just a blip on the radar

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Mon, 17 Jun 2013 14:56:15 -0400

"You’re not needy. You’re starving. You certainly do not want for too much. These things you crave..."

Mon, 17 Jun 2013 14:55:17 -0400

“You’re not needy. You’re starving. You certainly do not want for too much. These things you crave are all entirely normal, natural, its-your-birth-right, your-parents-probably-didn’t-give-you-enough things. So you’re starving. That’s okay. You can begin there. Begin bit by bit, or bite by bite. Begin by renaming this ‘neediness’ with a more accurate term: hunger. Begin by asking for what you want. Begin by honoring your hunger. By feeding yourself. Begin by receiving the cravings with kindness, instead of shame. This hunger of yours. It’s so wise. You’re not needy. You’re simply starving.”

- Rachel W. Cole (via internal-acceptance-movement)

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Mon, 17 Jun 2013 14:54:18 -0400

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Thu, 13 Jun 2013 22:18:00 -0400

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Sun, 02 Jun 2013 01:22:42 -0400

mylifeasafeminista: tips for looking hot this summer: eat what you want exercise if and when you...

Fri, 03 May 2013 13:45:17 -0400

mylifeasafeminista:

tips for looking hot this summer:

eat what you want

exercise if and when you want

dress how you want

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Fri, 03 May 2013 13:44:36 -0400

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Mon, 29 Apr 2013 18:58:51 -0400

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Mon, 29 Apr 2013 13:33:12 -0400

sophie-keep-smiling: emergingasabutterfly: The only person standing between you and recovery is...

Sun, 28 Apr 2013 18:14:00 -0400

sophie-keep-smiling:

emergingasabutterfly:

The only person standing between you and recovery is yourself. You need to allow yourself to recover. No more messing about. Your body can’t go on for much longer. You need to decide between life or death. You need to learn your own worth.

You are in your own way. Get out of the way.

This is literally how I feel right now! Sophie recovery minds think alike :P

This is so destructive to say to someone struggling, especially if they are at the end of their rope. Are you comfortable with your words, this post, potentially sending someone over the edge into self harm or suicide?

Well….are you?

everybodyhasabrain: Ever since I got engaged, Facebook has been...

Tue, 16 Apr 2013 00:46:33 -0400

everybodyhasabrain:

Ever since I got engaged, Facebook has been constantly showing me diets and workout routines in advertising posts— because of course, I must be obsessing over my body right now!, right?

A few weeks ago there was a post in my Newsfeed that showed a “muffin top” belly that said “Mom loses 20 pounds with this simple trick”.

The image had such an impact on me that I dreamed that I had triplets, and I was looking at myself in the mirror and just started crying over how ugly I felt.

In the dream I just kept crying and thinking that I was never going to be able to feel the same about my body, that I couldn’t believe how much it had changed and that I wished I had only had one baby instead of three.

I know this was only a dream, but it really spoke to me. I woke up feeling a little weird about it, and it made me think of how much the media and our social culture have made me afraid of gaining weight, of having a muffin top, and of being a mom who never recovers her “normal” self.

I found this article: “4 steps to getting back your body, mind and spirit after baby”, and I thought of sharing it. It’s for all of us, new moms, formerly new moms, or contemplating becoming a mom someday, and also for all those who can help women’s mental health.

-Daniela

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Tue, 09 Apr 2013 21:29:07 -0400

jaaaaaaaaaackfrost: “you’re too thin” “you’re too big” “you should gain weight” “you should lose...

Fri, 05 Apr 2013 22:08:55 -0400

jaaaaaaaaaackfrost:

“you’re too thin”

“you’re too big”

“you should gain weight”

“you should lose weight”

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Mon, 18 Mar 2013 12:13:36 -0400

RECOVERY APPS:

Mon, 18 Mar 2013 12:07:57 -0400

recoveryisbeautiful:

Recovery Record (eating disorders)

Kissy Project (eating disorders)

MoodKit (mood disorders) —> $

CBT Referee —> $

DBT Self Help

The Now (mindfulness)

iCounselor (OCD, eating disorders, depression, anxiety, anger)

OneHealth Meeting Finder (alcohol and substance abuse)

From one of the other blogs I mod, there was this anon ask that I just answered that I thought...

Sun, 17 Mar 2013 21:33:00 -0400

From one of the other blogs I mod, there was this anon ask that I just answered that I thought I’d share with followers here. Feel free to follow us at space-of-safety.

Anon asked:

For the first time in something like a year I was triggered into a small relapse into the eating disorder no one really knows/knew about, and I’m doing all I can to not just sit on the thinspo tag on tumblr and cry/never eat again and I’m really proud of that. I still don’t eat a lot, I’m really trying to get better but I still can’t quite get myself to eat more than 1600-1800 calories a day, so my friends make fun of me and ask if I have an ED, do you know any strategies to deal with that?

Answer:

TW: eating disorders, anorexia, food, caloric intake

I do. I have a history of anorexia and I still have the thoughts periodically, though since I’ve gained weight, and especially now that I’m pregnant and do not have control over my body it’s more frequent.

First of all, remember that I am not a mental health or health professional or doctor. Anything I’m saying here is from personal experience, from a survivor to a survivor. I would suggest going to see a nutritionist or a therapist to talk about these things if you are comfortable and able.

That being said, your body *may* not need more than 1600-1800 calories. I can’t tell you what your body needs. The only way to find out is through having a direct or indirect calorimetry done. It is a biological fact that people who have eating disorders and restrict for several years can have much slower metabolisms than they usually would have. This can stay with them for the rest of their lives, regardless if they are now eating more healthily and have worked through their ED behaviors. I am a prime example of this. I got an indirect calorimetry done last August and my basal metabolic rate was 1250 calories. I had been eating 1800 calories a day, thinking I was being healthy. I was gaining 1 lb. a week. Doctors and a nutritionist have told me that 500 calories more than you need a day would make you gain 1 lb. a week. My body didn’t need that many calories, and I unknowingly paid the price by gaining over 40 lbs. before finally finding out what was happening.

My point is that, regardless of how you feel about eating (though that is very very important!) you may not need to eat as much as you think you do. Please see a nutritionist and talk about your options. If you are also experiencing weakness and feeling tired and exhausted a lot, I’d really recommend it. These are signs of a slow metabolism.

Also, remember that people’s bodies are different, and the 2000 calories a day suggestion are the “norm” for Americans. Females require less calories than males, younger people require more calories than the elderly, and so on.

I am NOT saying you need to restrict what you are eating. I am NOT saying you should diagnose yourself. I am saying that you should consider seeking outside help rather than just sitting around worrying.

I applaud you for reaching out, and for staying off the thinspo tag. I also applaud you for coming this far and eating the amount that you do. You say that you “don’t eat a lot,” though you probably know as well as I do that eating normally is a huge huge huge step, and I’m very proud of you.

What I would say about your friends is that you need to tell them that what they are saying is hurtful to you. If you are comfortable, tell them that you are a survivor and that what they are saying is detrimental to your recovery. If you are not comfortable saying that, just ask them to not talk to you that way. If they are true friends that care about you, they will respect that.

As for your own mental well-being…to be honest, the thoughts may come and go for you for a long time. I first became anorexic at age 13. I am almost 27 now and I still have the thoughts more often than I’d like. Having the thoughts does not make you a bad person nor does it mean that you are slipping back into anorexia. It means that you have remnants of the trauma of anorexia in your mind. Trauma does this…it likes to stick around and haunt you. It is possible to work through it, but at least from my personal experience, I don’t know if it’s possible to entirely get rid of the thoughts forever, you know?

What I would recommend is that when the thoughts pop up, do not act on them! Do not do anything that could feed them, such as looking at the thinspo tag, avoiding food, or practicing triggering behaviors. Continue doing what you normally do, practice healthy distraction techniques, and the thoughts will subside.

Does anyone else here have experience with an eating disorder and no longer have the thoughts pop up for you? How did that work? How did you get to that point?

-MO

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Sun, 10 Mar 2013 23:12:20 -0400

qkq-3: That’s really hard. I know eating disorders and...

Sun, 10 Mar 2013 20:07:51 -0400

qkq-3:

That’s really hard. I know eating disorders and awareness around them tends to be geared toward females, a lot of people forget guys suffer too. I actually had a male friend who suffered from anorexia for a while.

I do have some posts about males with eating disorders specifically, I will get them ready to reblog for you. But if you want, you can check out right here… I think most of my posts about males and eating disorders are under there. I will also personally make sure I have more posts geared toward guys because you’re right- everywhere is too much geared toward girls and it isn’t fair.

You can also check out this organization, it’s called Men Get Eating Disorders Too. They have a list of books geared toward men suffering right here, a list of other online resources (including blogs of several males with ED), I also believe there’s a ‘community’ section with forums where you can find support.

MGEDT also has both a facebook and a twitter page.

Another organization you may want to check out is The National Association for Men with Eating Disorders (N.A.M.E.D.). They definitely have support group discussion forums on this website for men and boys (above or below 18), all you have to do is give your email. Again, they have a list of books- this one includes the male oriented books as well as more general eating disorders books so it is a larger list.

Men Get EDs is another place for you to find online support that I just found for you doing a quick search. I don’t know as much about this website but I’ve been looking around and it looks like they do have a ‘chat’ section (although I don’t think many people know this website exists so it was empty when I just went in to check).

A lot of the more general eating disorder organizations also have sections on their websites where they focus on males with eating disorders.

NEDA

Something-Fishy

Mentor Connect (M.O.R.E. - Men Owning Recovery from Eating Disorders)

I’m also going to send you to Elijah if you would like to connect with someone on tumblr who is going through the same thing as you… maybe he will have some words of wisdom. He is the one guy I know off the top of my head right now who’s URL I can give you.

I actually don’t think I have many of the links for men with eating disorders in my resources section on my page so I will be sure to add those in for you.

I hope this helped a bit or at least can send you a few places where you can fet support from other men. And like I said, I will be reblogging my posts about men with eating disorders for you and all of the other guys out there.

I know it’s difficult and society makes it feel like this is something just females go through- but there’s nothing to be ashamed about. Men do go through this as well but I think society makes it difficult for all of the guys to be as open about it.

If you need anything please let me know- I’m always here for you and I hope you can find some more of the support you’re looking for <3

xx

__

This needed rebloggability.

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Wed, 06 Mar 2013 01:05:15 -0500

"When I realized I was not my body, I became free."

Fri, 22 Feb 2013 21:12:22 -0500

“When I realized I was not my body, I became free.”

- (via blackbruise)