Life After Recovery

Open Letter to Michelle Obama

With permission from Susan Paxton, president of the Academy for Eating Disorders, I would like to share with you the letter recently sent to Mrs. Obama in support of her efforts to improve the nutritional habits of Americans -- without focusing on "ideal" weights.  I love that the eating disorder organizations are getting together around this issue for the sake of people on all sides of the issue.

Here is the letter:

Academy for Eating Disorders – Binge Eating Disorder Assoc. – Eating Disorder Coalition –

International Association of Eating Disorder Professionals – National Eating Disorders Assoc.

 

January 7, 2009

 

Michelle Obama, First Lady of the United States

 

Dear Mrs. Obama:

 

This letter is written on behalf of several organizations representing clinicians, researchers, educators and others concerned with the impact of eating disorders on the health and well-being of children, adolescents and adults. These organizations include the Academy for Eating Disorders (AED), the Binge Eating Disorder Association (BEDA), the Eating Disorder Coalition (EDC), the International Association of Eating Disorder Professionals (iaedp), and the National Eating Disorders Association (NEDA).

 

First, we would like to applaud your plan to develop an initiative to promote healthy lifestyle habits in children. We agree that this is vitally important, but we believe the emphasis should be on behavior rather than weight. We would like to offer our support in helping to develop a program based on the latest scientific evidence and best clinical practices to ensure the optimal outcomes for your efforts.

 

In this spirit, we are including links to resources that summarize key points we would like to share with you. In addition, leading experts in the field would welcome the opportunity to meet with you to facilitate the development of an evidence-based proposal/strategy to address this important health issue.

 

Unfortunately, many strategies in the global “war against obesity” have had unintentional negative consequences. Eating disorder organizations assert that the well-intentioned, but under-informed and unproven strategy of focusing on weight fuels weight-prejudice and neglects groups which may be in equal need of improving their health and lifestyle. There is also the concern that these programs may contribute to negative self-esteem, body dissatisfaction, and eating disordered behaviors. Weight alone does not provide the full picture regarding health status; consideration of lifestyle, activity patterns, and physical and mental health measures are extremely important. Further, assuming illness based on weight alone, without proven cause and effect, may lead to harmful and discriminatory practices.

 

National and international eating disorder organizations have joined forces to recommend that health professionals, school administrators, employers, and health policy makers focus more on health and lifestyle for all populations rather than on weight.

 

· The AED has developed “Guidelines for Obesity Prevention Programs” (http://www.aedweb.org/media/Guidelines.cfm), which are intended to address potential issues in combating rising weights.

 

· Additionally, the EDC has developed talking points regarding BMI testing (http://www.eatingdisorderscoalition.org/documents/TalkingpointsBMI.pdf).

 

We request that our representatives have an opportunity to meet with the involved members of White House staff about this planned initiative and offer our feedback. We would like to be able to endorse your program and help promote it.

 

Sincerely,

 

Susan Paxton, Ph.D., President, AED

Lynn Grefe, CEO, NEDA

Jeanine Cogan, Ph.D., Policy Director, EDC

Chevese Turner, President, BEDA

Bonnie Harken, Managing Director, iaedp

 

 

 

 

The Right Words for Obama Girls

My mailbox is filling up with concern over reports that the Obamas are putting their daughters on a diet and referring publicly to the girls' weight.

I missed this as it went past, so I dug back in the press for the facts:

Michelle Obama’s Agenda Includes Healthful Eating
“A couple of years ago — you’d never know it by looking at her now — Malia was getting a little chubby,” Mr. Obama told the magazine.

They took action, Mrs. Obama said, when “her doctor — he really monitors this type of thing — suggested we look at her diet. So we cut out juice boxes, sweets and processed foods.”

I'll trust the New York Times and say that these remarks make me cringe for the Obama daughters.  As anyone who's ever even flirted with eating disordered behavior knows, this kind of "concerned" scrutiny of a young girl's body and weight can ignite a very dangerous and misguided obsession with achieving the unattainable -- physical "perfection."

This is why the leading Eating Disorders organizations have sent a joint letter to Michelle Obama to alert her to the elements of her Healthful Eating agenda that are misguided -- especially the emphasis on weight as a source of concern. (I will post this letter as soon as I receive permission.)

But it is important that we not lose sight of the positives in Mrs. Obama's approach.  To her credit, her solution is not to put her daughters or anyone else on a "diet," or to prescribe exercise regimens. Her solution is to encourage healthier, more nutritious eating and a more active lifestyle.  Her advisors are folks like Alice Waters, who LOVE to eat well.  And her goal is to help Americans break the spell of Big Food and Fast Food, and start eating healthily, locally, mindfully, and responsibly.

There is not doubt that America has an obesity crisis.  Excess weight is the symptom of a lot of different underlying problems, and Mrs. Obama seems determined to confront many of these problems head on.  That's to her credit.

We just need to educate her about the words she and her husband choose, especially when speaking publicly about their own girls.  "Health" is a word we can all get behind.  "Chubby," "perfect," "overweight," and "diet" should be consigned to the scrap heap of bad habits, along with bingeing, purging, and counting calories.

DO YOU HAVE A MEMOIR IN YOU?

Perhaps due to New Year’s resolutions, I’ve received several letters lately asking for advice from new memoir writers.  Just guessing there are more of you out there, so I thought I’d write one blog for all.   This gives me a chance to wear BOTH my hats for once – as a creative writing teacher and as a veteran of the war against ED.

First off, whatever your stage of recovery, DO write your life.  Writing a journal or memoir gives you ownership over your life.  When you see your experiences on the page it’s so much easier to see what’s true and what’s imposed, how others may be influencing or even distorting your story.  And this record can also help you see what needs to change for you to follow the course that will bring you health and happiness. Always write for your self first.  Your other readers may include your therapist and family, depending on your circumstances.  Or, you may write the memoir that you wish your family could or would read.  This may be hugely beneficial even if your family is no longer alive.

The rest of my remarks go not to writing a memoir so much as they do to writing one that might be published by a mainstream publisher and marketed to a broader readership.  Please understand that this is a whole other enterprise from writing a memoir solely for yourself and your family.  Sometimes one book can serve both masters, but usually not – or not without a GREAT deal of editing and soul searching.  Even if the personal memoir becomes the publishable memoir, it usually will go through so much editing you’ll end up with two distinctly different books.

So here are some general guidelines, based on my experience as the author and co-author of more than 10 books, including two memoirs and many personal essays, and as an MFA graduate and professor.

1.       Write to insight.  Getting your story down is not enough for a wider audience.  Readers want to be shown insights that they can apply to their own lives.  From your personal story a published memoir needs to reach out to more universal truths and understandings. You will gain these as you write, but always, always strive in your writing to identify and reach them.

2.       Write from the perspective of recovery.  No matter what your stage of wellness, the story to be told is a journey to now.  The stuff of story is meaningful change.  Readers want to be taken on this journey through change, and unless what’s-in-it-for-them is a cautionary tale, they’ll want to discover some reason for hope at the end of the journey.

3.       Beware of cautionary tales. The Greeks and Shakespeare were good at them.  Think Oedipus Rex.  Most of us are not so much, and especially not if our own lives are the cautionary subject.  Cautionary memoirs tend toward sensationalistic wallowing in the damning details.  Meaningful, SATISFYING stories need the whole truth– the bad, the ugly, and especially the good.  Confessionals rarely satisfy unless the confession comes with truly transformational epiphanies.

4.       Write what’s missing in the literature on your subject.  I wrote my memoir Solitaire when no one had ever published a memoir of anorexia.  That’s the primary reason it was published.  It would not be published today, given the hundreds of other eating disorder memoirs now available.  Thirty years later my book Gaining was published because it was the first to look at what happens to people’s lives AFTER they have recovered from the physical symptoms of eating disorders. Consider your own life and experiences and focus on what you have to say or study that’s NEW and DIFFERENT on the subject. Could be your culture, the underlying reasons for your struggle, or – and I personally think this is the most compelling – the new direction your life took as you opened up during recovery.  Think of ED as part of your subject matter, not the whole enchilada. Remember, ED is almost always the same (or bears a suffocating similarity from one person to the next), but YOU are unique.

5.       READ LITERATURE!!!!!  The more quality literature – and NOT just ED lit – that you read, the better you will write and the more you will know, and the better you write and the more you know, the more likely you will be to get published.  Study other subjects.  Widen your literary world.  I have many qualms about Marya Hornbacher’s WASTED, but the quality of her writing was not one of them.  And the beauty of her words was a principal reason her book was published.

6.       Write as well as you read.  Take writing courses.  Rewrite.  Form a writing group with other serious writers whose perspectives you trust.  Reach out beyond the ED world so that you can see how your story is read by those who don’t already know what it’s like. If you can make them care what your story is about and what you have to say, that’s a very good sign for your book’s prospects.  If they “don’t get it,” then ask what confuses or eludes them, and keep working until they do get it.

7.       Write with purpose.  This gets back to the insight issue, since insight and purpose are usually linked.  But your insights are bound to keep growing as you write, while the purpose you begin with will probably remain unwavering – if it’s the right purpose for your story.  Your purpose needs to be a gift you want to give your reader.  It may be a call to action.  It may be a new perspective that they can apply to their own life.  My purpose with Solitaire was to help readers understand what it felt like to be inside the head of loved ones who were trapped in ED and to give them hope for recovery.  At the time, no one had written with that particular purpose.  Now hundreds have, so you need a different purpose.  What do you have to tell the world about your experience that the world needs to know?  This is hard, but crucial.  Ask yourself why the world needs to know this?  What will this awakening do to change the world?  Why is that a good thing?  How best can you write your story to achieve this end?  Once you’ve got answers to these questions in focus, you’re ready to roll!

 

 

 

 

 

Watch THIS EMOTIONAL LIFE !

Friends,
I hope some of you caught the first installment of the PBS series "This Emotional Life" last night.
I have NO personal connection to the filmmakers or PBS, but I think this is a very valuable series with a lot of important information and insights for anyone who has struggled with emotional distress -- in other words, all of us.

Watching the show reminded me so forcefully of the most valuable aspects of therapy, and brought up a lot of revelations that my husband and I experienced in therapy and that changed our lives and marriage.

Here's more about the series:

http://www.pbs.org/thisemotionallife/series

 

 

NEW YEAR, NEW HOPE, NEW LIVELIHOOD

As this year closes and another opens, I want to share with you a story of transformation that has nothing directly to do with eating disorders and yet has everything to do with the possibilities that await us all if we just give ourselves the push and the permission to go after them.  Apart from the physical damage that eating disorders can cause, the next gravest threat that they pose is the strangling of personal empowerment.  In other words, they are not just physically disabling but also psychologically and spiritually disempowering.  And this disempowerment deprives not only the individual but also society of creative and constructive livelihood.

There’s a lot of talk about personal reinvention in our culture, but most of us only aspire to transformation.  Those of us with histories of eating disorders, in particular, tend to a) to hold ourselves back and b) to think of reinvention in our usual all-or-nothing terms.  The binge/starve dichotomy applies to so many other corners of our lives besides eating!  But as I’ve learned from my friends who have successfully reinvented their lives, the key is not to abandon the past but to build on selected parts of one’s history and experience.

I hold out as inspiration to us all the story of my friend Deborah Jones, who at age 50 faced divorce, a fizzling career as a television writer, and what looked to her like a pretty dismal future.  But she’d become passionate about social justice issues while volunteering with the writers organization PEN USA,  which is where we met. She was also a long time member of Amnesty International, so she knew the power her words had to change the world:   The Power of Words   One day she happened to be visiting me when a friend of my son’s stopped by.  This young woman at 30 was going for a Masters degree in International Relations.  “You could do that,” I said to Deborah.  “Why not?”

Three years later Deborah graduated from the Fletcher School of International Relations.  She moved to Washington DC and took a job that blended her professional experience in Hollywood with her true passion for social justice.  She began traveling around the world helping local groups of filmmakers in conflict zones develop television and radio programs that model cooperation and nonviolent conflict resolution.  The PBS show NOW has just done a segment on Deborah’s work with Common Ground Productions.  If you want to be inspired, please watch the whole segment here: PBS NOW   

 Now, you may say this is all irrelevant because Deborah never had an eating disorder.  Or you may say, that’s all right for her, but you have kids and a job and can’t possibly chuck everything and chase your dream.  But I’m offering you this story as evidence that opportunities come in all shapes and sizes, just like people.  Transformation can begin with a smile, a single word, a chance encounter.  There is no right or wrong way to reinvent yourself.  But you do have to open yourself to the possibility of change.  You do have to pay attention to the opportunities and cues that life unexpectedly presents.  You do have to honor who you are, what you love, and all the many talents that you know you possess even if you have trained yourself to dismiss them.

So here is my New Year’s challenge to you for 2010.  Give yourself credit for all that you are and all that you have accomplished, and seize every opportunity that comes your way this year to build on your life’s foundation to transform yourself and change the world for the better. 

Be well! Stay healthy! Engage in life!

Back to Life!

As some of you know, for the past two years I've been collecting letters from all over the world for a book about recovery from eating disorders, to benefit the work of the Academy for Eating Disorders in advancing research in the fields of treatment and prevention.  Hundreds of contributors have written about their experiences of the different stages of recovery, and I've been collecting advice and insights from eating disorder professionals, as well. Our goal is to let those who know recovery best trace the arc of this experience in their own true voices.

This is not an easy time to find a publisher for a book -- any book -- but I am delighted to announce that I have just signed a contract for publication with Trumpeter Books, an imprint of Shambhala Press, to publish BACK TO LIFE: Voices of Recovery from Eating Disorders in 2011.

Serendipity guided me to this publisher.  Shambhala is known for books related to the practice and faith of Buddhism, but Trumpeter is a new imprint covering mindful awareness, psychology, health, literature, memoir, and personal growth.  It turned out to be a perfect fit, not only for our book but also for anyone with an interest in true recovery.  Current titles in the Trumpeter list include Creative Recovery, The Happiness Trap: How to Stop Struggling and Start Living, The Open-Focus Brain, Partners in Healing, Perfect Love Imperfect Relationships, and When No One Understands.  Take a peek at these and other offerings at
Trumpeter Books

Of course, the road to publication is almost as slow and painstaking as the road to recovery.  My generous working partners on this journey are past president of the AED Dr. Judith Banker and Dr. Amanda Weishuhn. We have miles to go yet, as we finish selecting and editing the final contributions.  Then, we will be sending edited copy to contributors for approval.

If you have contributed a letter for this project, I want to thank you. If you have moved or changed contact info since you sent me your letter, I hope you'll send your new contact info to GainingTheTruth@gmail.com so we can reach you. Even if we cannot use your letter, we are very grateful for your candor, your insights, and your support.

We expect the book to be published in time for the AED's 2011 International Conference on Eating Disorders, at the end of April 2011. We're hoping to throw a big book party at the conference, so I hope to see you there.  I know it seems like eons away, but time is short!

That's my news for now.
I wish you health, love, joy, and peace this holiday season.

Aimee

 

New listing of treatment providers

I just received a note about a new listing of treatment providers at EatingDisorderHope.com
This looks like a good resource. 
If you or someone you know needs help, you can search providers by state from this page:

Treatment provider listings

Not only does this site offer info about large programs such as McCallum Place, but it will give you a sense of individual eating disorder therapists.
While these are paid ads, and NOT recommendations, I think the information provided here is useful if you are looking for a way to navigate through all the choices.  I know and am a fan of several of the centers and individuals listed.

Note that this site is brand new, and should be growing rapidly over the next year, so if you don't see any listings in your area, check back.

Celebrate your recovery by becoming an activist!

There's a storm brewing!  Ralph Lauren's photo-warped ads have been outed, but he keeps making more, and that's gotten filmmaker Darryl Roberts hopping mad.  Roberts has become an advocate for body acceptance since making the fabulous documentary AMERICA THE BEAUTIFUL.  Now he's spearheading a boycott against Ralph Lauren that's really intended to get the attention and wise up the whole fashion industry.

He needs us all to join the boycott BEFORE FRIDAY.  Here's why, in his words:

"This is only going to take a few minutes, I need you to sign up for the boycott on our Facebook page. Ralph Lauren needs to see how many of you support the boycott and it needs to be at least 10,000. If we don't reach 10,000 then this particular movement will be discredited by Ralph Lauren.
We need 10,000 people to sign up by Friday. Forward this newsletter to everyone that you know asking them to sign up before Friday. Call them back and make sure that they did it. We have to create a viral grass roots movement. Write comments on the Facebook page. Let Ralph know how you feel. Trust me they will monitor our page heavily."

Here's the link to sign up for the boycott and learn more about Roberts' campaign:
join the boycott

And if you need a bit more incentive, consider this, also from Darryl:

"As you may or may not know, Ralph Lauren is designing the outfits for the Winter Olympics ceremony for 2010. Athletes come in a variety of shapes and sizes. Here is a picture of a real Olympic Skier. Her name is Emily Cook:

[http://origin.ih.constantcontact.com/fs009/1102070670847/img/1432.jpg?a=1102872102420]

Now, here is a Ralph Lauren sketch that obviously shows his vision and design for this years Olympic Skier:

[http://origin.ih.constantcontact.com/fs009/1102070670847/img/1431.jpg?a=1102872102420]

The drawing looks just like the ridiculous ads he's been running. Why am I not surprised. He must be stopped!"

Agreed!

Shop to fight Eating Disorders!

Okay, this is a little strange.  But in the wide wild world of new media, anything is possible.
Amazon sales can benefit the work of the Academy for Eating Disorders, which fosters scientific research, education, and prevention programs.

Amazon will contribute a portion of the purchase price on anything (books, games, clothes, whatever) you buy through these links:

By clicking on the link below, you can shop the ENTIRE Amazon.com site for ALL your holiday gifts! Books, apparel, toys, entertainment, electronics, even groceries – everything you purchase through the site will benefit AED -- and at no extra cost to you. The Academy receives a percentage of every purchase you make through this link -- even though you will not see any direct mention of AED on the page:
http://www.amazon.com/?_encoding=UTF8&tag=acadforeatidi-20&linkCode=sb1&camp=212353&creative=380557

Alternately, to purchase books that have been featured in the AED Forum, you can visit the AED Bookstore at:http://astore.amazon.com/acadforeatidi-20  (From that page, clicking the "Powered by Amazon" link in the top left corner will take you to the Amazon homepage.)

If you're shopping Amazon anyway, why not make the AED part of the package?

Thanks!

Aimee

ED Research studies are looking for participants

I thought you might like to know...

Two current studies seeking participants with bulimia or anorexia are posted at the Academy for Eating Disorders website http://www.aedweb.org/public/research_study.cfm  One offers therapy free of charge, and the other offers financial compensation. If you're interested, please read the following information carefully and contact the individuals noted for each study.

1)

Treatment of Bulimia Nervosa and Mood and Interpersonal Dysregulation
Center for Anxiety and Related Disorders, Boston University
Principal Investigator: Heather Thompson-Brenner, Ph.D.

This is a five-month outpatient research study designed to evaluate the effectiveness of Cognitive Behavioral Protocol Treatment by comparing traditional CBT for bulimia to Fairburn’s Enhanced Cognitive Behavior Therapy for patients with BN and mood dysregulation and interpersonal difficulties. Initial assessment and treatment in the study will be provided free of charge. Sessions will be conducted two times per week for the first month, then weekly through month three and then bi-weekly for the last month. Weekly medical monitoring will be conducted by a nurse on site.

Eligibility criteria include the following:

1)Female
2)18 years of age or older
3) No active suicidality, (passive SI and parasuicidality does not preclude eligibility) substance dependence or Bipolar I (Bipolar II is not a rule-out)
4) Five month residence in the Boston-area.

Please contact Lauren Richards at the Center for Anxiety and Related Disorders at 617.353.9610 for more information.

2)

Alliance-Focused Protocol Treatment for Anorexia Nervosa
Center for Anxiety and Related Disorders, Boston University
Principal Investigator: Dana Satir, M.A.

This is a four-month outpatient research study designed to develop and evaluate the effectiveness of a novel, outpatient psychotherapy for adults with anorexia nervosa, called Alliance-Focused Protocol Treatment. Initial assessment and treatment in the study will be provided free of charge. Session will be conducted two times per week. Weekly medical monitoring with a primary care physician will be required.

There will be a one month evaluation period for weight stabilization and assessment. Following this participants will be assigned to receive either Alliance-Focused Protocol Treatment (which will focus on eating disorder symptoms and relationships) or treatment as usual (e.g., psychoeducation, and motivation enhancement). Treatment will alternate monthly so that over the course of a three month period each participant will receive both treatments but at different doses.

Eligibility criteria include the following:

1) Female
2) 18 years of age or older
3) BMI = 16.5 kg/m² - 18.5 kg/m²
4) Medical insurance
5) Four month residence in the Boston-area.

Please contact Dana Satir at the Center for Anxiety and Related Disorders at 617.353.9610 for more information.

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People with binge eating disorder (BED) between 18-50 years old are needed for a research study in the area of Boston, MA. In this study we are testing whether enhancing brain activity using noninvasive brain stimulation can improve core symptoms of BED and examine the mechanisms involved. We use repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS), a technique that allows modulation of brain activity in a safe and noninvasive way. Further details on rTMS can be found at the website of our laboratory: http://tmslab.org/.

Over the study, participants receive 10 sessions of rTMS, buffet meal tests, cognitive tasks, and MRI. The study involves only outpatient visits. Compensation is up to $1,000 plus parking expenses. This study is fully approved by the IRB of our hospital and is funded by a generous grant from the Klarman Family Foundation.

Exclusion criteria are:

-Smoking or other history of substance abuse within the last 6 months.

-Prior neurosurgical procedure, or brain damage/disease.

-Personal or family history of seizures, epilepsy or other unexplained loss of consciousness.

-Current diagnosis of a psychiatric or neurological disorder (some medications OK) -Claustrophobia.

-Any metal in the body non-MRI compatible.

Please contact us for further information: Miguel Alonso-Alonso, MD, Instructor in Neurology malonso@bidmc.harvard.edu<mailto:malonso@bidmc.harvard.edu> Berenson-Allen Center for Noninvasive Brain Stimulation Department of Neurology, Division of Behavioral Neurology Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School 330 Brookline Ave. Ks-158. Boston, MA 02215 Tel. (617) 667-0240 / (617) 785-4517. Fax. (617) 975-5322