Posts Tagged ‘Anorexia’
Studying the impact of personality traits in people with eating disorders
From a clinical and research perspective, Eating Disorders (EDs) are interesting, almost unique, in that despite not wanting to have an ED, many people continue to engage in behaviour that can be dangerous and even deadly. More concerning is that..
Hanging up the bikini: why I quit fitness competitions
In October 2014, at age 31, I achieved the award that marked the pinnacle of my fitness competition career: the coveted Bikini Athlete Pro Card. Standing onstage in a Hertfordshire theatre, smiling for the winner’s photographs, I appeared the epitome..
Mistakes are valuable lessons in eating disorder recovery
I became a champion mistake-maker when healing from my eating disorder (ED). This trial and error period occurred during a complete, internal makeover. I was exploring a new frontier, a whole new set of challenges that would lead me to..
The Role of Faith in Recovery: A Personal Journey
Theodicy. The word flashed across my mind as I sat motionless among my fellow clients at my first eating disorder treatment center. Three years prior, I had written my final college essay on this term, seeking to answer the universal..
How motherhood inspired this dancer to heal from her eating disorder
“I HAD an eating disorder.” This sentence has left my mouth frequently over the past two decades. I was 19-years-old when diagnosed with an eating disorder (ED). At the time, I had no idea that cutting out refined sugar and..
Swapping one obsession for another- the dangers of obsessive exercise in recovery
‘I swapped one form of control for another, exercise became my way to suppress emotions, to sculpt my body, it prevented me from reaching full recovery.’ If you scroll through social media, or read recovery stories about anorexia online, you..
Through sharing our stories, we can help beat eating disorders
In 2015, I almost lost my life to anorexia, and now I want to be an eating disorder and mental health campaigner. I want to help prevent others from having to go through the same struggle. The day I decided..
How research into eating disorders has changed my life
One thing that springs to mind when I think of researchers and scientists is their love of a good acronym. As a woman in her thirties, two acronyms in particular hold a deep meaning for me: the Anorexia Nervosa Genetics..
The evolution of a diary into a self-healer
My first diary was a Christmas gift in 1962, the same year I developed anorexia nervosa. I was 11 years old. The diary and I bonded immediately and diary-writing has been part of my life every day since. The entry..
Protecting Our Kids from Diet Culture
From the moment we’re born, we are exposed to this constant idea that thin is good, and fat is bad. In an increasingly health conscious society, we’re pounded with messages about the health dangers of the “obesity epidemic”, and simultaneously..