Recovery Matters by Leslie E Murray

Yeehaw for NEDAW!

I'm so excited for NEDAW to arrive.  For many across the country, plans that have been in the making for months will come to fruition.  This is the official week that the National Eating Disorders Association has set aside for multiple activities.  These include eating disorder screenings, inviting speakers to discuss the impact of eating disorders, talking about the role that food and body image play in your life and most importantly helping those who need it find treatment.  

One of the signature activities is the Great Jeans Giveaway, where old jeans (and other clothes) that no longer fit are given away.  Some people have ceremonies, as there is always an attachment to those clothes that hung in the closet.  In years past, when I helped stage this event, the clothes were given to Goodwill.  

From the title, NEDAW can also be a time a celebration!  NEDAW also sounds a bit like something you would exclaim when filled with joy.  This is a time to begin life anew.  Time to start recovery, to rejuvenate and recommit and perhaps even just consider beginning a different path from the one you are currently on now.  I encourage you engage in an NEDAW event in your community!

Look for flyers around your campus and go to the NEDA website to find events in your community.  Reach out to others.  Reclaim your joy.

Peace be with you.

 NEDAwareness Week 2010: February 21-27
Theme: It's Time to Talk About It

 

Are you hiding from "Hungry"?

Pull down the blinds!  Close the drawers!  You don't know where you might find "hungry."  Alert the authorities; adults are feeling themselves hounded by a little creature and by the sensation of hunger!

You may seen commercials on television urging you to guard against the presence of an annoying little creature.  Almost if "stalked" by hunger...it is likened to an eating disorder symptom where hunger never goes away despite one's best efforts.  While healthy eating is suggested in the commercial, the message overall is disturbing.

Hunger is natural. That we must not ever forget.  In an eating disorder, a plethora of emotions accompany the presence of hunger.  The commercials mimic some of the very thoughts one might have.  

In this world we use the word "hunger" in many contexts, but to admit hunger for food and listen to our body's own signals for hunger is something that we often pervert through mindless eating, dieting, restricting or overeating.  If you hear yourself say, "I can't be hungry yet; I'm mad that I'm already hungry; or I wasn't hungry, but it was so good that I had to have more" those are signs of manipulating hunger.

Mindful eating is about eating when hungry and stopping when full.  Eat without distractions.  Listen to your body.  Don't hide from hunger.  Don't hide from anything anymore.

Peace be with you.