individuals with AN may have deficits in cognitive functioning, many of them also have very high IQs.
Read Categorical Learning Disabilities in full.


When Eating Healthy Turns Obsessive

In a vegan café in New York City, Nisha Moodley pushes a glass crusted with the remnants of a berry-açai-almond milk smoothie across the table and begins listing the foods she excised from her diet six years ago.

"Factory-farmed meats; hormone-laden dairy; conventional non-organic fruits and vegetables; anything hydrogenated; anything microwaved," the slender 32-year-old health coach says. "I would not eat irradiated food; charred or blackened foods; artificial coloring, flavoring, or sweetener; MSG; white rice; sugar; table salt; or anything canned.

Back then, a typical breakfast for Moodley consisted of buckwheat mixed with seaweed, raw cacao powder, flax oil, and flax seeds. Lunch was usually homemade brown rice with lentils, fresh vegetables, and kale, followed by a mid-afternoon snack of homemade flax-seed-and-buckwheat crackers. And for dinner, a salad with garbanzo beans, avocado, carrots, beets, and mushrooms.

Moodley initially adopted this diet to address recurring bad digestion. But her commitment to healthy eating -- something to be commended, ordinarily -- turned into an obsession that took over her life. "I was terrified of food that didn't fit within my idea of what was healthy," Moodley says. "I was terrified of cancer, of dying."
Read Healthy Turns Obsessive in full


Is Binge Eating a Mental Disorder?

According to the latest draft of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders ( DSM) in the American Psychiatric Association (APA), binge eating is a mental disorder.

Health professionals refer to this document to conclude whether an individual is suffering from a mental disorder or not. In the manual, binge eating shares place with grave medical conditions such as substance-related disorders, sleep disorders and anxiety disorders. But does this mean that if you chug cheese burgers, you are suffering from a clinical eating disorder? Let's find out...

Binge eating depicts a lack of control over one's eating habits, a feeling where one has no control over how much or how many times one is eating.

The top characteristics which distinguish binge eating from normal eating are:
- Eating food much more quickly than normal.
- Eating food until feeling awkwardly full.
- Consuming large amounts of food when not feeling hungry.
- Consuming food in a separate room, or in isolation so as not to feel embarrassed by the quantity or style of eating.
- A binge eater tends to feel very appalled with oneself. A deep feeling of depression or guilt lingers on after the completion of an eating spree.

Here are a few tried and tested ways to avoid binge eating:
- Distract yourself from the food and indulge in an activity you love. Rush for a warm water bath when you think food is overpowering you. Go for a nice chocolate pedicure session or may be light some nice scented candles in your room and play some light music rather than eating.
- In other times, you might find this a tad bit boring, but sip small amounts of water whenever you feel you are in the mood to indulge.
Read Binge Eating/Mental Disorder in full



Emirati Woman Recounts How She Chose Life Over Anorexia

Sitting in the lounge of a Dubai hotel, Samira Murshid Al Romaithi could be any other 28-year-old woman. Clear-skinned and bright-eyed, she smiles as she greets me, exposing a set of pearly white teeth and a long mane of dark hair that falls over a pretty, sensitive face.

Confident without being overbearing, articulate and charming, this is a woman who holds a senior position with the Government in Abu Dhabi; who is the vice president of the UAE Jiu-Jitsu committee and a blue-belt competitor; who is about to launch her own business selling health food snacks; and who not only has a BA and a master's but also is halfway through another master's, in diplomacy and international relations. Her zest for life is obvious.

It's almost impossible to imagine she once suffered from anorexia.

Anorexia - a word that conjures up images of skeletal-like young women and that many presume is vanity in the extreme, an attempt to achieve the perfect body gone terribly wrong and an example of just how askew our priorities have become in the complicated modern world.

But there is, of course, more to this insidious disease that (along with other eating disorders such as bulimia) is still a taboo subject in many parts of the world and especially so in the UAE.
Read Emirati Woman in full


People With Eating Disorders Still suffering on Sidelines

BY THE time she was finally admitted to hospital, Noelle Graham's heart was on the point of giving out. Years of extreme dieting, purging and vomiting had ravaged the very substance of her body, leaving her blood so low in potassium it could no longer sustain a regular pulse.

That four-month admission, in 2009, was the culmination of nearly a decade of disordered eating that began when Ms Graham was only 12 - starting benignly enough as a decision to become a vegan and escalating through compulsive exercise, deliberate vomiting and long periods of starvation.

Still battling not to relapse, Ms Graham sees a psychiatrist and has had to return many times to hospital, where she said doctors typically, ''stick me on a drip and rehydrate me, then send me home''.
Read People With Eating Disorders in full



New Approach to Diagnosing Anorexia Nervosa
January 9, 2012
A new approach for diagnosing patients with anorexia nervosa has been developed at the University of Sydney. The approach could have a significant impact on the treatment and recovery of sufferers, as well as reducing the strain on public health.

As reported in the Sydney Morning Herald, Professor Stephen Touyz, of the University of Sydney's Centre for Eating and Dieting Disorders, advocates a move to diagnosing anorexia nervosa in stages of severity, similar to the method used for diagnosing cancer.

"At the moment, you can only diagnose anorexia nervosa if you have the illness quite severely already," says Professor Touyz.

"By the time you have anorexia nervosa, and people can see that you've got it, you're an extremely ill person. This is an illness where 20 percent of people who are diagnosed could potentially die."

Professor Touyz's proposed system of stages would introduce the diagnosis of stage one anorexia nervosa for patients who clearly already suffer from the illness but do not yet meet its official diagnostic criteria.

Read New Approach in full

15 Quotes For Recovery In This Brand New Year

Celebrate what you want to see more of.
Tom Peters

A new year is unfolding ... like a blossom with petals curled tightly concealing the beauty within.
Anonymous

For last year's words belong to last year's language and next year's words await another voice.
T.S. Eliot

We will open the book. Its pages are blank. We are going to put words on them ourselves. The book is called Opportunity and its first chapter is New Year's Day.
Edith Lovejoy Pierce

We spend January (1) walking through our lives, room by room, drawing up a list of work to be done, cracks to be patched. Maybe this year, to balance the list, we ought to walk through the rooms of our lives, not looking for flaws but for potential.""
Ellen Goodman

Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow.
Einstein

Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.
Mark Twain

Year's end is neither an end nor a beginning but a going on, with all the wisdom that experience can instill in us.
Hal Borland

Why shed tears on failures long forgotten when hope looms on the horizon?
Charles Casha

In the New Year, may your right hand always be stretched out in friendship, but never in want.
Irish saying

Cheers to a new year and another chance for us to get it right.
Oprah Winfrey

The old year has gone. Let the dead past bury its own dead. The New Year has taken possession of the clock of time. All hail the duties and possibilities of the coming twelve months!
Edward Payson Powell

I don’t really have a New Year’s resolution to go on a diet or anything like that. I am who I am, and I don’t want to be somebody else.
Karolina Kurkova

One resolution I have made, and try always to keep, is this: To rise above the little things.
John Burroughs


If it didn’t Bring you Joy,
Just Leave it Behind.

Let’s Ring in the New Year
With Good Things in Mind.

Let Every Bad Memory Go
That Brought Heartache and Pain.

And let’s Turn a New Leaf
With the Smell of New Rain.

Let’s Forget Past Mistakes
Making Amends for This Year.

Sending You These Greetings
To Bring you Hope and Cheer

Happy New Year!
Unknown


See also 10 Self-Nurturing New Year's Resolutions

See sidebar for more Recovery Quotes

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Recovery Quote Of The Week: January 6, 2011

It doesn’t matter how long we may have been stuck in a sense of our limitations. If we go into a darkened room and turn on the light, it doesn’t matter if the room has been dark for a day, a week, or ten thousand years – we turn on the light and it is illuminated.
Sharon Salzberg


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

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This Week's R.I.S.E. : Kisses In Your Pocket

This week's R.I.S.E. (Recovery Inspiration Strength Exercise) is Kisses In Your Pocket.

Years ago, when my now grown son was little, I gave him something to help buffer the insecurity he was feeling at the thought of the unknown ... being away from me for part of the day while he attended preschool. Each day I put on some lipstick and covered a piece of paper with kisses for him to keep in his pocket. Each time he felt he needed it, he could pull out that little slip of paper and take a kiss of encouragement. It was enough to see him through those days he felt unsure or anxious.

Years earlier my husband was in a horrible accident.  Surviving it was a miracle. The road ahead was uncertain. One night, while I was spending the night in the hospital solarium, I met a patient who couldn't sleep. We got to talking. He told me his story, and I told him my husband's. He took a necklace from around his neck, removed the old, worn medal of St. Michael and asked me to give it to my husband. He told me how it had seen him through so much and he wanted him to have it. My husband kept that medal with him at all times, switching it his wallet when he was released. It reminded him to stay strong, to hang in there, he could do this.
 
Sometimes, all we need is a little something that says to us "you can do this, you're going to be okay, this moment of struggle is going to pass."

 So this week put some kisses in your pocket. Choose something easily carried with you. Break it out whenever it's needed and draw strength from what it symbolizes. You CAN do this! 


See sidebar menu for more Weekly R.I.S.E.
©Weighing The Facts

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Eating Disorders Recovery: In Recovery ...

click image to enlarge

In recovery I'm learning to love myself again. I'm discovering that I can trust myself and take care of myself. I'm finding out that what I really need is to nurture my body and my spirit. Believing in myself and working my recovery is the most important step in achieving the life I desire for myself, the life that I am worthy of... the life I deserve. 

Recovery!

The New Year: Eating Disorders Poll

What emotions are you feeling with the arrival of the New Year?

Please take a moment to participate in the poll in the sidebar.
Thank you.
MrsM

This poll is now closed.
You can find the results here: Previous Poll Results

Happy New Year's Eve!

Happy New Year's Eve!

Another fresh new year is here... another year to live! To banish worry, doubt, and fear, to love and laugh and give! This bright new year is given me to live each day with zest ... to daily grow and try to be my highest and my best! I have the opportunity once more to right some wrongs, to pray for peace, to plant a tree, and sing more joyful songs. 
William Arthur Ward

Recovery Quote Of The Week: December 31, 2011

If you don't like the road you're walking, start paving another one.
Dolly Parton

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

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10 Self-Nurturing New Year's Resolutions

I'm not a fan of New Year's resolutions. More often than not, we set up lofty goals that are near impossible to stick to or are just unhealthy for us. When we don't manage to accomplish them we then feel guilty, frustrated, and defeated. If you're considering making resolutions for the new year why not make them something that nurtures your being and changes how you feel about yourself? 


10 Self-Nurturing New Year's Resolutions
 
I resolve to:

1. love myself more (flaws and all)
2. be more grateful for my body and what it allows me to do every day
3. make more healthy choices for both my mind and my body
4. respect myself and others more
5. surround myself with more positive and supportive people
6. stop comparing myself to others and instead celebrate my unique individuality more
7. replace negative self-talk with more positive, loving statements
8. let go of past shame, regrets, and fear and live in the present more
9. speak up, reach out, and ask for more help when I need it
10. laugh more, love more, and enjoy the life I have been blessed with

Notice the word, "more," slipped in there? "More" is important for two reasons.

1.  you may already be doing these things and so now are resolving to build on them. 
2. "more" allows forward movement without the preconceived notion of failure when you don't accomplish something fully.

Remember, it's not about perfecting anything. It's about learning to nurture yourself. It takes time and practice.

Make this year the year that you choose to take care of you. Make yourself a priority.


Happy New Year! 
MrsM

©Weighing The Facts



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