Author: frivvy89

Researchers at York University’s Faculty of Health say those who have a history of an eating disorder, obsessive-compulsive traits, dieting, poor body image, and a drive for thinness are more likely to develop a pathological obsession with healthy eating or consuming only healthy food, known as orthorexia nervosa (ON). Although eating healthy is an important part of a healthy lifestyle, for some people this preoccupation with healthy eating can become physically and socially impairing. In the first exhaustive review of the psychosocial risk factors associated with orthorexia nervosa, York University psychology researchers examined all studies published up until the end…

A history of eating disorders and body image concerns before or during pregnancy are associated with future depressive symptoms among mothers, finds a new UCL-led study published in the British Journal of Psychiatry. “We found that women who have had an eating disorder at any point before childbirth, even if it was years earlier in adolescence, were more likely to experience depressive symptoms during pregnancy and up to 18 years after the birth of their child,” said the study’s lead author Dr Francesca Solmi (UCL Psychiatry). “This finding suggests that many people with eating disorders might not fully recover since…

In the largest study of its kind, involving more than 50,000 subjects in 14 countries, researchers at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and more than 200 collaborating institutions have identified 20 new genetic associations with one of the most prevalent and elusive mental illnesses of our time — bipolar disorder. The study is reported in the May 2019 issue of Nature Genetics. The elevated morbidity and mortality associated with bipolar disorder make it a major public health problem and leading contributor to the global burden of disease. The identification of genes associated with it can help identify…

This one’s to you, anorexia – For you continue to change my life. — The last time I saw my best friend alive, it was 9:00pm at a house party at The University of Arkansas, and I stood there, in the front yard of someone’s house, backing away from him because I wanted to finish a run. 18 years old – our first week of college – he was visiting on his way to a Mississippi school. Linds, he pleaded, reaching out for my shoulder. Just stay. Christ, don’t run. I’ll be back, I’d laughed – shorts whipping my legs…

Medical expert says issue long been overlooked in the region due to lack of awareness and accurate data; Israel recently ranked high on the list of nations plagued by high rates of the phenomenon, reports The Media Line. The matter has “clearly been overlooked and not much attention has been given to researching this specific mental health illness,” Dr Jeremy Alford, a clinical psychologist and president of the Middle East Eating Disorders Association, or MEEDA, tells The Media Line. “On a personal clinical level, I have noticed an increase in prevalence when I compare to 2003.” A few years ago, MEEDA…

In December 2013, I was gearing up to go to treatment in Florida after 8 years of living in the eating disorder cycle. In my mind, I had this notion that rehab was gonna be this all-knowing descent into radical self realization. More or less, I expected to come out of it being Basic B*tch Gandhi… or at the very least, Mother Teresa’s sinful pseudo-daughter. Meditating on the reg – zen-like in feeling, and – of course – still thin because in my jacked up head I thought the weight I felt was “extra” was only there because I binge…

Welcome to Red Sauce America, our coast-to-coast celebration of old-school Italian-American restaurants.I fell in love with pasta after reading about an Italian witch. It was 1994, and Strega Nona by Tomie dePaola was hot on the Reading Rainbow circuit. My second-grade teacher invited a guest to read the story, and I listened intently, intrigued by the “grandma witch” with a magic pasta pot that accidentally flooded her town with spaghetti. I don’t remember who our guest was—experiential learning and frequent visitors were normal in our magnet curriculum—but I remember how she passionately taught us to make spaghetti after the reading.…

I’ve been a slacker on the blog this past month and some. Tis’ true. I’d love to make 100 different excuses as to why (and will totally take this as an opp to shamelessly plug the fact that my partner and I are engaged as of a week ago!) but the truth is I have really just allowed myself to overextend commitments. Whether it’s recovery meet n’ greet coffees or planning recovery speeches or my 9-5 job or traveling for my 9-5 (and recently for a recovery speech) I am at the point where I can no longer give a…

New research in mice suggests that a shared circuit in the brain could be one reason why heavy drinking and high-fat “junk food” cravings go hand in hand. The findings will be presented today at the American Physiological Society’s (APS) annual meeting at Experimental Biology 2019 in Orlando, Fla. “Obesity and alcoholism, two of the most common chronic disorders in the United States, may be behaviorally linked as binge intake of palatable diets, such as diets high in fat, and binge alcohol intake may utilize the same neurocircuitry,” wrote researchers from the Pennsylvania State University College of Medicine. Their hypothesis…

When I began writing this blog in 2006(!), all I really wanted to do was find the motivation to write a book. In 2014, the DEWHAED book was published, realizing that goal.During this process, I published hundreds of posts, interacted with people around the globe (even meeting some of them in person), and continued to stand by my mission of helping women eat and live in peace.Once the book was published, I thought I’d shut down this blog, as the job I’d set out to do was done. But every time I wanted to shut it down, I’d receive another…