Announcing Binge Eating Disorder Week, May 27-31

Hopeless…desperate…defeated…disgusted…guilty…ashamed These are the words with which I open an article I wrote explaining binge eating disorder (BED), as part of the upcoming BED week, May 27-31. These words describe the difficult feelings that plague those who struggle with BED.  And the feelings can go much deeper than that, to increase risk for depression and [...]

What Does it Mean to be Healthy?

My clients often talk about how they perceive health and what classifies them or someone else as healthy or unhealthy. More often than not, when my clients describe health, they describe a state of physical health (or anything that has to do with our physical entity or our bodies). As they continue their explanation, they [...]

Body Mass Ineptitude

A number of states have already implemented body mass index, or BMI, testing in schools. When Michelle Obama launched her “Let’s Move!” campaign, she proudly noted that they were partnering with the American Academy of Pediatrics to work on BMI testing. Use of the BMI has become so commonplace that I don’t think most people [...]

Co-dependency in Eating Disorders Caregiving

There is often a fine line between being a supportive parent or caregiver of a person with an eating disorder, and experiencing co-dependency in eating disorders caregiving. Melody Beattie’s definitions of co-dependency are by far my favorite.  She has a few versions listed on, Challenges Recovery Communications Network,  that help to clarify what she means [...]

Introducing the Womanifesto

Marsha Hudnall, MS, RD, CD, is the owner of Green Mountain at Fox Run, a pioneering healthy weight retreat for women.  Green Mountain has been working for 40 years now to help women stop dieting and change their focus from their weight to living their lives fully, and achieve health and happiness in the process. [...]

Eating Disorders Relapse Does Not Equal Failure

Professionals tell us, “Relapse is a normal part of recovery, and that it should be expected.”  While this statement may not provide much comfort initially to caregivers and parents, it does depict the reality of an eating disorder and can provide peace when relapse does happen.  Many sufferers feel as though they have failed if [...]

Bodies Die But Connect Spirits Forever

My birthday has never been celebrated in the traditional sense because there was always a Lent and Easter celebration. I suppose as a child I felt left out but as an adult my birthday is meaningful in a non traditional way. A long time ago I started a tradition of giving my mother a gift [...]

Coping with FEAR

We all have fear, it’s how we as a species has survived this long. Our amygdala or “Reptile Brain” as this is often referred to, keeps us safe with the amazing ‘fight or flight’ response.  It can also keep us STUCK when we react out of fear.  Coping with fear is something all of us [...]

Paying It Forward

The Spring Lobby Day with the Eating Disorders Coalition (EDC) is coming up, and it’s got me reflecting on how I got involved as an activist, writer, and advocate. In 2007, a friend was trying to organize an event for Eating Disorder Awareness Week, and she was trying to get guest speakers to come and [...]

can pregnancy trigger an old eating disorder?

Ask the expert: I recovered from an eating disorder but worry pregnancy could trigger it. How can I prevent that? by Jodi Rubin, ACSW, LCSW (reprinted with permission from Seleni Institute, a nonprofit organization based in New York City that provides care, information and research support central to women’s reproductive and maternal mental health and well-being.) [...]

Next Page »