Stop Measuring Everything Against Perfect

Perfect—what a seductive word it is. And what a lie it represents. And what pain it causes. I wish I had a dollar for every time a client says, “Well, my eating isn’t perfect, but…” or “It’s not a perfect relationship, but…” Tell me, why must anything be perfect? Why would we expect it to […]

True Grit and “Normal” Eating

When I say “true grit,” I’m not referring to the movie of the same name. I’m talking about a quality that is essential to success which many dysregulated eaters need to cultivate. Although I haven’t read the book, Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance by Angela Duckworth, I did read about it in an […]

Candid interview with Joanna Poppink, MFT, eating disorder recovery psychotherapist

This profile of Joanna Poppink was published as part of Revlon’s “Love is On” 2016 Million Dollar Challenge, which highlighted inspiring change makers around the world and raised money for select charities. written by Jonah Weiss You can describe Joanna Poppink in different ways — therapist, author, naturalist, essayist — but they’re all aspects of […]

Making Meaning of Lack of Success

Dysregulated eaters often feel like failures because they haven’t lost weight, kept it off, stopped bingeing/overeating/mindless eating, quit obsessing about the number on the scale, or have yet to establish “normal” eating patterns. They feel like failures and tell themselves that they’ll never succeed, and this focus reduces the likelihood of moving forward and increases […]

To Say Or Not To Say.. That is The Question?

                                        “Understanding is the first step to acceptance, and only with acceptance can there be recovery.”  Working in the field of addiction and eating disorders, as well as being in eating disorder recovery myself, I have […]

How Not to Recover from Your Eating Disorder

Many people don’t recover from dysregulated eating because they insist on doing things exactly as they always have done them and can’t seem to break out of that rut. My hope is that writing about what to do in order to stay stuck might actually help you get unstuck. Toward that goal, here are 10 […]

Which Stage of Change Are You In?

Most of us probably were raised to believe that if you want to change, you simply need to try hard enough and you will. In some circumstances, that can be true. Pushing yourself a wee bit more can sometimes initiate or accelerate change. But most of the time that we say we want to change, […]

Maintaining a Stable Sense of Self

Many dysregulated eaters find it difficult to keep a stable sense of self at all times, that is, to hold a core, positive regard for themselves that is undeniable and unwavering—no matter what. With an unstable sense of self, you feel fantastic about yourself when you’ve done well or when people like and praise you, […]

Are Scare Tactics Causing More Harm Than Good?

How to live in a processed world and make right choices. Do scare tactics work? I know the new documentary Fed Up declares that scare tactics have worked for decreasing tobacco sales. Personally, I worry that scare tactics will actually contribute to more fat shaming, diet shaming and finger pointing. I was really surprised that […]

Childhood Anorexia and P.A.N.D.A.S. – A Missing Link?

New evidence suggests some cases of childhood anorexia nervosa may be caused by a treatable syndrome called PANDAS (Pediatric Autoimmune Neuropsychiatric Disorders Associated with Streptococcal Infections). When I started researching PANDAS I came upon hundreds of stories of healing. Some were heartbreaking to read and learn what the children and families went through. But most end with […]

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