The debate over whether someone can fully recover from an eating disorder continues to rage on...Some prominent leaders in the eating disorder treatment community are adament that one call fully recover.........as in RECOVERED. As for me, I am not sure what I believe... In my own recovery from an eating disorder I can say that I am around 95% recovered, and that is after working on becoming healthy for about 25 years.....It has truly been a 2 steps forward, 1 step backward process of improvement over the years. Sometimes, seeming like it would never end. However, just hanging in there, and going back to the recovery tools that I know work for me has been my saving grace.....
What do you think? Is it possible to fully recover?
Sunday, October 28, 2007
Tuesday, September 25, 2007
Tuesday, May 08, 2007
Death By Anorexia
A colleague of mine, who has specialized in the field of eating
disorder treatment, recently lost a client to anorexia The client was
a woman in her mid-30’s who had been through 6 inpatient treatment
centers and engaged in outpatient eating disorder treatment with a
team of a psychologist, nutritionist, cardiologist, and physician.
She also struggled with alcoholism and attended AA periodically.
It appears that the cause of death was heart failure. This young woman
lived a very isolated life and was not discovered dead in her home
until a week after her death. She had a family that was able to
provide her a very comfortable lifestyle and financial security. She
was smart, attractive and kind.
I know we have all seen cases like this over and over again. In
hindsight, it is apparent that even with the best of care, this woman
simply could not choose recovery over her anorexia. She was a strong
woman; full of discipline…I do not fault her for lack of
determination…but rather am sad to acknowledge we do not yet know
enough of the physiological/neurological causes of eating disorders.
This woman’s death is a tragic loss. However, we will continue to
research and uncover the genetic, environmental, familial and social
factors that contribute to eating disorders.
I take my sadness over this loss and use it to fuel my passion to
continue to explore and promote eating disorder recovery.
Please share any other known deaths by eating disorders here. Perhaps a site visitor will read it as a wake up call, and hopefully those who have lost a loved one or patient
to an eating disorder will find comfort in knowing they are not alone.
Jacquelyn Ekern, MS
www.EatingDisorderHope.com
disorder treatment, recently lost a client to anorexia The client was
a woman in her mid-30’s who had been through 6 inpatient treatment
centers and engaged in outpatient eating disorder treatment with a
team of a psychologist, nutritionist, cardiologist, and physician.
She also struggled with alcoholism and attended AA periodically.
It appears that the cause of death was heart failure. This young woman
lived a very isolated life and was not discovered dead in her home
until a week after her death. She had a family that was able to
provide her a very comfortable lifestyle and financial security. She
was smart, attractive and kind.
I know we have all seen cases like this over and over again. In
hindsight, it is apparent that even with the best of care, this woman
simply could not choose recovery over her anorexia. She was a strong
woman; full of discipline…I do not fault her for lack of
determination…but rather am sad to acknowledge we do not yet know
enough of the physiological/neurological causes of eating disorders.
This woman’s death is a tragic loss. However, we will continue to
research and uncover the genetic, environmental, familial and social
factors that contribute to eating disorders.
I take my sadness over this loss and use it to fuel my passion to
continue to explore and promote eating disorder recovery.
Please share any other known deaths by eating disorders here. Perhaps a site visitor will read it as a wake up call, and hopefully those who have lost a loved one or patient
to an eating disorder will find comfort in knowing they are not alone.
Jacquelyn Ekern, MS
www.EatingDisorderHope.com
Monday, March 19, 2007
Educational Training
A quick FYI about a great opportunity for motivating ourselves and our clients to realize our goals, ed recovery and experience lasting change. One of our Hope Club members, Dr. David Krueger, is leading an exciting class by telephone regarding:
Apply exercises and work tools that systematically guide action steps for change.
Use new research from psychology and neuroscience to implement changes of belief, behavior, and performance.
Address the common yet elusive challenges and obstacles to achievement.
Discover the neuroscience of "The Secret" applied to Writing a New Life Story.
A Teleseminar series led by David Krueger MD.
Designed for those who are ready for significant life change.
- Learn the guided system of success to transform a life story
- Apply the proven Live A New Life Story ROAD MAP™ program
- Receive the Live A New Life Story Workbook™ and New Life Story Glossary™
Three weekly Teleseminars beginning March 20, 2007
www.NewLifeStoryCoaching.com for information and registration:
- Live a New Life Story™ Teleseminar
- Live a New Life Story™ Group Coaching
Free Special Report: LIVE A NEW LIFE STORY™ Mentoring Life Story Changes
Tuesday, January 16, 2007
Academy of Eating Disorders Releases Guidelines for the Fashion Industry
Here are the AED proposed guidelines for the fashion industry. What do you think???
* Adoption of an age threshold requiring that models be at least 16years of age so as to reduce the pressure that adolescent girls feel toconform to the ultra-thin standard of female beauty.
* For women and men over the age of 18, adoption of a minimum bodymass index threshold of 18.5 kg/m2, (e.g., a female model who is 5' 9" [1.75m] must weigh more than 126 pounds [56.6 kg]) which recognizes that weightbelow this is considered underweight by the World Health Organization.
* For female and male models between the ages of 16 and 18, adoptionof a minimum body mass index for age and sex equivalent to the 10th BMIpercentile for age and sex (weight below this is considered underweight bythe Centers for Disease Control). For example, applying this criterion to a16 year old female model, the minimum required body mass index would be 17.4kg/m2, for a male model 17.7 kg/m2. A 16 year old female model who is 5' 9"[1.75 m] must weigh more than 118 pounds [53.3 kg].
* Adoption of an independent medical certification affirming thatstudents who are aspiring models do not suffer from an eating disorderand/or related medical complications (see below).
* Development of action steps to identify models in need of intervention and appropriate and sensitive procedures for detection andreferral.
* Discouragement of all non-healthy weight control behaviorsthroughout the industry (e.g., self-induced vomiting, use of laxatives,diuretics and diet pills). Increased educational initiatives aimed atstudent models and professional models, their agents and employers to reducethe multiple health risks of various unhealthy weight control behaviors.
* Provision of educational initiatives aimed at aspiring and workingstudent models, professional models, their agents and employers to raiseawareness of the multiple health risks of low weight and restrictednutritional intake. These health risks include irregularity or cessation ofmenses, bradycardia (low heart rate)/irregular heart beat, electrolyteimbalances, dizziness/fainting spells, sudden cardiac death and long termhealth complications including osteoporosis, depression, and reproductivecomplications.
* Increased communication with advertising agencies to encourage theuse of age-appropriate, realistic models in ad campaigns and reduction ofunrealistic computer enhancement in pre-teen and adolescent advertisingcampaigns.
* An overall ban of the use of photographic manipulation techniquesthat artificially slim images of fashion models throughout the entirefashion industry.
* Inclusion of models of varying weights and body types on both the catwalk and in fashion magazines so that these images - and the message that women and men of differing body types can look good in a variety of fashions- become part of our collective view of what constitutes beauty.
* Promotion of awareness in students, models, and the general publicabout advertising industry tactics, such as computer enhancement, used tofalsify the appearance and actual size of models used in advertising.
* Collaboration with politicians, stakeholders, and eating disorderorganizations to develop ethical self-regulatory codes for the fashionindustry.
* Collaboration with politicians, stakeholders, and eating disorderorganizations in widening the availability and affordability of effectiveeating disorders treatment, which must be made readily available to peoplein the fashion industry.
(reprinted with permission of Eric F. van Furth, Ph.D., Fellow of Academy of Eating Disorders)
* Adoption of an age threshold requiring that models be at least 16years of age so as to reduce the pressure that adolescent girls feel toconform to the ultra-thin standard of female beauty.
* For women and men over the age of 18, adoption of a minimum bodymass index threshold of 18.5 kg/m2, (e.g., a female model who is 5' 9" [1.75m] must weigh more than 126 pounds [56.6 kg]) which recognizes that weightbelow this is considered underweight by the World Health Organization.
* For female and male models between the ages of 16 and 18, adoptionof a minimum body mass index for age and sex equivalent to the 10th BMIpercentile for age and sex (weight below this is considered underweight bythe Centers for Disease Control). For example, applying this criterion to a16 year old female model, the minimum required body mass index would be 17.4kg/m2, for a male model 17.7 kg/m2. A 16 year old female model who is 5' 9"[1.75 m] must weigh more than 118 pounds [53.3 kg].
* Adoption of an independent medical certification affirming thatstudents who are aspiring models do not suffer from an eating disorderand/or related medical complications (see below).
* Development of action steps to identify models in need of intervention and appropriate and sensitive procedures for detection andreferral.
* Discouragement of all non-healthy weight control behaviorsthroughout the industry (e.g., self-induced vomiting, use of laxatives,diuretics and diet pills). Increased educational initiatives aimed atstudent models and professional models, their agents and employers to reducethe multiple health risks of various unhealthy weight control behaviors.
* Provision of educational initiatives aimed at aspiring and workingstudent models, professional models, their agents and employers to raiseawareness of the multiple health risks of low weight and restrictednutritional intake. These health risks include irregularity or cessation ofmenses, bradycardia (low heart rate)/irregular heart beat, electrolyteimbalances, dizziness/fainting spells, sudden cardiac death and long termhealth complications including osteoporosis, depression, and reproductivecomplications.
* Increased communication with advertising agencies to encourage theuse of age-appropriate, realistic models in ad campaigns and reduction ofunrealistic computer enhancement in pre-teen and adolescent advertisingcampaigns.
* An overall ban of the use of photographic manipulation techniquesthat artificially slim images of fashion models throughout the entirefashion industry.
* Inclusion of models of varying weights and body types on both the catwalk and in fashion magazines so that these images - and the message that women and men of differing body types can look good in a variety of fashions- become part of our collective view of what constitutes beauty.
* Promotion of awareness in students, models, and the general publicabout advertising industry tactics, such as computer enhancement, used tofalsify the appearance and actual size of models used in advertising.
* Collaboration with politicians, stakeholders, and eating disorderorganizations to develop ethical self-regulatory codes for the fashionindustry.
* Collaboration with politicians, stakeholders, and eating disorderorganizations in widening the availability and affordability of effectiveeating disorders treatment, which must be made readily available to peoplein the fashion industry.
(reprinted with permission of Eric F. van Furth, Ph.D., Fellow of Academy of Eating Disorders)
Saturday, January 06, 2007
Hope from a Young Woman Recovering from Anorexia
My story
To anyone who wants to listen to my story from the abyss of hell to my joyful rebirth as a true human being:
Various reasons cause someone to become anorexic. For me, it was a combination of my genetics and environment, both of which had detrimental effects on my mental and physical health. First, I have a Type-A personality, meaning, I am very outgoing, ambitious, and motivated to the max. Everything in which I was involved- school, sports, activities, sorority- I gave 110%. Too bad my body and my soul suffered, leaving these two most important things with nearly nothing. I no longer had an identity because I defined myself by what I did, not who I am. And now I understand that that kind of neglect of your own self can kill you, literally and spiritually. I was so busy I thought I didn’t have time to eat. So I barely did. I was doing so many external activities that my inner world, that of being aware of your innermost thoughts and feelings, was nonexistent. I had no downtime to rest and nurture God’s wonderful being I am. This world promotes that the more you do, the better you are. And, please believe me when I say that the former statement is the biggest lie. Humans are not machines, but rather living, breathing creatures who have needs, with the most simple of those needs being food and shelter, love and support. My extremely-low body weight is symbolic of me giving myself away to the “do-attitude” of our society. Another huge factor that caused me to become anorexic was my environment. Yes, I am sure the media played a role in my starvation by brainwashing my mind into thinking that tall and thin is the only way to be attractive, but that was the least of it. The biggest factor of my environment which caused me to starve was a very destructive relationship with a friend. I will not go into too many details; however, I will say that she wanted more from me than I could give her. She is emotionally dysfunctional herself, and bearing her problems as well as trying to fulfill her needs left me completely exhausted. She was like a leech, sucking the life out of me, and honestly, she almost did. I will make it clear, though, that it was my fault that this happened. I did not put up proper boundaries to deal with people like her. Therefore, this almost-deadly combination of my genes and environment caused so much damage to my mind and body. I knew I needed to get help. The last week of school before I went home for help was horrible. I knew I needed to eat more, but for some reason I couldn’t do it. I prayed about it so hard, and God told me to get help. I needed to turn this around to save my life- it was that simple.
The first step toward help was getting out of that environment, and into one of support and acceptance for someone with an eating disorder. Therefore, I went home from college and first saw a dietitian, a woman of much experience with eating disorders. After she put me on the scale, I couldn’t believe how tiny I was. My weight, needless to say, was dramatic. It happened so fast as well. She immediately sent me to a cardiologist, where they checked my heart to see what kind of damage had been done. And, of course, there was damage. Also, the next day I had a DEXA scan, and it turns out I had significant bone loss as well. The good news was, though, and for anyone who has anorexia and bulimia, those heart problems and bone loss can be fixed, if you start feeding yourself the way God intended you to. Once you stop the negative behaviors, your body will adjust and get better. I truly believe that if you are still alive, there is a tremendous amount of hope. But the whole key to getting better is that you have to WANT to get better. You have to want to live for yourself and not for anyone else- not for your mom, dad, brother, sister, boyfriend, or friends. Eating disorders are not about food- it is about finding why this happened with the help of a therapist, as well as loving and accepting who you are and your body- the natural, womanly body that God gave you. After I saw what physical damage this horrible sickness did to me, I decided to not return to school for the rest of the semester. I knew I had to turn my life around quickly.
For the past three months I have been in recovery from anorexia. My life consisted of continual meetings with my dietitian, therapist, and cardiologist. I am so grateful for their tremendous support. Every pound I gained they were so encouraging; you could see it in their eyes that they were so proud of me. Having a strong supporting cast like this, as well as my family, was crucial for me in my healing. Since that fateful day of realizing I needed to save my life, I have gained 26 pounds, just 5 pounds shy of my goal weight. This significant weight gain has helped me physically and mentally. My heart and bones continue to heal, and now I feel good about my body. I was so terrified that I was going to lose my life that I completely snapped out of the horrible fog which surrounded my mind. I came back down to earth and, thus, attained tremendous perspective on what was going on. The truth is I was slowly dying. But now, just three months later, I have new life. I feel like I have been reborn and that God has given me a second chance at life. And this time, I’m not going to screw it up. I don’t care if tall and thin is in, because sometimes, as in my case, tall and thin is sick. Also, like both my dietitian and therapist said, Jesus did not care what society thought. As Christians, we are not of this world. Sometimes we forget that important detail. Also, perfection is unattainable. God doesn’t expect us to be perfect, for He just wants us to be happy. God designed our bodies to have food so that they can function, and I was seriously tampering with God’s work.
But I am no longer destroying my life. I take complete responsibility for what happened, and I also take full responsibility for my recovery. I was the one that got myself better, and I thank God every day for giving me the strength to overcome my sickness.
The one great thing about eating disorders is that they are completely recoverable. No matter how long you have had it or how much damage is done, there is always hope. Also know that it is okay to seek help. It takes a very strong person to admit they have a problem. I knew in my heart that I needed help, and I got it, and look where I am today. I am 100% healthier than I was three months ago, and I am never looking back. I eat when I’m hungry and stop when I’m full. I eat the way God wanted me to eat- plentiful and whatever makes me feel good. If I can do it, you can do it. Just trust in God and keep the faith because one day you will overcome it. I pray every day for my own continued recovery, as well as all of the women and men out there struggling with any type of eating disorder.
God Bless,
Katy
To anyone who wants to listen to my story from the abyss of hell to my joyful rebirth as a true human being:
Various reasons cause someone to become anorexic. For me, it was a combination of my genetics and environment, both of which had detrimental effects on my mental and physical health. First, I have a Type-A personality, meaning, I am very outgoing, ambitious, and motivated to the max. Everything in which I was involved- school, sports, activities, sorority- I gave 110%. Too bad my body and my soul suffered, leaving these two most important things with nearly nothing. I no longer had an identity because I defined myself by what I did, not who I am. And now I understand that that kind of neglect of your own self can kill you, literally and spiritually. I was so busy I thought I didn’t have time to eat. So I barely did. I was doing so many external activities that my inner world, that of being aware of your innermost thoughts and feelings, was nonexistent. I had no downtime to rest and nurture God’s wonderful being I am. This world promotes that the more you do, the better you are. And, please believe me when I say that the former statement is the biggest lie. Humans are not machines, but rather living, breathing creatures who have needs, with the most simple of those needs being food and shelter, love and support. My extremely-low body weight is symbolic of me giving myself away to the “do-attitude” of our society. Another huge factor that caused me to become anorexic was my environment. Yes, I am sure the media played a role in my starvation by brainwashing my mind into thinking that tall and thin is the only way to be attractive, but that was the least of it. The biggest factor of my environment which caused me to starve was a very destructive relationship with a friend. I will not go into too many details; however, I will say that she wanted more from me than I could give her. She is emotionally dysfunctional herself, and bearing her problems as well as trying to fulfill her needs left me completely exhausted. She was like a leech, sucking the life out of me, and honestly, she almost did. I will make it clear, though, that it was my fault that this happened. I did not put up proper boundaries to deal with people like her. Therefore, this almost-deadly combination of my genes and environment caused so much damage to my mind and body. I knew I needed to get help. The last week of school before I went home for help was horrible. I knew I needed to eat more, but for some reason I couldn’t do it. I prayed about it so hard, and God told me to get help. I needed to turn this around to save my life- it was that simple.
The first step toward help was getting out of that environment, and into one of support and acceptance for someone with an eating disorder. Therefore, I went home from college and first saw a dietitian, a woman of much experience with eating disorders. After she put me on the scale, I couldn’t believe how tiny I was. My weight, needless to say, was dramatic. It happened so fast as well. She immediately sent me to a cardiologist, where they checked my heart to see what kind of damage had been done. And, of course, there was damage. Also, the next day I had a DEXA scan, and it turns out I had significant bone loss as well. The good news was, though, and for anyone who has anorexia and bulimia, those heart problems and bone loss can be fixed, if you start feeding yourself the way God intended you to. Once you stop the negative behaviors, your body will adjust and get better. I truly believe that if you are still alive, there is a tremendous amount of hope. But the whole key to getting better is that you have to WANT to get better. You have to want to live for yourself and not for anyone else- not for your mom, dad, brother, sister, boyfriend, or friends. Eating disorders are not about food- it is about finding why this happened with the help of a therapist, as well as loving and accepting who you are and your body- the natural, womanly body that God gave you. After I saw what physical damage this horrible sickness did to me, I decided to not return to school for the rest of the semester. I knew I had to turn my life around quickly.
For the past three months I have been in recovery from anorexia. My life consisted of continual meetings with my dietitian, therapist, and cardiologist. I am so grateful for their tremendous support. Every pound I gained they were so encouraging; you could see it in their eyes that they were so proud of me. Having a strong supporting cast like this, as well as my family, was crucial for me in my healing. Since that fateful day of realizing I needed to save my life, I have gained 26 pounds, just 5 pounds shy of my goal weight. This significant weight gain has helped me physically and mentally. My heart and bones continue to heal, and now I feel good about my body. I was so terrified that I was going to lose my life that I completely snapped out of the horrible fog which surrounded my mind. I came back down to earth and, thus, attained tremendous perspective on what was going on. The truth is I was slowly dying. But now, just three months later, I have new life. I feel like I have been reborn and that God has given me a second chance at life. And this time, I’m not going to screw it up. I don’t care if tall and thin is in, because sometimes, as in my case, tall and thin is sick. Also, like both my dietitian and therapist said, Jesus did not care what society thought. As Christians, we are not of this world. Sometimes we forget that important detail. Also, perfection is unattainable. God doesn’t expect us to be perfect, for He just wants us to be happy. God designed our bodies to have food so that they can function, and I was seriously tampering with God’s work.
But I am no longer destroying my life. I take complete responsibility for what happened, and I also take full responsibility for my recovery. I was the one that got myself better, and I thank God every day for giving me the strength to overcome my sickness.
The one great thing about eating disorders is that they are completely recoverable. No matter how long you have had it or how much damage is done, there is always hope. Also know that it is okay to seek help. It takes a very strong person to admit they have a problem. I knew in my heart that I needed help, and I got it, and look where I am today. I am 100% healthier than I was three months ago, and I am never looking back. I eat when I’m hungry and stop when I’m full. I eat the way God wanted me to eat- plentiful and whatever makes me feel good. If I can do it, you can do it. Just trust in God and keep the faith because one day you will overcome it. I pray every day for my own continued recovery, as well as all of the women and men out there struggling with any type of eating disorder.
God Bless,
Katy
Sunday, November 19, 2006
21 Year old Brazilian Model dies of Anorexia
read story on CNN here:
http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/americas/11/16/model.anorexia.reut/index.html
This is terribly sad. Especially because I know some young women just as underweight who refuse to believe they are at risk of death or health complications. The denial in anorexia is deep and not easily penetrated. My heart breaks for the mother of this beautiful girl; while I also applaud Brazil for taking a stance on too low of weight/bmi in models.
Please share your thoughts.
Warmly,
Jacquelyn Ekern, MS
Founder @ Eating Disorder Hope
http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/americas/11/16/model.anorexia.reut/index.html
This is terribly sad. Especially because I know some young women just as underweight who refuse to believe they are at risk of death or health complications. The denial in anorexia is deep and not easily penetrated. My heart breaks for the mother of this beautiful girl; while I also applaud Brazil for taking a stance on too low of weight/bmi in models.
Please share your thoughts.
Warmly,
Jacquelyn Ekern, MS
Founder @ Eating Disorder Hope
Sunday, September 24, 2006
The famished body is banned for Fashion Week in Madrid
This is an exciting development in the world of fashion. Perhaps the public is now willing to encourage healthier body images in women? What are your thoughts?
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/21/fashion/21MODELS.html?ex=1159502400&en=3556b7359c8a8ca7&ei=5070&emc=eta1
Warmly,
Jacquelyn Ekern
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/21/fashion/21MODELS.html?ex=1159502400&en=3556b7359c8a8ca7&ei=5070&emc=eta1
Warmly,
Jacquelyn Ekern
Monday, August 07, 2006
Hero
Eating Disorder Hope
"You gain strength, courage, and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You must do the thing which you think you cannot do. " - Eleanor Roosevelt
I thought this quote was very inspiring! Do you have a favorite quote?While going through hard times, who was someone that made you feel like you can do it?Who is someone that is helping you overcome it, and move on with your life? Who is someone that is helping you to become the person you want to be? Let that special person know how you feel.
-Ashley
"You gain strength, courage, and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You must do the thing which you think you cannot do. " - Eleanor Roosevelt
I thought this quote was very inspiring! Do you have a favorite quote?While going through hard times, who was someone that made you feel like you can do it?Who is someone that is helping you overcome it, and move on with your life? Who is someone that is helping you to become the person you want to be? Let that special person know how you feel.
-Ashley
Tuesday, August 01, 2006
Mans best Friend
Eating Disorder Hope
Studies have shown that owning a pet can help a person attain a better level of physical and mental health. An animal can actually reduce stress in your life. Studies have also shown that in women the presence of a dog can actually lower blood pressure better than the presence of friends. So if you dont own a pet then take a friends dog for a walk or pet sit. Do you have any animals in your life? How do they help you? Do you think having a pet in your life could or does minimize the stresses of life or your eating disorder? I have a dog and when I am down my dog senses it and gives me extra attention. I love that she does that, it really helps me to feel better. If you dont have anyone to talk to you animals cant talk back, but they will listen. Hey who does not talk to animals? :)
-Ashley
Studies have shown that owning a pet can help a person attain a better level of physical and mental health. An animal can actually reduce stress in your life. Studies have also shown that in women the presence of a dog can actually lower blood pressure better than the presence of friends. So if you dont own a pet then take a friends dog for a walk or pet sit. Do you have any animals in your life? How do they help you? Do you think having a pet in your life could or does minimize the stresses of life or your eating disorder? I have a dog and when I am down my dog senses it and gives me extra attention. I love that she does that, it really helps me to feel better. If you dont have anyone to talk to you animals cant talk back, but they will listen. Hey who does not talk to animals? :)
-Ashley
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