An Exclusive Interview with Shalen Lowell, Author of the Debut Novel Gender Optics
January 15, 2021 by Robyn Hussa Farrell
Filed under Body Image, Eating Disorders, Empowerment, Featured, Finding Your Voice, Freedom, LGBT, Loving Your Body, Self Esteem, Self-Acceptance, Self-Care, Self-Compassion, Social Justice, Writing and Poetry
Shalen Lowell(they/them) is a transgender and genderfluid author, blogger, and poet originally from Woburn, Massachusetts, who now resides in Southern Maine. They specialize in fiction that represents the intersection of fantasy and postmodern genres and queer literature, with particular emphasis on illustrating, highlighting, and validating the lives, struggles, and experiences of nonbinary and gender nonconforming […]
An Exclusive Interview with Celebrated Novelist Patricia Leavy about Twinkle
December 27, 2020 by Robyn Hussa Farrell
Filed under Body Image, Depression, Empowerment, Featured, Finding Your Voice, PTSD, Self Esteem, Self-Acceptance, Self-Care, Self-Compassion, Social Justice, Writing and Poetry
Patricia Leavy, Ph.D. is an independent sociologist and best-selling author. She has published over 30 books, earning critical and commercial success in both nonfiction and fiction, and her work has been translated into numerous languages. She is also the creator and editor for ten book series with Oxford University Press, Brill/Sense, and Guilford Press, the […]
An Exclusive Interview with Renowned Novelist Patricia Leavy about Shooting Stars
July 5, 2020 by Patricia Leavy
Filed under Activism, Body Image, Empowerment, Featured, Finding Your Voice, Healthy Communication, Self Esteem, Self-Acceptance, Self-Care, Self-Compassion, Social Justice, Wellness, Writing and Poetry
Patricia Leavy, Ph.D., is an independent sociologist and best-selling author. She has published over 30 books, earning critical and commercial success in both nonfiction and fiction, and her work has been translated into numerous languages. She is also the creator and editor for ten book series with Oxford University Press, Brill/Sense, and Guilford Press, the […]
Patricia Leavy on Her Highly-Anticipated Novel, Film
November 10, 2019 by Robyn Hussa Farrell
Filed under Activism, Activism, Advocacy, Body Image, Empowerment, Featured, Finding Your Voice, Healthy Communication, Loving Your Body, Media Literacy, Politics, Role Models, Self Esteem, Self-Acceptance, Self-Care, Self-Compassion, Social Justice, Wellness
Patricia Leavy, Ph.D. is an independent sociologist and best-selling author. She has published over 25 books, earning critical and commercial success in both nonfiction and fiction, with over one million copies in equivalent sales. Her work has been translated into numerous languages. She is also the creator and editor for eight book series with Oxford […]
Patricia Leavy on her Ground-Breaking Novel Spark
March 2, 2019 by Robyn Hussa Farrell
Filed under Activism, Activism, Advocacy, Body Image, Empowerment, Expressive Arts, Expressive Arts Therapies, Featured, Loving Your Body, Media Literacy, Politics, Prevention, Recovery, Role Models, Self Esteem, Self-Acceptance, Self-Care, Self-Compassion
We sat down with Dr. Leavy to learn all about her new novel, Spark. Here’s the interview! Patricia Leavy, Ph.D. is an independent sociologist and best-selling author. She has published twenty-six books, earning critical and commercial success in both nonfiction and fiction, a rare feat by any author. Her work has been translated into numerous […]
Phenomenal Women: A Portrait Gallery of Role Models by Robyn Hussa Farrell
May 28, 2018 by Robyn Hussa Farrell
Filed under Activism, Activism, Advocacy, Art Therapy, Body Image, Creative Art, Empowerment, Expressive Arts, Expressive Arts Therapies, Featured, Finding Your Voice, Healthy Communication, Healthy Communication, Healthy Coping, Livin in the Moment, Media Literacy, Mindfulness, Moms & Sisters, Politics, Prevention, Role Models, Self Esteem, Self-Acceptance, Self-Care, Self-Compassion, Sharing Feelings, Social Justice, Spirituality, Stress Management, Treatment, Wellness, Wellness, Writing and Poetry
In celebration of the 10th year of this empowerment blog site, #RealDeal Editor, Robyn Hussa Farrell, shares this “gallery of role models” and fierce women leaders. Each of the below paintings were created while reflecting on the abundance of women role models in my life. In honor and celebration of each of them, I wanted […]
What If You Never Lose the Weight?
February 4, 2018 by Karen R. Koenig
Filed under Binge Eating, Body Image, Disordered Eating, Fat Acceptance, Loving Your Body, Obesity, Recovery, Self-Acceptance, Self-Care, Self-Compassion, Weight Stigma
A topic that has cropped up with clients recently is the question of what to do if they keep trying to eat more healthfully, exercise and take better care of their bodies and still don’t lose weight. Clients dance around this question and I suspect I do too at times. They want reassurance that if […]
How to Calm Your Brain
June 7, 2017 by Karen R. Koenig
Filed under Anxiety, Binge Eating, Body Image, Disordered Eating, Empowerment, Healthy Coping, Males with Eating Disorders, OCD, PTSD, Recovery, Self-Compassion, Self-Harm, Stress Management
I was looking through notes I took at a workshop I attended last year on “Calming An Overactive Brain,” and found some ideas which speak directly to why it’s difficult for dysregulated eaters to not reach for food when they’re in internal distress. My hope is that by understanding what goes on in your brain […]
What Are We Really Afraid of in Becoming Fat?
December 7, 2016 by Karen R. Koenig
Filed under Advocacy, Body Dysmorphia, Body Image, Empowerment, Fat Acceptance, Fat Talk, Featured, Finding Your Voice, Loving Your Body, Obesity, Self-Acceptance, Self-Care, Self-Compassion
When clients talk about not wanting to be “fat” or become “fat,” I ask them what exactly that means to them. What images do they conjure up, what do those images say about them and the society we live in, and what is having a “fat” body all about for them, whatever their current weight? […]
Critical Fat Care: Recovering from a Concussion
March 31, 2016 by Angela Mensah
Filed under Activism, Advocacy, Body Image, Bullying, Empowerment, Fat Acceptance, Healthy Communication, Politics, Self-Care, Self-Compassion, Weight Stigma, Wellness
When you get into a car accident and you are Fat, a Woman and African American of Slave Decent, your experience is unique, to say the least. I still and always will believe that my life experiences as a Fat person, outweigh those of being a Black Woman. This could be different for other black […]