As we kick off the new year, many people make resolutions about habits they would like to give up, or new habits to add. Some of the common ones are:
Eating Disorders in Men
At least one third of people with an eating disorder are men. With diet culture increasingly targeting men under the guise of biohacking, primal/ancestral ways of eating, and fasting, that number is likely to rise. And yet when we look at who's seeking help for problems with their eating, men are noticeably absent. When men do get to the point of asking for help for eating issues they’ve often been affected for longer than women who are seeking help. Why is this?
Medicare Funding for Eating Disorder Therapy
People living with complex and severe Eating Disorders can now receive rebates for a greater number of sessions of psychological and dietetic therapy, following welcome changes to the Medicare system in Australia. These changes are a result of many years of advocacy by peak bodies in the Eating Disorder treatment field in Australia, and they provide the opportunity those eligible to access more intensive and longer term therapies.
Too Much on my Plate Right Now
“I have so much going on at home and work is intense. I’m trying to work on recovery, but I have too much on my plate right now,” my client told me during a recent session.
“So, when you have too much on your plate at work and home life, it feels too difficult to work on challenging the eating disorder?” I asked.
What is Intuitive Eating?
At Mind Body Well, our clinicians use a number of different therapeutic approaches when working with our clients. One of these approaches is Intuitive Eating.
So what is Intuitive Eating?
Whilst Intuitive Eating is currently receiving a lot of attention, the approach has actually been around for quite a while. It’s a mind-body health approach that was created by two registered Dietitians from the USA, Evelyn Tribole and Elyse Resch, back in 1995.
Mirror Mirror
I remember there being just one small mirror in my Grandparents house. It was a hand held vanity mirror, not especially ornate, more functional than decorative. I remember the mirror sat above the fireplace accumulating dust in the house where my Grandfather and Uncle lived. I would pick it up when I visited, play acting as I imagined my Grandmother holding it while she brushed her hair, turning one way, then the other. I don’t know if she ever did that, she died before I was born, but my sense of her with that mirror is so vivid that it feels real.
What is the Non-Diet Approach?
The term ’non-diet’ is one you will often see used by health professionals and advocates who encourage approaches to health and wellbeing that are contrary to popular messages promoting restrictive weight loss diets.
Many of the team at Mind Body Well were fortunate to be introduced to the non-diet world by Dr Rick Kausman, author of ‘If Not Dieting Then What?’ and one of the pioneers of the non-diet movement. The title of Rick’s book sums up well what many of our clients are asking…. “I’ve tried restrictive weight loss diets and they haven’t worked for me, so what now?”
Dear Self Critic, I'm breaking up with you...
I’m breaking up with you because you’re mean.
Sometimes you’re so nasty that you won’t even let me carry out a conversation with my friends. All I hear is your voice telling me I’m stupid, ugly, they don’t like me, they wish I wasn’t here.
You do that. You get in the way when I try to talk to people, and you’re always telling my I’m no good. You erode my confidence and steal my joy.
Who can you trust for nutritional advice?
It seems everyone these days has something to say about nutrition. Eat this, don’t eat that, eat this with that in order to blah, blah, blah…..
With such a saturation of ‘advice’ about what to eat it can be difficult to find voices of wisdom amidst SO MUCH NOISE!
Sometimes he or she who speaks the loudest about nutrition is the one we’d be best not to listen to at all.
10 Signs it's Time to Consider Therapy
The beginning of the year is the time to put your health and wellbeing high on the agenda for the year ahead. If you’ve been considering Psychological Therapy to assist, and are unsure whether to give it a go, here are some signs that it may be time:
- Talking to your friends or family is no longer enough
"I am Already Enough"... Radical Self-Acceptance
How many times have you said to yourself “I’ll be happy when I… (insert here – lose weight, find a partner, get a new job, get what I want from my Mum etc)”?
For many of us its all-too familiar to find ourselves waiting on something within or around us to change so we can find greater self acceptance and life satisfaction. Too often we find ourselves waiting on a future event to pick us up and launch us to where we want to be, a kind of magical thinking which takes us out of the present moment and tells us in a whisper (or a shout) that “I’m not ok just as I am”. Ouch. That kind of attitude can really hurt.
How to Frustrate an Eating Disorder Therapist
Let me set the scene… there I am, pants off, hot wax hovering just above my legs… when the inevitable question comes from the beautician.
“So, what do you do?”
Honestly, sometimes I lie when I’m asked this question. If I’m not in the mood for a difficult conversation in my off-duty hours, sometimes I say I’m a teacher. After all I figure that’s only partly untrue.
But today I’m feeling ready for a conversation so I tell her… “I’m a Psychologist”.
Can Meditation Help People with Eating Disorders?
Until recently meditation was considered a practice exclusive to gurus in caves and swamis on mountain tops. Now more mainstream than alternative, you’ll see meditation mentioned in even the most conservative of medical and psychological journals. Academics and researchers are increasingly interested in how meditation effects our thoughts, our behaviours, and even the very structure and function of our brains.
Train Your Brain: Positive Neuroplasticity
Have you noticed the natural tendency most of us have to exaggerate one negative experience amongst a whole bunch of positives? How we minimise a range of pleasant experiences at the expense of a more unpleasant one which occupies our full attention?
It turns out this tendency is actually hard wired into our brain as a legacy of our evolutionary development. Our brain is trained to look out for potential dangers or threats, with what Neuroscientists call the ‘Negativity Bias’.
How's Your Self-Compassion?
I was shopping at my local Farmers Market last week when I saw a woman near me juggling her bags of shopping. Given she only had two hands and a lot of bags this was quite a task! She picked up the eggs she’d just bought, fumbled and then dropped the carton onto the ground, spilling eggs over the grass and cracking a few. I went to help her and what do you think was the first thing she said?
“Oh, I’m such an idiot!”
I helped her clean up the eggs and said something about how I often think I can carry more than I can.
Self-Care is not Selfish!
I’ve been having a lot of conversations with people lately about self care.
As we approach the pointy end of the year it seems many people are holding their breath waiting for the big exhale on Boxing Day, hoping to spend time engaging in self care activities when the festive season has passed.
It’s surprising though that so many people talk about self care as if it’s something that’s a bit selfish, naughty, decadent, and belongs down the bottom of the ‘things to do’ list.
Mindfulness is the New Black
Is it just me noticing this, or is everyone actually talking about Mindfulness?
I bought a new car recently, and the sales person informed me “you need to be mindful of fuel economy when you drive long distances”. I heard Jamie Oliver on TV last night recommending we “be mindful not to add too much salt”. And my nail technician a couple of weeks ago when I was getting a manicure (yes, I know, groan), asked me to be mindful not to hit my wet nails against the inside of the nail dryer.
The Problem with Body Image
The language of ‘body image’ is common in our culture of attention to appearance, and lately, conversation about body image seems to everywhere. Body image is a factor commonly related to mental health for young people, and is similarly a concern for many people as they age and come to terms with their changing bodies.
When you think about it, it’s pretty strange that we give so much attention to the image of our bodies.
Love Your Body
I used to cringe at the phrase ‘Love Your Body’.
Every anti-narcissism bone in my body reacted to this as a statement I thought of as ego-based and overly focused on appearance.
But I’ve been thinking about what it might mean to really love your body and I’ve changed my mind. Love after all, is about care. It’s about kindness, respect, and a deep affection and appreciation.
The Art of Moderation
We live in a world which is full of extremes… extremes particularly in an all-or-nothing sense.
Extremes like working excessive hours to then take long holidays to ‘get away from it all’. Or spending months overdoing it with alcohol to then revert to puritanical detox regimes. And there are those who burn the candle six nights a week to then attempt to make up for it with one long day of rest on the seventh. And people with the attitude that unless you adore someone with a ferocity close to obsession then you mustn’t love them at all.