Weighing The Facts

Inspirational Recovery Quotes: Perseverance

When you get into a tight place and everything goes against you, till it seems as though you could not hang on a minute longer, never give up then, for it is just the place and time that the tide will turn.
Harriet Beecher Stowe

Perseverance:
per·se·ver·ance
–noun
1.steady persistence in a course of action, a purpose, a state, etc., esp. in spite of difficulties, obstacles, or discouragement.

Life is not easy for any of us. But what of that? We must have perseverance and above all confidence in ourselves. We must believe that we are gifted for something, and that this thing, at whatever cost, must be attained.
Marie Curie

He conquers who endures.
Persius

The drops of rain make a hole in the stone not by violence but by oft falling.
Lucretius

I may not be there yet, but I'm closer than I was yesterday.
Unknown

How long should you try? Until.
Jim Rohn

Great works are performed not by strength, but by perseverance.
Samuel Johnson

Our greatest glory is not in never failing, but in rising up every time we fail.
Ralph Waldo Emerson

Patience and perseverance have a magical effect before which difficulties disappear and obstacles vanish.
John Quincy Adams

Difficult things take a long time, impossible things a little longer.
André A. Jackson

Perseverance is a great element of success. If you only knock long enough and loud enough at the gate, you are sure to wake up somebody.
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Perseverance is the hard work you do after you get tired of doing the hard work you already did.
Newt Gingrich

It's a little like wrestling a gorilla. You don't quit when you're tired. You quit when the gorilla is tired.
Robert Strauss

It's not that I'm so smart, it's just that I stay with problems longer.
Albert Einstein

I do not think there is any other quality so essential to success of any kind as the quality of perseverance. It overcomes almost everything, even nature.
John D. Rockefeller

Don't be discouraged. It's often the last key in the bunch that opens the lock.
Unknown

Try and fail, but don't fail to try.
Stephen Kaggwa

The race is not always to the swift, but to those who keep on running.
Unknown

Many of the great achievements of the world were accomplished by tired and discouraged men who kept on working.
Unkown

Perseverance is not a long race; it is many short races one after another.
Walter Elliott

Energy and persistence conquer all things.
Benjamin Franklin

In three words I can sum up everything I've learned about life. It goes on.
Robert Frost

Nothing in this world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful people with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. The slogan "press on" has solved and always will solve the problems of the human race
Calvin Coolidge

Fall seven times, stand up eight.
Japanese Proverb

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

I am not judged by the number of times I fail, but by the number of times I succeed: and the number of times I succeed is in direct proportion to the number of times I fail and keep trying.
Tom Hopkins

Boys, there ain't no free lunches in this country. And don't go spending your whole life commiserating that you got the raw deals. You've got to say, I think that if I keep working at this and want it bad enough I can have it. It's called perseverance.
Lee Iacocca

Edison failed 10, 000 times before he made the electric light. Do not be discouraged if you fail a few times.
Napoleon Hill

The difference between perseverance and obstinacy is that one comes from a strong will, and the other from a strong won't.
Henry Ward Beecher

Stay the course, light a star, change the world where'er you are.
Richard Le Gallienne

With ordinary talent and extraordinary perseverance, all things are attainable.
T.F. Buxton

A little more persistence, a little more effort, and what seemed hopeless failure may turn to glorious success.
Elbert Hubbard

If we are facing in the right direction, all we have to do is keep on walking.
Buddhist Saying

What we do not see, what most of us never suspect of existing, is the silent but irresistible power which comes to the rescue of those who fight on in the face of discouragement.
Napoleon Hill

Saints are sinners who kept on going.
Robert Louis Stevenson

Failure is often that early morning hour of darkness which precedes the dawning of the day of success.
Leigh Mitchell Hodges

The greatest oak was once a little nut who held its ground.
Unknown

I am not discouraged, because every wrong attempt discarded is another step forward.
Thomas A. Edison

When you come to the end of your rope, tie a knot and hang on.
Franklin D. Roosevelt

Don't be afraid to give your best to what seemingly are small jobs. Every time you conquer one it makes you that much stronger. If you do the little jobs well, the big ones will tend to take care of themselves.
Dale Carnegie

If one dream should fall and break into a thousand pieces, never be afraid to pick one of those pieces up and begin again.
Flavia Weedn

Stubbornly persist, and you will find that the limits of your stubbornness go well beyond the stubbornness of your limits.
Robert Brault

Nothing could be worse than the fear that one has given up too soon, and left one unexpended effort which might have saved the world.
Jane Addams

You've got to get up every morning with determination if you're going to go to bed with satisfaction.
George Horace Lorimer

Don't ever, ever quit. Recognize that stopping now, regrouping to try a new approach isn't quitting. If you quit you'll regret it forever.
Rudy Ruettiger

The road to success is dotted with many tempting parking places.
Unknown

Even the woodpecker owes his success to the fact that he uses his head and keeps pecking away until he finishes the job he starts.
Coleman Cox

Let me tell you the secret that has led me to my goal. My strength lies solely in my tenacity.
Louis Pasteur

Success consists of getting up just one more time than you fall.
Oliver Goldsmith

Never give up on something that you can't go a day without thinking about.
Unknown

If you are truly flexible and go until . . . there is really very little you can't accomplish in your lifetime.
Anthony Robbins

A champion is someone who gets up, even when he can't.
Jack Dempsey

Great difficulties may be surmounted by patience and perseverance.
Abigail Adams

If there is no struggle, there is no progress.
Frederick Douglass

When your dreams turn to dust, vacuum.
Unknown

Success seems to be largely a matter of hanging on after others have let go.
William Feather

If you are going through hell, keep going.
Winston Churchill

Most of the important things in the world have been accomplished by people who have kept on trying when there seemed to be no hope at all.
Dale Carnegie

Success is sweet and sweeter if long delayed and gotten through many struggles and defeats.
Amos Bronson Alcott

You have within you right now, everything you need to deal with whatever the world can throw at you.
Brian Tracy

Thankfully, perseverance is a good substitute for talent.
Steve Martin

It does not matter how slowly you go so long as you do not stop.
Confucius

Victory belongs to the most persevering.
Napoleon Bonaparte

The difference between the impossible and the possible lies in a man's determination.
Tommy Lasorda

Consider the postage stamp: its usefulness consists in the ability to stick to one thing till it gets there.
Josh Billings

When the world says, "Give up," hope whispers, "Try it one more time."
Unknown

It's not whether you get knocked down; it's whether you get up.
Vince Lombardi

By perseverance the snail reached the ark.
C. H. Spurgeon

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

People are always blaming their circumstances for what they are. I don't believe in circumstances. The people who get on in this world are the people who get up and look for the circumstances they want, and, if they can't find them, make them.
G.B. Shaw

Nobody trips over mountains. It is the small pebble that causes you to stumble. Pass all the pebbles in your path and you will find you have crossed the mountain.
Unknown

Remember when you see a man at the top of a mountain, he didn't fall there.
Unknown

In the confrontation between the stream and the rock, the stream always wins- not through strength but by perseverance.
H. Jackson Brown

Defeat never comes to any man until he admits it.
Josephus Daniels

There are two ways of meeting difficulties: you alter the difficulties, or you alter yourself to meet them.
Phyllis Bottome

You will come to know that what appears today to be a sacrifice will prove instead to be the greatest investment that you will ever make.
Gorden B. Hinkley

The man who can drive himself further once the effort gets painful is the man who will win.
Roger Bannister

For I, the Lord thy God, shall hold thy right hand and say unto thee, fear not for I will help you.
The Bible

Perseverance is failing 19 times and succeeding the 20th.
Julie Andrews

It always seems impossible until its done.
Nelson Mandela

In order to get from what was to what will be, you must go through what is.
Unkown

I think and think for months and years. Ninety-nine times, the conclusion is false. The hundredth time I am right.
Albert Einstein

Studies indicate that the one quality all successful people have is persistence.
Joyce Brothers

Man is not made for defeat.
Ernest Hemingway

When things go wrong as they sometimes will;
When the road you're trudging seems all uphill;
When the funds are low, and the debts are high
And you want to smile, but have to sigh;
When care is pressing you down a bit-
Rest if you must, but do not quit.
Success is failure turned inside out;
The silver tint of the clouds of doubt;
And you can never tell how close you are
It may be near when it seems so far;
So stick to the fight when you're hardest hit-
It's when things go wrong that you must not quit.
Unknown

It takes a little courage, and a little self-control. And some grim determination, If you want to reach the goal. It takes a great deal of striving, and a firm and stern-set chin. No matter what the battle, if you really want to win.
Navy Seal Masterchief

All great masters are chiefly distinguished by the power of adding a second, a third, and perhaps a fourth step in a continuous line. Many a man has taken the first step. With every additional step you enhance immensely the value of your first.
Ralph Waldo Emerson

Pay as little attention to discouragement as possible. Plough ahead as a steamer does, rough or smooth - rain or shine. To carry your cargo and make your port is the point.
Maltbie Davenport Babcock

It's always too soon to quit!
Norman Vincent Peale

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Eating Disorders: Seen Around The Web

Letters To My Body

Synchronized

Today’s letter is very special to me because it was written by one of my very best Blends (Blog Friends), Jen (“a prior fat girl”). I had the opportunity to meet Jen in May at a blogger’s conference, and we became fast friends. I respect the journey that she has taken on, and she has now lost about 100 pounds through a proper diet and exercise. She chose her health above everything else, even when she was faced last year with the most tragic moment of her life. Her journey has been long, and she still fights battles along with the rest of us. To me, her letter is a great example of how to move forward and forgive yourself after years of abuse...
Read Synchronized in full here.

Laura's Soap Box

Being liked is overrated, too

I hear a lot of complaining about eating disorder clinicians. I do a fair bit of complaining myself. But at least some of the time I remind myself that being disliked for doing your job isn't always a sign of doing it wrong: it is often a sign of good practice.

A doctor I admire wrote something on an ED message board this week: "You do not need to be the patient's friend, or confidant, and you shouldn't be someone she wants to bring home for dinner right now, as anyone that is doing their job with her will be working against the ED behaviors, and that is bound to make her angry"
Read Being liked in full here

The F Word Org

Celebs Come Out Of The ED Closet

In an OK! Magazine article, on September 17th, celebrities admit to their struggles with ED. While the list leaves few surprises, as most have mentioned their past experiences with eating disorders in other magazines, it was refreshing to see a couple who have continuously denied ED rumors come clean. One celeb I didn’t know about was Felicity Huffman. Below are her thoughts about her eating disorder: “I was bulimic and anorexic for a while, just hating my body,” she’s said. “As an actress,...
Read ED Closet in full here.

Happy Bodies

When I Knew Weight Didn't Matter

Even people who watched me go through it don’t really understand that I used to be anorexic.
Scene: I am a white, upper-middle-class American with a PhD mother and a successful father. Good-girl control freak, stubborn as hell—but I have never been thin.
Oh, I was not a “fat kid”. But puberty did as puberty does. Ample bust and wide hips at 5’3” meant that my doctor, with a conventional—in other words, BMI-based—concept of what a fifteen-year-old girl ought to weigh, gave me a carefully laid out speech about it, because as we all know, Fat Is Dangerous.
My mother, herself a recovered victim of a teenage eating disorder, had raised me with few food judgments, let me eat what and when and how I wanted for the most part. But she couldn’t shield...
Read When I Knew in full here.

Recovery Quote Of The Week: September 18th, 2010

It will never rain roses. When we want to have more roses, we must plant more roses.
George Eliot

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Tips To Help You Stop Counting Calories

video by Holdingon
Check out Holdingon's channel

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In Remembrance Of 911

For all who were touched by the tragic events of 911

We Will Never Forget

Resources:

Red Cross 911 Support Groups

Voices of September 11th

September 11th Families' Association

911 Memorial

September 11th Prayers From Various Faiths

America The Beautiful
Katherine Lee Bates

O beautiful for spacious skies,
For amber waves of grain,
For purple mountain majesties
Above the fruited plain!

America! America!
God shed His grace on thee,
And crown thy good with brotherhood
From sea to shining sea!

O beautiful for pilgrim feet
Whose stern impassion'd stress
A thorough fare for freedom beat
Across the wilderness.

America! America!
God mend thine ev'ry flaw,
Confirm thy soul in self-control,
Thy liberty in law.

O beautiful for heroes prov'd
In liberating strife,
Who more than self their country loved,
And mercy more than life.

America! America!
May God thy gold refine
Till all success be nobleness,
And ev'ry gain divine.

O beautiful for patriot dream
That sees beyond the years
Thine alabaster cities gleam
Undimmed by human tears.

America! America!
God shed his grace on thee,

Publish Post

And crown thy good with brotherhood
From sea to shining sea.

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Recovery Quote Of The Week: September 9, 2010

The more you praise and celebrate your life, the more in life there is to celebrate.
Oprah Winfrey

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Eating Disorders: Monster In My Head

As if one day I could wake up and live normal again. Live without this monster that infiltrates my mind 24/7. Every action I make is around this monster. Every plan, meal, thought has this monster in it. From the time I wake up in the morning to the time my head hits my pillow at night, this monster poisons my thoughts. Somehow he has made this cozy home in my mind, no one can explain it, and I cannot control it. But my mind has convinced me it is the only thing I can control in my mind, so when I start to freak out or lose control of everything, I always run back to this monster. He is called an eating disorder. It’s the nasty little monster that sticks like glue.

Most eating disorders come as a pair or morph into one another. As for me, I met my first monster in 2008. Anorexia nervosa. He is the reason I lost 65 pounds in two months, the reason I developed horrible eating habits and became depressed and one of the reasons why my friends worried constantly about me. It didn’t just put a strain on my life but theirs also. I spent hours at my boyfriend’s sleeping because I was too tired and anemic to be awake and he spend his time trying to force feed me because he didn’t understand. My friends started talking about me behind my back and I wanted nothing to do with them. I felt alone, just me and my monster. It became my best friend.

I reached my lowest weight of 108 pounds which is small for a tall girl like me. That’s when I admitted to myself that I needed to get help. I just wasn’t happy that I had no control of my life anymore. Telling my family wasn’t easy, but what made it worse was they didn’t believe me. I wasn’t home much and when I was, they thought I was losing the weight by eating healthy and working out. WRONG. After I talked to a couple people and made some changes, things got better you could say. It still seemed like every little pound I gained, my mind lost control. I developed Body Dimorphic Disorder. Something to this day I am never convinced will go away. It’s the monster that tells me I am fat, ugly, out of shape, unattractive, etc. I hate it the most; it is what triggers the rest.

Shortly after I started to binge eat. I “didn’t care” anymore and ate everything in sight. I still do and it is so hard to control. Eating this way can pack pounds quick, which triggered one more monster in my head. Over time my friend who is a student in psych noticed the amount and routine of my workout schedule. I had for sure developed exercise bulimia. This is the part of my brain that justifies binge eating because I can work off anything right? WRONG.

Now since I have had no help I fall back into all of this in 2010. It’s not easy, and my life is so far from perfect. But I love God and I know he put this challenge in my life for a reason. So one day, I will get over it. It may be hard now, and I may want to just cry myself to sleep because no one but me understands what goes through my head every day. But this will not defeat me. God doesn’t give people challenges they cannot handle. So let this be a learning experience by reading my life story. Don’t give up. Mark 5:36; Don’t be afraid, just believe.

By: Carolyn King

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Inspirational Recovery Quotes: Letting Go

Don't let your mind bully your body into believing it must carry the burden of its worries.

Astrid Alauda

Stand up and walk out of your history.
Phil McGraw

Even though you may want to move forward in your life, you may have one foot on the brakes. In order to be free, we must learn how to let go. Release the hurt. Release the fear. Refuse to entertain your old pain. The energy it takes to hang onto the past is holding you back from a new life. What is it you would let go of today?
Mary M.Morrissey

All the art of living lies in a fine mingling of letting go and holding on.
Havelock Ellis

There's an important difference between giving up and letting go.
Jessica Hatchigan

Every breath is an opportunity to receive and let go. I receive love and I let go of pain.
Brenda MacIntyre

Breathe. Let go. And remind yourself that this very moment is the only one you know you have for sure.
Oprah Winfrey

Absorb what is useful. Discard what is not. Add what is uniquely your own.
Bruce Lee

I am responsible for what I see. I can elect to change all thoughts that hurt. I could see peace instead of THIS. The past is over - it can touch me not. This instant is the only time there is. Today I will judge nothing that occurs. I am not the victim of the world I see. I can escape from the world I see by giving up attack thoughts. I am determined to see things differently. I am never upset for the reason I think. Forgiveness is the key to happiness. All that I give I give to myself.
Hugh Prather

Creativity can be described as letting go of certainties
Gail Sheehy

When I let go of what I am, I become what I might be.
Lao Tzu

Knowledge is learning something every day. Wisdom is letting go of something every day.
Zen Proverb

You don't need strength to let go of something. What you really need is understanding.
Guy Finley

Getting over a painful experience is much like crossing monkey bars. You have to let go at some point in order to move forward.
Unknown

You cannot let go of anything if you cannot notice that you are holding it. Admit your weaknesses and watch them morph into your greatest strengths.
Neale Donald Walsch

Change is never easy, you fight to hold on, and you fight to let go.
The Wonder Years

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

Some think it's holding on that makes one strong; sometimes it's letting go.
Sylvia Robinson

Life is not about waiting for the storms to pass...It's about learning how to dance in the rain.
Vivian Green

Let go. Why do you cling to pain? There is nothing you can do about the wrongs of yesterday. It is not yours to judge. Why hold on to the very thing which keeps you from hope and love?
Leo Buscaglia

Tension is who you think you should be. Relaxation is who you are.
Chinese Proverb

Letting go doesn’t mean giving up, but rather accepting that there are things that cannot be.
Unknown

There are things that we never want to let go of, people we never want to leave behind. But keep in mind that letting go isn’t the end of the world, it’s the beginning of a new life.
Unknown

As I started to picture the trees in the storm, the answer began to dawn on me. The trees in the storm don't try to stand up straight and tall and erect. They allow themselves to bend and be blown with the wind. They understand the power of letting go. Those trees and those branches that try too hard to stand up strong and straight are the ones that break.
Julia Butterfly Hill

Think about any attachments that are depleting your emotional reserves. Consider letting them go.
Oprah Winfrey

Courage is the power to let go of the familiar.
Raymond Lindquist

Complaining is silly. Either act or forget.
Stefan Sagmeister

Sometimes you have to let go to see if there was anything worth holding on to.
Unknown

In deep self-acceptance grows a compassionate understanding. As one Zen master said when I asked if he ever gets angry, 'Of course I get angry, but then a few minutes later I say to myself, 'What's the use of this,' and I let it go.'
Jack Kornfield

Hanging onto resentment is letting someone you despise live rent-free in your head.
Ann Landers

People have a hard time letting go of their suffering. Out of a fear of the unknown, they prefer suffering that is familiar.
Thich Nhat Hanh

The harder you fight to hold on to specific assumptions, the more likely there's gold in letting go of them.
John Seely Brown

It's not the daily increase but daily decrease. Hack away at the unessential.
Bruce Lee

In the end these things matter most: How well did you love? How fully did you love? How deeply did you learn to let go?
The Buddha

What's done is done.
William Shakespeare

It is so conceited and timid to be ashamed of one's mistakes. Of course they are mistakes. Go on to the next.
Brenda Ueland

The greatness of a man's power is the measure of his surrender.
William Booth

We must be willing to let go of the life we have planned, so as to accept the life that is waiting for us.
Joseph Campbell

Inner peace can be reached only when we practice forgiveness. Forgiveness is letting go of the past, and is therefore the means for correcting our misperceptions.
Gerald Jampolsky

We need in love to practice only this: letting each other go. For holding on comes easily--we do not need to learn it.
Rainer Maria Rilke

When you become good at the art of letting sufferings go, then you'll come to realize what you were dragging around with you. And for that, no one else other than you was responsible.
Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh

Laugh when you can, apologize when you should, and let go of what you can't change. Life's too short to be anything .... but happy
Unknown

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Recovery Quote Of The Week: August 28th, 2010

Think big thoughts but relish small pleasures.

H. Jackson Brown Jr.

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Eating Disorders Poll: Rewards On The Road To Recovery

Fears and doubts can be overwhelming when recovery is being contemplated or newly begun. Despite the obstacles and emotions that may arise, RECOVERY IS WORTH IT and POSSIBLE. Many have taken that first step, seen it through, and reaped the rewards at the other end. What rewards have you found on the road to your recovery?

Please take a moment to participate in the poll in the sidebar and share your experience with others.
Feel free to add answers to the comment section that are not provided in the poll.
Thank you.
MrsM

This poll has ended. Click for Poll Results

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Eating Disorders Recovery: Self-Soothing Techniques

Using self-soothing techniques can be a strong defense when stress, circumstances beyond our control, or negative thoughts and feelings become overwhelming.

Soothe:

–verb

1. to tranquilize or calm, as a person or the feelings; relieve, comfort, or refresh

2. to mitigate, assuage, or allay, as pain, sorrow, or doubt

3.to exert a soothing influence; bring tranquility, calm, ease, or comfort.

Nurturing Your 5 Senses

Our 5 senses are powerful. What we hear, touch, see, smell, and taste can have a profound impact on our feelings and mood. Although it's impossible to always be in control of what our senses are exposed to, we can make a conscious effort to supply them with things that calm and soothe us, and lift our spirits.

When you choose to do something to soothe yourself let everything go and be in the moment. Truly immerse yourself and allow what you're doing to seep deep into your being. Put everything else aside, relax and enjoy it while it's happening.

Hear

take a walk along the beach and enjoy the sound of the waves, the seagulls
stretch out on a blanket in the woods and listen to the birds, the wind through the trees, the gurgling of a brook
play music that makes you feel calm, comforted, safe
listen to a CD of nature sounds (the ocean, rain, birds singing...)

Feel

take your shoes off and walk in the sand, grass, or along the water's edge
soak in a warm bath (use a scented bath oil or favorite bubble bath)
float in a pool and feel the water around you
sink into soft sheets/comfortable bed
wrap yourself in a blanket still warm from the dryer
slip into your favorite, softest robe

See

take a walk through a park and enjoy nature
spread a blanket on the beach and watch the waves
sit in a garden and enjoy the flowers, bees, butterflies
study a favorite piece of art
look through your favorite pictures
take a ride through your favorite part of town
spread a blanket under the stars
treat yourself to your favorite flowers and put them somewhere you'll see them often

Smell

light a scented candle
walk outside after it's rained
step into a florist shop or garden and smell the flowers
put on your favorite perfume
shower with scented soap
spritz your sheets with a favorite scent before bed

Taste

enjoy a cup of your favorite tea (notice the taste, the warmth of the cup in your hands, the warmth of the liquid)
cook your favorite meal
have a picnic and invite a friend
try something new and different

Breathe

Sit comfortably (if possible), spine straight, feet on the floor, shoulders and arms relaxed. Keep your throat open and your lips slightly parted. Close your eyes. Breath in slowly, through you're nose, to a slow count of 5. Let your tummy expand with each breath. Once you get the feel of how long a 5 count breath is, stop counting them. Let the breath linger for a moment before exhaling slowly through your mouth for 5 counts. (The best example that I've heard of on how this is done is see your breath like a wave that washes up onto the shore and lingers before receding back into the ocean).

Visualize

Use the above breathing technique. Choose a word that you can relate to how you want to feel, such as "relax, calm, or safe." Say this word to yourself as you exhale. As you begin to relax, picture yourself walking along a beautiful beach (or any other place that suits you). Take in the sounds and sights... the waves, the gulls, the wind. Feel the warmth of the sun and the cool breeze on your skin. Feel the sand under your feet. Notice how blue the water and the sky are. The tall grasses move gently with the breeze. Make it as vivid as you can, filled with the imagery of the things you find beautiful, enjoyable, and relaxing.

Positive Self-Talk

What we tell ourselves is powerful.What we attached to the word "I" has a deep impact on us. We all get negative thoughts now and again and the anxiety, guilt, shame, and stress they bring with them. When the old tapes start playing and we find ourselves faced with negative self talk, it's time to switch gears and provide positive, self nurturing replacements. Examples:

I am a good person
I can accomplish anything
I am special
I am worth knowing
I am happy
I am capable
I am smart
I am confident
I am learning
I am growing
I am successful

Journaling

Bottling up our feelings, fears, and negative thoughts will not make them go away.Get it out. Put them to paper.

Acknowledge and Act

acknowledge how you're feeling
accept your feelings
take time to calm yourself
reinforce with positive self-talk

Practice, Practice, Practice!

The more you practice taking care of yourself, the easier it becomes. Don't get frustrated if the first few times you try to visualize your beautiful beach (or whatever place you have chosen) that you're unable to see it clearly. That's to be expected for most of us. It will become clearer with practice.

Each time you replace a negative thought or negative self-talk with positive alternatives you're changing how you perceive yourself and eventually it will become easier and easier to do.

When you're short on time or in a situation where you're unable to do anything that takes you away from what you're doing, slip in a few deep, slow breaths. It will help de-stress and calm you.

Notice and enjoy the little things. Promise yourself that you'll take a moment to enjoy at least one thing everyday that you normally pass by without appreciating. It doesn't have to be anything big or important. Have you ever studied the intricate design of a spider web? Pretty amazing.

Relax. Breathe. Nurture. Enjoy. You deserve it!

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Recovery Quote Of The Week: August 18, 2010

God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change; courage to change the things I can; and wisdom to the know the difference.
Reinhold Niebuhr
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Eating Disorders Bloggers: What Some Are Discussing This Month

Natasha's Story: "I Was Raised Thinking I Had No Worth, No Place In This World."
Medusa

Hi Medusa,
My name is Natasha and I am 18 years old. When I think about my life, I'm never really sure when exactly I started hating myself. I had suicidal thoughts when I was around 9 years old. I was raised thinking I had no worth, no place in this world. My stepmother starved me, beat me, and ridiculed me daily.
Read in full: Natasha's Story

Being Rational
ED Bites

Although I've never experienced a full-blown psychotic episode, I found myself nodding my head in agreement with this neuroscientist's description of her own psychosis.

"Erin, you are a scientist," they'd begin. "You are intelligent, rational. Tell me, then, how can you believe that there are rats inside your brain? They're just plain too big. Besides, how could they get in?"

They were right. About my being smart, I mean; I was, after all, a graduate student in the neuroscience program at the University of British Columbia. But how could they relate that rationality to the logic of the Deep Meaning? For it was due to the Deep Meaning that the rats had infiltrated my system and were inhabiting my brain. They gnawed relentlessly on my neurons, causing massive degeneration. This was particularly upsetting to me, as I depended on a sharp mind for my work in neuroscience.

The rats spent significant periods of time consuming brain matter in the occipital lobe of my brain. I knew, from my studies, that this was the primary visual cortex. And yet, I experienced no visual deficits. Obviously, I realized, I had a very unique brain: I was able to regenerate large sections of my central nervous system—and to do so extremely quickly. I relaxed a bit, but not entirely. Surely no good could come of having rats feed on my brain cells. So I sought means of ridding my body of them. I bled them out through self-cutting and banging my head until the skin broke, bloody. Continually, I kept my brain active, electrocuting the rats that happened to be feasting on the activated neurons.
Read in full: Being Rational

Don't You Realize That Fat Is Unhealthy?
Shapely Prose

Here’s the thing: I blog about fat acceptance.
Fat acceptance, as you can probably guess from the words “fat” and “acceptance” being right together like that, does not go over so well in some circles. Even in some progressive circles — which are usually known for not hating entire groups of people because of their appearances, not thinking what other people do with their bodies is anybody’s beeswax, and not uncritically accepting whatever moral panic the media tries to whip up, but wev. Fat is different! Don’t you know there’s an obesity epidemic? Don’t you know that fat kills? Haven’t you ever heard of Type 2 diabetes? Don’t you realize how much money this is going to cost society down the line? Won’t someone please think of the children?

So, before I start getting comments like that, I want to lay out ten principles that underlie pretty much everything I write about fat and health.

1. Weight itself is not a health problem, except in the most extreme cases (i.e., being underweight or so fat you’re immobilized). In fact, fat people live longer than thin people and are more likely to survive cardiac events, and some studies have shown that fat can protect against “infections, cancer, lung disease, heart disease, osteoporosis, anemia, high blood pressure, rheumatoid arthritis and type 2 diabetes.” Yeah, you read that right: even the goddamned diabetes. Now, I’m not saying we should all go out and get fat for our health (which we wouldn’t be able to do anyway, because no one knows how to make a naturally thin person fat any more than they know how to make a naturally fat person thin; see point 4), but I’m definitely saying obesity research is turning up surprising information all the time — much of which goes ignored by the media — and people who give a damn about critical thinking would be foolish to accept the party line on fat. Just because you’ve heard over and over and over that fat! kills! doesn’t mean it’s true. It just means that people in this culture really love saying it.
Read in full: Don't You Realize...

Eating Disorder Recovery: From Inpatient Treatment To Life
Margarita Tartakovsky

I’m thrilled to publish today’s guest post by Elizabeth Short. Just recently Elizabeth shared her story of recovery and resiliency here at Weightless (part 1 and part 2). Currently, she’s a Masters student in Counseling at The University of New Orleans, and writes the blog Fiding Hope.. Elizabeth is also in the process of writing a memoir about her recovery. I love that Elizabeth is reaching out to others with her positive and hopeful message, and I love her guest post. It’s raw, insightful, brave and beautifully written. Plus, it offers really valuable advice. And I can’t say enough great things about it. I’m so grateful to her for sharing this with us.

Inpatient treatment for eating disorders: Locked bathrooms. Staff watching your every move, including time in the bathroom. Meals and snacks are closely monitored. No shoelaces, tweezers, coffee, gum or mouthwash. 6 a.m. weigh-ins. Room searches. Individual and/or group therapy all day long.

Sounds a little like prison to some, but for me, it was safety. It meant I couldn’t restrict my intake or purge after eating. I couldn’t use laxatives or diet pills. I couldn’t weigh myself 50 times a day. I couldn’t stay isolated in my house for days at a time.
Read in full: From Inpatient Treatment To Life

Watch It
Happy Bodies

The other night, when refusing a second helping at a dinner party, a guy said: “None for me, I’m watching my figure.”

We all laughed.

What a silly thought, a guy, who’s young and looks fit, dieting? Ridiculous. And yet this is just expected for so many people. So often people who are read as fat (and therefore automatically unhealthy) are subjected to judgements and unwanted advice: if you only ate a little less, worked out a little more, watched your figure, you could look young and fit too!

This comment struck me particularly because I’m reading two book right now (by white men) where major female characters are made into joke figures because of their weight. While the eating habits and fitness of other characters are not chronicled, paragraphs are dedicated to Lizzyboo stopping for ice cream before dinner and every time Vera moves across a scene her jiggles or heavy breathing are remarked upon. The joke is not just fat = funny (which it isn’t) but also how stupid these women are! If she didn’t have those extra snacks she wouldn’t be such a fattie! Silly Vera, always going on binges after diets and gaining the weight back. They make it character flaw that they are fat. A flaw that they don’t know how to properly watch their figures.

A study came out recently that reported that when Forty dietetics and health promotion students enrolled in a university obesity course followed a a calorie restricted diet (1,200 calories for women and 1,500 calories for men) for just one week their was a significant change in their fat-phobias. It makes sense that once these future dietitians and health professionals realized how high the expectations were of their fat patients they would become more sympathetic. It so easy to look at someone else and think you know what is best for them, but in actuality, individuals are in the best position to make choices about their lives and bodies. Even doctors trained to take care of our health can be subject to fat-phobia, and take it out on their patients.
Read in full: Watch It

Reboot
Defining Wellness

I’m proud to say I’m an optimist. Even when I’m feeling stressed, anxious or upset, and even when I’ve felt so low that I couldn’t summon the strength to get out of bed, there’s always been that voice inside of me that says, “It WILL get better. There IS hope.”
And I don’t just feel that hope for myself. I feel that hope for anyone who needs it. I believe that we all have the power to be thankful for what we have even in the midst of sadness, to take the necessary steps to make life better.
But even with this optimistic attitude, there are times when I get in a funk. I wake up and feel anxious and think, “Huh, where’d that come from?” Or I get in some kind of existential rut and I obsess about my place in the world. Or eating disorder symptoms re-emerge and I think, “You again? I thought I folded you up, packed you in a box, and buried you in a bottomless pit.”
It’s at times like these that I use that optimistic energy within me to reboot.
In a recent post, I discussed my desire to plan less . . . do more . . . NOW.
When I get in a funk, that’s half of the solution. Stop thinking about everything that’s going wrong and start living.
Read in full: Reboot

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Eating Disorders In The News: August 2010

Judge OKs $55K Anorexia Bullying Settlement in Pa.

PITTSBURGH — A federal judge on Wednesday approved letting Pittsburgh Public Schools pay $55,000 to settle what's believed to be a first-of-its-kind lawsuit by a woman who claims her daughter was bullied into anorexia - even though the plaintiffs now feel slighted.

The 37-year-old woman identified only as "Mary V." in court documents, and her daughter, now 15, sued last August over harassment by boys during the 2006-07 and 2007-08 school years, when the girl was in sixth and seventh grade.

The girl's mother now pays about $6,000 a year for the girl to attend private school, attorney Edward Olds told U.S. District Judge Donetta Ambrose on Wednesday. That tuition was apparently part of the reason the woman and her daughter were upset that the judge enforced a settlement agreement signed in May after a five-hour mediation session.
Read in full: Anorexia Bullying Settlement

Why Airbrushing of FashionPhotos is so Dangerous

WITH impossibly thin waistlines, they have been airbrushed to perfection.

Photographs of waif-like celebrities and models are impossible to escape as they stare out from magazine covers or TV adverts.

Now two young women from Hampshire battling anorexia and bulimia have spoken out to back a new campaign to make sure altered images are labelled.

Girlguiding UK has called for the coalition Government to force the media to take the measures to protect young women.

It says its research shows half of 16- to 21-year-old girls consider having surgery to change the way they look, with 42 per cent of 11- to 16-year-olds admitting to watching what they eat.
Read in full: Airbrushing Dangerous

Gaga's Battles With Bulimia

She’s big news. Named on Time Magazine’s list of most influential people in the world and seller of 5 million albums and over 40 million singles worldwide, Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta, better known as Lady Gaga, has made news yet again: by talking about her struggles with bulimia. This month’s Vanity Fair cover story details the exploits of pop diva Gaga, including her eating disorder.

Gaga follows a long list of celebrities who have had eating disorders, including Alanis Morissette, Amy Winehouse, Renee Zellweger, Elton John and Karen Carpenter. Celebrities are under tremendous image pressure -- pressure to be thin and fashionable. Gaga was inspired by glam artists Madonna and David Bowie who meld their music with artistry based on clothing, makeup and hair. Gaga is considered a fashion trailblazer, and receives as much attention for her appearance as she does her often synthesized music.
Read in full: Gaga's Battles Bulmia

The Unattainable Lightness of Being: Eating Disorder Madness

Is someone you know on a diet? Probably. Because just about everyone is on a diet, or at least watching their weight, or their carbs or their intake of fats and sugars. But when does normal moderation become not so normal? Is it when you start to see the outlines of ribs and bones that weren't there before? The situation doesn't have to become that extreme for someone to be suffering from an eating disorder. Over 5 million people in the United States have an eating disorder, and the majority are female. But the number is probably higher since so many cases go unreported.

We know the main names: anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa. But what many people may not know is how dangerous, debilitating and potentially fatal eating disorders can be. Patients with anorexia nervosa have a disturbed body image, an intense fear of gaining weight and pursue being thin at all costs. They are unwilling to maintain a healthy weight. Bulimia is characterized by episodes of compulsive eating, then purging through vomiting, excessive use of laxatives or diuretics fasting, and excessive exercise. With anorexia, bulimia or other eating disorders not otherwise specified, sometimes referred to as EDNOS, extremely disturbed eating behavior becomes a viable method of altering a perceived (and usually distorted) negative body image.

The Health Risks of Eating Disorders
While it is true that eating disorders are usually, but not always, curable medical illnesses, their underlying causes are so varied and complex, they can be extremely challenging to treat. They have been found to recur within families, can result from disturbances in the central nervous system and are often associated with temperamental features like perfectionism, low self-esteem or an extreme need for control. Those with eating disorders often display other psychiatric illnesses like clinical depression, obsessive compulsive disorder, substance abuse or anxiety disorder.
Read in full: Eating Disorder Madness

Local Girl Speaks Out About Eating Disorders

COLUMBUS, Ohio --A local girl is speaking out about her six-year battle with an eating disorder and said that as college students head back to campus, now may be the time to have a tough conversation.

Julia Weisenborn is a born runner, born competitor, and surviving an eating disorder.

"It becomes very addicting and a lot of times, it's a control thing," she said.

Weisenborn was a student at Ohio University enjoying time with her friends, medaling at cross country meets and playing a dangerous game with her weight to become more competitive.

"The worst point was just after my 20th birthday. I was performing the best but I was at the lowest body weight I'd ever been…close to 80 pounds and my body just gave out," she said.

Weisenborn said she had simply stopped eating.

"I spent a night in cardiac wing and that's when I realized I needed help," she said.
Read in full: Local Girl Speaks Out

Mary-Kate Olson: Childhood Acting, Anorexia Not Enough To Regret $100M Net Worth

Mary-Kate Olson says she's happy and healthy after her battle with anorexia. While she says she's happy in her day job now, she looks back and feels "bittersweet" sorrow for her childhood days.

Working as a child actress as the adored "Michelle" on Full House, Mary-Kate says looking back she felt like a workhorse.

"Little monkey performers," Mary-Kate said of her past in the recent interview as Marie Claire's covergirl. "I look at old photos of me, and I don't feel connected to them at all".
Read in full: Mary-Kate Olson

What Parents Can Do About Anorexia

Regarding the Aug. 1 article, "Wrenching Question Haunts Family After Death of Athlete, 16, from Complication of Anorexia," on the tragic death of Kingsley's Krista Phelps from anorexia:

I know her parents' sorrow. We lost a daughter who just wanted to shed 50 pounds too quickly - for her 20th high school reunion. Margaret leaned too hard on DIEuretics (aptly named) and appetite suppressants.

In just three months since Christmas when we last saw her, she had almost achieved her goal. It was to be a surprise. She did not tell us, so we could not make her more aware of the dangers of fast dieting using pills.

More books need to be written; more articles need to be read that will help teens return to the saving path of moderation. Too many kids equate moderation with mediocrity.
Read in full: What Parents Can Do

Recovery Quote Of The Week: August 2nd, 2010

Challenges come so we can grow and be prepared for things we are not equipped to handle right now. When we face our challenges with faith, prepared to learn, willing to make changes, and if necessary, to let go we are demanding our power be turned on.
Iyanla Vanzant

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Love Yourself: Self-Esteem Affirmations

See also:
Using Affirmations
Self-Worth: The Unconditional Love of Self
Self-Esteem Tests

Self Love Quotes
Self Worth Quotes
Self Empowerment Quotes

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I Am Stronger Than Ever And I Am Going To Beat This

Dear Eating Disorder,

I’m writing to say how much I hate you and how much I want you out of my life. I hate the way that you make me feel and I hate the control you have over me. You make me feel like such a failure. You make me feel like I am so out of control. You make me think such bad things about myself, and you make me feel so hopeless and worthless. I hate always wishing to be thin. You always make me feel so incredibly fat, even when I am so underweight I have to be put in the hospital. I hate feeling like I constantly have to compare myself to everyone that I see. I feel like I am striving to be perfect, but nothing I do is ever good enough. I never want to hear your voice again. It is so difficult trying to go through life with your voice always nagging me in my head. I HATE YOU, I really do. Every single thought that goes through my mind is that I’m not good enough, skinny enough, pretty enough, or smart enough. I’ve dealt with you for over seven years now, and it has been the longest seven years of my life.

When I was little, I had no friends, no social life, and no fun. I always tried to keep a smile on my face, even though deep down inside, I was hurting so badly. I wanted to be beautiful, like all the models and actresses. I wanted to be thin so badly that I would rather die than be fat. You told me that I was being strong by not eating. I have never cheated, lied, or hurt anyone more than I have when I was with you. I have hurt my entire family and all of my friends. I have pushed people away when I needed them the most. You ruined my life and you were the worst thing that ever happened to me.

I thought I was doing the right thing, by restricting, purging, exercising, cutting, taking diet pills, laxatives, diuretics, anything that I could get my hands on. I thought I was doing something good by losing weight and hurting my body. I now realize how wrong I was by thinking that. I thought that by becoming thin, I would become happy; that was the biggest lie you have ever told me. I lost so much weight, and I was so unhappy. You hurt me so much. I wanted to feel pretty, to be popular, and have a lot of friends. I wanted to make the perfect grades, get accepted to the best college, and to impress everyone I knew. I wanted people to think, “That girl has it all.” I felt like I needed you most of my life.

You were my only friend that I could turn to, when no one else was there. When my life was falling apart, or something bad happened, you were always there to bring me back up. You were constantly there by my side through everything. You gave me comfort and control, and that’s what I wanted. It is so hard to let go of you, because you were my best friend. I have to be strong now and let go. You have made it so hard to get close to people. I feel like I don’t deserve anything anymore. You took away my life from me and now I want it back. You took away my friends, my faith, my family, my happiness, and you filled it with self-hatred, depression, and sadness. You took away every good opportunity in my life that I had. I couldn’t do anything anymore because I was so worn out over you.

I want to get rid of you completely. I have felt a little taste of life without you, and I was never happier. I smiled and laughed so hard when you weren’t in my life. Once everything seems to be okay, and in its place, you keep coming back into my life and taking everything from me again. You tore me to pieces. Every night that I cried myself to sleep, I was in so much pain, and I just wanted you to stop coming into my life and telling me all these negative things. I want you to stop, and never come back again. I am finally starting to let go of you, and let other people back in my life. People need me, and I need them more than ever. I have Jesus in my life, and He has helped me more than you ever did. I don’t need you anymore, and I never will. You have been in my life for way too long, and I don’t want to hear your voice in my head again ever.

I am drawing a line between us, and you may try to cross it multiple times, but I will never let you. God has shown me what great things I can do and I completely trust Him now. No matter how hard you try, I will never let you back into my life. You destroyed me, and I cannot be destroyed ever again. You may try to feed me lies and let me try to think awful things again, but I won’t believe you. I am better than this. I am trying to become a better person. I am starting to like who I am. It takes work, but I am really trying. I am so much better than what you ever told me. I realized that if I am going to be happy, then I need to be healthy, and I am not becoming your version of happy anymore. I need to end this now. I would like to say thank you though, because you have made me such a stronger person, and I can see reality now. I am so much happier without you, and I am so much closer to God than I was ever before, so thank you for that. You have made me realize who I want to be. Although those are good things, the bad you have shown me outweigh the good.

I am such a better person than this, and I realize that now. I hope and pray every day that you will never come back into my life. Please stay away from me. I am stronger than ever, and I am going to beat this. I am such a better person now and I couldn’t be happier.

Caitlyn Moore

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