Emotional Pain Cannot Be Killed

A recent NY Times article stated that “Drug overdose fatalities in New York City tripled between 1990 and 2006, a new study reports, and most of the increase came from the growing abuse of prescription pain medicines.” These statistics simply reinforce what we already know anecdotally: medications designed to alleviate physical pain are increasingly being [...]

“Rape is not a recreational activity.”

The quote in the title comes from Ohio’s attorney general, Mike DeWine, and my new hero.  He’s referring to the Steubenville horror where two athletes raped a 16 year old girl who was so drunk she didn’t know she was raped  until she saw pictures and verbal descriptions in the social media posted by at [...]

The Complexity of Wanting

I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do, I do not do, but what I hate, I do. St. Paul, Romans 7:15, New International Version How many times have you found yourself in a state of wanting what you don’t want to be wanting? Too many to count? Welcome to [...]

10 Things You Can Do to Promote Eating Disorder Awareness

In support of Eating Disorder Awareness month across the nation, we compiled a list of 10 things you can do in your own community. 1.  Circulate this sheet about Disordered Eating and Living to your friends and help CHANGE the norm in our culture away from disordered lifestyles!  Most importantly, know the Warning Signs that signal [...]

Welcome your humanity

  “Some things you must always be unable to bear. Injustice and outrage and dishonor and shame. Not for kudos and not for cash — Just refuse to bear them.” William Faulkner. Blog this!Bookmark on DeliciousDigg this postRecommend on FacebookShare on LinkedinShare on Posterousshare via RedditShare with StumblersShare on technoratiTumblr itTweet about itSubscribe to the [...]

New Program to Educate Coaches and Trainers About Disordered Eating, Exercise Addiction and Optimal Health

NORMAL is proud to announce our collaboration with Harvard School of Public Health STRIPED program in creating the Think.Eat.Play program to educate coaches and trainers about optimal health for female athletes.  Think.Eat.Play will raise awareness about healthy body image, stress-management, disordered eating, eating disorders, exercise addiction, female athlete triad, effective sport’s nutrition and the dangers [...]

addiction & mindfulness

There are layers of emotional pain that underlie addiction. Thus, recovery from addiction requires that we learn to manage and deal effectively (i.e. in healthy and growthful ways) with emotional pain, rather than trying to numb ourselves or escape from it via addictive substances/activities. Let’s pause for a moment to think about and reflect on [...]

How Long Does Recovery Take?

The question that arises perhaps more often than any other as I treat clients or on my Food and Feelings message board is how long it will take to recover from disregulated eating. Although it feels far too glib to reply to such an earnest inquiry that it takes as long as it takes, that’s [...]

deciding to live consciously and creatively

Effective therapy in NYC and beyond is about helping people create new realities in their lives—internally AND externally. And creating new realities starts with a decision to participate consciously and creatively in the present moment. Deciding to step into a conscious/creative mindset is so subtle as to almost be unrecognizable as an action that we [...]

Thoughts on mental health

Updated and graciously re-posted from Gürze Publications: In the San Francisco Chronicle there was an article by Martha Woodruff titled, “Let’s treat addiction like the disease it is.” Ms. Woodruff was writing about an HBO executive who was seeking treatment for a substance abuse relapse. Woodruff asked, “When is this country going to relax its [...]

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