Author: frivvy89

TRIGGER WARNING! IF YOU ARE EASILY TRIGGERED, DO NOT READ.I came across this picture on Facebook and was very moved by it.The concept is extremely accurate. My demons, however, are a bit differentDepression isn’t smiling, and isn’t a “she.” Depression is a scowling, middle aged man, bulging with muscle, ripping at my hair and shoving my face into the dirt, while he drapes all his weight on top of me, and sobs.Anorexia, or “Rex,” isn’t female either. He’s the hottest, finest, most mouthwatering blond-blue-eyed Abercrombie model with a kind, dimpled smile, who cups my cheeks in his palms and tells…

I met Dr. Tian Dayton about a decade ago in Nashville, Tennessee. I was a bit starstruck. She is not only an incredible author and clinician but also just a totally cool human being. She is humble, giving, and don’t even get me started on her wisdom. It is such an honor to work alongside her on the Senior Fellow team at The Meadows. Below, she shares a beautiful excerpt with us from her upcoming book, The Soulful Journey of Recovery. Forgiveness is such an important topic and one not discussed enough. Please see the note at the bottom of…

A study led by a psychologist from Trinity College Dublin raises important questions on how mental illness is currently diagnosed and whether these diagnoses accurately reflect the underlying neurobiology of mental illness. The findings, just published in the leading peer-reviewed medical journal, JAMA Psychiatry, are significant in highlighting the need for more individualised approaches to defining mental illness. In this study the researchers showed that a compulsive dimension of mental health maps onto various aspects of ‘cognitive flexibility’ better than an expert-assigned diagnosis. Cognitive flexibility reflects a set of brain processes that are thought to be essential for controlling our…

Daily energy intake and body weightTo test the hypothesis that rats with intermittent access to the preferred diet would develop food reward tolerance, daily caloric intake was measured. On access days to the preferred diet, Int-Long rats progressively ate more than all other groups (Group × Week: F(42,448) = 3.643, p  0.0001) (Fig. 2a). On days that Int rats received chow only, Int-Long rats progressively under-ate vs. all other groups, stabilizing at levels ~25% of ad lib controls by week 7 (Group × Week: F(42,448) = 4.433, p  0.0001) (Fig. 2b).Fig. 2Intake, Body Composition, and Fixed-ratio self-administration. a Int-Long rats have significantly greater food intake during days which they have access to…

Orthorexia occurs when people become so fixated on the idea of eating “cleanly,” or choosing only whole foods in their natural state, that they end up imperiling their physical and mental health. Sometimes this means missing critical nutrients or not getting enough calories. Meredith Rizzo/NPR hide caption toggle caption Meredith Rizzo/NPR Orthorexia occurs when people become so fixated on the idea of eating “cleanly,” or choosing only whole foods in their natural state, that they end up imperiling their physical and mental health. Sometimes this means missing critical nutrients or not getting enough calories. Meredith Rizzo/NPR Whether it’s gluten-free, dairy-free,…

WW International, the company formerly known as Weight Watchers, recently launched an app called Kurbo which is designed to help children ages 8-18 to diet and lose weight. The app is marketed as a “health coaching” tool, but a closer look at the company’s website reveals testimonials of children losing weight and dropping BMI points, complete with “before” and “after” photos. In recent years, the words “diet” and “dieting” have been replaced with words like “wellness” and “healthy eating” in popular nomenclature. But more often than not, when people refer to “eating healthy,” they are talking about restricting calories, reducing…

If you find yourself struggling, there is help. When I was 15, I developed an eating disorder. Of course, the habits of said disorder began months (even years) before.At 6, I was slipping on spandex and working out alongside my mother. My blonde locks bounced as we dancercised, improvised, and did crunches with Jane Fonda. At the time, I didn’t think much of it. I was playing. We were just having fun.But it was my first lesson in what women’s bodies were “supposed” to be.Those VHS tapes taught me that thin was pretty and desirable. I learned my weight could…

We’re conditioned to believe that being thin means, health-wise and otherwise, we’re doing something right. A skinny body and “normal” body mass index (or BMI) are often accepted as evidence of baseline wellness, even though, medically speaking, we know that isn’t true. We know that in the United States, around a third of the people designated as “obese” by BMI metrics, and more than half of “overweight” people, are actually metabolically healthy. We also know that the BMI is a questionable framework in general. The idea that a thin body is a healthy body is persistently harmful, no matter what…

During and after college, I used to be an avid attendee at my local Planet Fitness. Then exercise bulimia got in the way. I would often go to the gym twice a day, especially after bingeing on dining hall food to the point where I would make myself sick. Exercise became a punishment, a compensation, a labor. I took this behavior home with me after graduating from college, too, even when I started to recognize my eating disorder for what it really was–a disorder. I was obsessed with my body and food and unwilling to compromise with myself. I slowly…

As a happy-go-lucky toddler, I loved food. I was considered a “good eater.” I found pleasure and enjoyment in food. Then, as an irritable teenager, I still loved food. But I hated it too. I was very selective with the foods I ate. Eating had become a chore. I found no pleasure or enjoyment in food. As a four-year-old, I cried when I didn’t have my way. I cried when I wasn’t allowed to eat a particular snack. At fourteen, I cried when I was made to eat a particular snack. Why such the extreme turn of events? Here’s the…