Mindful and Gentle Eating Process - How to Interrupt the Pattern of Emotional Eating

If you're a woman struggling with emotional eating, you probably often feel like you have no control around food. Because you've probably used food for so long to medicate your emotions, it's become second nature. You don't have an accurate picture of it anymore. This is why you probably swear that you can't live without M&Ms, your favorite cheesy puffs or Mom's homemade lasagna. But it's not the food that's hitting your happy spots, it's the connection to those memories. Right now you're linking extreme pleasure to eating the food and the consequence of that is that you can't seem to ever get enough. The truth is you can't get enough of it, because it's not what you really want. You're really seeking the opportunity to re-experience the positive memories that come with eating the food. However in order to extract those feel good feelings, you don't have to overeat the food.

The following method is to be used in conjunction with a permission based eating approach to food called Intuitive Eating. If you are dieting or restricting the foods you eat, you will have a much harder time with this exercise. This is because as a dieter, you will always want what you think you can't have. If you believe that you can't or shouldn't eat chocolate, then it will be extremely difficult for you to feel the level of safety intended in this exercise that comes with knowing that you can eat what you want whenever you get hungry.

in order to fully overcome emotional eating, it is essential that you find resourceful ways of dealing with the often uncomfortable emotions that drive you to eat. It is also important to be able to neutralize these emotions and deal with them so that they do not trigger the desire to overeat. For this, I heartily recommend the use of doing whatever you have to do to cope aggressively with the stress in your life. I teach my clients a variety of techniques listed under the umbrella category of energy psychology tools or energy therapy. They function to eliminate painful emotional and physical blockages in the body. One of my favorite processes is based on the science of acupuncture. It's called Emotional Freedom Technique or EFT.

I've created the following exercise for my Say Goodbye to Dieting Program. I recommend that you use this Mindful and Gentle Eating Exercise to become more conscious of your eating, slow yourself down and refocus on how the food makes you feel and notice how it feels in your body in the moment and over time.

The intention of the exercise is to begin to reawaken your sense of how to eat more mindfully, in full conscious awareness of your thoughts and feelings as you eat. If you're inclined to be a fast eater like me, I know how hard it is for you to consider eating more slowly. Eating fast is a sign of compulsion, that stems from fear of lack. Many non diet weight loss programs only advocate eating slowly as a means of breaking the habit of compulsion that drives the speed eating. I don't agree with that. As a gal who has always eaten very fast, I resented it when anyone told me to eat slowly. The resistance you feel is that little survival part of you that refuses to be made to feel unsafe ever again. I promise I won't ever take anything away from you. My only desire is to add to what you already have.

As a Master Practitioner of Neuro Linguistic Programming, I encourage you to learn by giving you the opportunity to enjoy contrast. I believe that choices are essential to being happy and in order to create new habits effortlessly, you have to feel really good about what you choose. You'll notice in this exercise, I'll ask you to eat slowly and then I'll encourage you to eat at your normal pace, whatever that may be and then alternate between the two speeds. That is done so that your brain can reorganize itself and find an intermediate speed that will become a new comfort level for you. To prepare you to do the exercise, please do the following 5 intermediary steps, A-E.

You may choose to eat anything that you want. The choice is up to you. This exercise is done to consciously slow you down. You may find it a challenge at first, later it will become a great joy.

A. Find five emotional food connections in your life that have in the past compelled you to eat when you were not hungry.

B. What has that food meant to you?

C. What memories rise to the surface when you think about it?

D. Go out and get one of those foods or all of them, bring it home or prepare it. (For best results, you'll practice this exercise each time with each of the individual foods you've chosen)

E. Before you are ready to sit down and eat your chosen food, set your place with the appropriate silverware and a napkin (even if you are eating a pint of ice cream, make sure that you have a napkin) You don't have to serve it in a bowl unless you choose to do so. Now you're ready to begin.

Mindful and Gentle Eating Process

1. Bring your journal to the table

2. Have your silverware and optional plate or bowl ready along with your napkin

3. Place the food on the table

4. Sit down facing it

5. Look at it

6. Smell it

7. Be present with your feelings as they surface

8. Notice those feelings

9. Sit for a few moments and write down your observations of the food and your feelings connected to it

10. Close your journal

11. Pause and think for a moment, offering thanks for this food

12. Pick up your utensil

13. Take a small bite or spoonful.

14. Place the food in your mouth and allow it to rest on the tip of your tongue.

15. Swirl it around in your mouth for about 3 to 7 seconds

16. Notice the sensations that come up for you

17. Slowly chew it or allow it to gently glide down your throat.

18. Put down your fork or spoon and resist picking it up for a moment. If you have to sit on your hands, then do it

19. Just sit with those feelings for about 10 -15 seconds

20. Repeat the process from stage 12-19 until you are satisfied. Notice the degree of that satisfaction. Do this at least 3 times during the week. The rest of the times eat at your normal pace. See what you discover.

And to learn more about how to how to make peace with food and friends with your body go to http://www.thejuicywoman.com and learn the strategies I use every day to be curvy and confident at any size

From Andrea Amador - The Juicy Woman

This post was made using the Auto Blogging Software from WebMagnates.org This line will not appear when posts are made after activating the software to full version.

Teenage Eating Disorders - What Parents Need to Know

Unfortunately, despite there being more resources and information about eating disorders available to teens, teachers and parents, this is still an issue which impacts many American teens. Some children as young as eight have developed eating disorders, however, eating disorders usually develop between the ages of thirteen and seventeen. Eating disorders are characterized by extremes in eating behaviors or when someone is on a diet that just goes on and on.

There is no clear cause for an individual developing an eating disorder, however, there are some Risk Factors which increase one's chances of developing an eating disorder:

1. Adolescence itself is a risk factor because of the significant changes that take place in one's body during this time. In adolescent girls it is very normal to gain body fat during puberty which can result in girls feeling like they do not fit in with what a teenage girl is supposed to look like according to the media.

2. Teens also face a lot of emotional stress related to school pressure, peer pressure and a general sense of feeling very uncertain and out of control with all the changes they are experiencing. Sometimes, these individuals will work to control their food as a result and as a way of helping them feel in control.

3. Another risk factor is an individual going through puberty at a younger than average age. For these individuals, the changes in their bodies can be even scarier because they are not seeing others change in the same way. They may restrict food excessively in an effort to stop their bodies from developing further.

4. Teens who are involved in athletics, dancing, etc. are at increased risk because they are often concerned that the changes in their bodies will impact their overall performance.

5. Teens living in homes where there is abuse, substance abuse or poor communication are at increased risk for developing an eating disorder. Often times these teens will restrict food as a way of feeling more in control or they will turn to food for comfort which may result in binge eating.

6. Teens living in homes where there is excessive pressure to succeed are also at increased risk for developing eating disorders. It is completely acceptable for parents to push their children to work hard and have goals, however, when this push is excessive and extreme, teens can begin to feel out of control and like they are failing which results in their trying to gain some control through food.

The above list is not exhaustive but does outline some of the risk factors which may make a teen more likely to develop an eating disorder. The two most common types of eating disorders called Anorexia Nervosa ("Anorexia") and Bulimia Nervosa ("Bulimia"). Below are some common characteristics of each:

Anorexia Nervosa: is characterized by individuals being obsessed with being thin. Individuals with Anorexia have an extreme fear of gaining weight and a distorted body image. This means that regardless of how thin they are, they still view their body as being too big. Individuals with Anorexia are very noticeably thin. These individuals have behaviors which may include restricting food, fasting, obsessively counting calories, exercising excessively, using diet pills or laxatives or vomiting after eating. Individuals with Anorexia do not eat enough to allow their body to function properly.

Health Risks Associated with Anorexia Nervosa: there are many health risks associated with not feeding the body enough food. These include:

o Lowered blood pressure and pulse

o Brittle hair and nails

o Lightheadedness or fainting

o Swollen joints

o Low temperature

o Loss of hair on the head

o Depression

o Lanugo - the growth of soft furry hair on the face, back and arms

o Slow or stunted growth

o Menstrual periods stop

Bulimia Nervosa: is characterized by individuals binge eating (eating a lot of food even when not hungry) and then purging or engaging in excessive exercise following binge eating. Individuals with Bulimia have a distorted body image and may actually appear to be of a healthy weight or even slightly overweight. Individuals must be binging and purging regularly to be diagnosed with this eating disorder. Often times individuals will eat secretly because they are ashamed of their inability to control how much they are eating.

Health Risks Associated with Bulimia Nervosa: there are many health risks associated with eating excessively and then purging. Some of these include:

o Stomach pain

o Permanent damage to the stomach and kidneys

o Irregular menstrual cycles

o Dehydration

o Swollen face

o Sore Throat

o Dry, flaky skin

o Electrolyte problems

o Low potassium levels

o Heart arrhythmias

o Tooth decay

o If gaining too much weight could develop diabetes or heart disease

Treatment:

Obviously the health risks are great and professional help is necessary if you believe your teen has an eating disorder. Treatment usually involves a combination of a medical doctor, a therapist and a dietitian or nutritionist who work together to address the eating disorder. If a teen has anorexia, the first step will be to work with them to get them back to a healthy weight where they are medically stable and safe. Medically a doctor will check height, weight and may also run an EKG or check the body's chemicals to make sure they are at health levels. The medical doctor will work in conjunction with a nutritionist to discuss healthy eating, vitamin supplements if needed and to make sure healthy eating becomes part of someone's lifestyle. Therapy is an extremely important component in the treatment of eating disorders because there is an emotional component to the issue related to self esteem and body image which needs to be addressed. In addition, there may be a co-occurring mental health issue which can be assessed by a trained therapist. Very often family therapy occurs along with individual therapy which can help family members better understand the issue and ways in which they can help support the treatment process.

The treatment of eating disorders can be a slow process but is critical to both the physical and emotional well being of an individual. If you believe your teenager has an eating disorder you should first seek medical attention as soon as possible. There are many talented therapists who specialize in working with teens and in working with eating disorders who can be located through physicians or by researching them on the internet. You and your teen have a right to "interview" your treatment providers to make sure you find individuals who you feel are a good fit for you which will increase the success of the treatment process.

As a parent, it is important that you also have support for yourself during this time of worry and confusion. You will be working closely with your child's treatment team but should also make sure you have your own support network during this challenging time which may include close friends or family, a therapist, a coach or a group where you can take time to just focus on yourself. Making sure that you stay healthy (both emotionally and physically) is also critical to your child's treatment process.

For more information on Life Coaching or coaching for parents please visit [http://elite-life-coaching.com] or email Karen@elite-life-coahing.com

My name is Karen Vincent. I am a Certified Life Coach as well as a Licensed Independent Clinical Social Worker with a Masters Degree from Boston University. I have worked with teenagers / adolescents and their parents for the last 15 years in a variety of settings, including outpatient therapy, specialized schools, and in the home.

I have developed and conducted numerous parenting classes and support workshops specific to parents of teens. I have also created and presented training for professional staff including teachers, therapists and counselors who work with adolescents in Massachusetts, Connecticut and in New York City.

In my work, I partner with parents (usually through phone calls) who are experiencing difficulties in connecting with their teenage children and who are struggling to manage social, emotional or behavioral issues which arise during the teenage years. Through working with me, parents are able to:

• work through any self doubt they are having about their parenting

• develop action plans for addressing their areas of concern

• develop new ways of parenting their teens effectively

• discover new ways of connecting effectively with their teens

• eliminate sleepless nights and worries while Restoring Peace of Mind During the Teenage Years

Please call for a free Coaching Consultation: 774-245-7775

This post was made using the Auto Blogging Software from WebMagnates.org This line will not appear when posts are made after activating the software to full version.

Learning How to Eat

If someone said to you that you need to learn how to eat, you would probably look at them as if they had lost his or her mind. After all, you were eating before you could walk or talk. This being the case, how is it that someone can make a statement like this.

Well, first of all, it is true that you do have the physical process down, that is you already know how to put the food in your mouth, chew and swallow. But eating is much more than that. Eating is about supplying your body with the proper nutrition in the proper amounts. More precisely, learning how to eat is about learning healthy eating habits.

Present Eating Habits

Your eating habits started their development when you were a child. Regardless if they were healthy or not, whatever you were given as well as how much you were given to eat are the foundation of your present day eating habits. So if you were taught to always clean your plate, regardless of how much was on the plate, you probably ate it all up.

It is eating patterns like this that you are going to have to change in order to develop better and healthy eating habits. More to the point, this is what is meant when you are told that you need to learn how to eat.

Healthy Eating Habits

Even though healthy eating habits can be separated into a number of distinct points, for the most part, they all can be encompassed in just two: types of foods and food portion control.

Types of Foods

First there is the types of foods that you should eat most of the time. I say most of the time, because some of the foods you may most like may not make the cut for being the healthiest for you.

These foods that you should eat most of the time are lean meats, whole grains, and of course vegetables. This combination should be present in most of your meals. Depending on your culture, you may want to go with fruit for breakfast as oppose to vegetables, even though an omelet can include a nice variety of vegetables.

Given the easy access to processed and fried foods, eating in this manner is foreign to most of us. However, to enjoy better health and for many of you, a smaller waistline, you need to internalize this concept of eating into your dining habits.

Food Portion Control

Probably the most important healthy eating habit is food portion control. For many of you growing up, no thought had been given to controlling food portions. You would typically just eat until you were no longer hungry. Bad idea.

Instead, once you learn to control how much you eat, you will be well underway to establishing the single greatest healthy eating habit. Keep in mind, this habit is not about starving yourself, but about developing a new awareness of how to feel when you eat. And with this awareness, you can start realizing other diet related goals, such as weight loss or gaining more energy.

How to Eat

In conclusion, learning how to eat is about developing healthy eating habits. This consists of learning the types of foods to eat and consuming them in the proper portion sizes. Once these habits become second nature to you, you will have truly learned how to eat.

Check out the latest news and information on diets, weigh loss products, and exercise at http://www.How-to-Burn-Fat.com. In addition to reporting on the lastest information regarding diet and weight loss research, the site is updated daily with advice and guidance on ways to burn fat quickly. Plus, learn about burning visceral fat to get a flat tummy.

This post was made using the Auto Blogging Software from WebMagnates.org This line will not appear when posts are made after activating the software to full version.

Overcome Binge Eating Today For Healthy Weight Loss

In recent times, due importance is being given to the ill effects of binge eating and the need for healthy weight loss. Binge eating is a roadblock for efficient weight reduction. The term 'binge' is usually associated with a bout of heavy drinking but now the term 'binge eating' is increasingly being used to identify an eating disorder. In binge eating, food is usually consumed in heavy quantities and later regurgitated. These bouts of heavy eating hamper the health and causes obesity. Moreover, the process seriously hampers the natural metabolic activities and causes a significant negative impact on the health and well being of the binge eater. Among many illnesses caused by binge eating, morbid obesity and type 2 diabetes are the most common. It is important to understand the negative effects of binge eating and take stern steps to curb this behavior.

The significant features of binge eating include an enormous quantity of food taken at a single time and the loss of control over eating. It is necessary to identify the triggers; the foods that you eat during a binge attack and learn about the emotions that are basis of your eating. For further help it is necessary to maintain a diary so that the details of eating behavior can be recorded and checked at a later instance. Sometimes, it is useful to avoid dieting and start mindful eating. Mindful eating refers to the behavior of eating foods with a strict interest in knowing what you eat, how you eat and the process that enables you to eat foods. The understanding of the whole process of eating can go a long way in treating the disorder of binge eating. Moreover, it can also assist you in healthy weight loss.

The next step in treating binge eating is to practice progressive relaxation. Relaxation can offer a helping hand as it allows you to understand the resting process. This understanding helps in reducing stress and enables you to eat mindfully. Moreover, relaxation helps in building the confidence that one can overcome the disorder. It has also been observed that mindful eating contributes the least to the problem of obesity. Therefore, when you concentrate in the process of eating, there are less chances of becoming obese and more chances of you incurring a healthy weight loss.

Another way to treat the problem of binge eating is to take help of hypnosis. A food diary, if maintained, can be extremely helpful to the hypnotherapist in treating your case. The knowledge of what is happening to you regarding your eating behavior can offer enormous help in shortening the binges, increase the gap between your meals and eliminating the disorder forever.

Binge eating is one of the most influential factors that leads to or worsens the condition of obesity. It is important to keep vigilance over the process of eating so that the condition can be controlled. It also increases the risk of getting other diseases indirectly. Therefore, it is important to understand the basic features of the disorder as it can impact the health negatively. In many cases, cognitive behavior therapy can also be useful in overcoming the disorder. Therefore, if you feel that you are suffering from and eating disorder, it would be wise to consult your doctor for possible help to get rid of the problem. In the process, you can also get help regarding healthy weight loss.

For Fast Weight Loss try the Simple Diet Guide

This post was made using the Auto Blogging Software from WebMagnates.org This line will not appear when posts are made after activating the software to full version.

Emotional Eating - Self Sabotage

Do you ever eat when you're not hungry? Do you ever eat without realizing that you are eating? Do you often eat alone, whether at home, in you car or elsewhere? Do you crave specific foods when you are feeling down, pasta, fries, chips, chocolate, ice cream? Does eating when you're down make you feel better or less focussed on your problems? Do you feel guilty or ashamed afterward? Do you eat because you feel like there is nothing else to do? If you answered yes to any of the above questions chances are pretty good that you have a tendency to let your emotions dictate what, and how much you eat.

Emotional eating is much like any addiction, but instead of turning to drugs or alcohol to remove you from reality, you turn to food for comfort. Whether done consciously or unconsciously, you're strongest tendencies to overeat will happen when you are at your weakest point emotionally. In effort to suppress or soothe negative feelings, emotional eaters binge when they are sad, angry, anxious, bored, confused, lonely or upset. Things like health problems, break ups, arguments, unemployment and financial uncertainties are all common triggers. Others may not be so obvious; daily life hassles, waiting in long line ups, pressuring deadlines, stressful driving conditions, bad weather, re-locating and changes in your daily routine can also affect your emotions negatively. This might not be so bad if you were binging on a vegetables, eating too many carrots or too much salad. Unfortunately, most often the foods that feed emotions are high calorie, sweet, salty and fatty foods that will sabotage any weight loss efforts.

Emotional eating is a vicious cycle of self sabotage. While you're eating, your focus is on food, distracting you from what's really bothering you. But the distraction is only temporary. When you're done over eating, your focus will return to your problems and whats worse is now you will be dealing with an added stress; the guilt of over eating. Unhealthy overeating leads not only to weight gain but to a destructive pattern of anxiety and self loathing that's tough to break on your own.

Alike any addiction, beating emotional eating can be a terribly difficult thing to do. The first step to over coming the gravitational pull towards food when your upset is understanding why you want to eat. Identify the things that make you feel pressured, sad, angry or anxious. Once you understand your triggers, you can break the cycle and start regaining control of when, why and how you eat. Acknowledge the feeling(s) that you are trying to avoid, as painful as they may be, for you will never get past what you are feeling until you "let it be". It's perfectly normal to have negative feelings, it's an un-avoidable part of life. Whether you allow yourself feel them or not will determine how the feelings will affect you. Consider a the old bandaid analogy: you can rip it off in one quick pull, and there will be pain, it will hurt for a short time but before you know it the hurt passes. The other, less desirable option is to slowly peel the bandaid back, bit by bit, taking small breaks, aggravating every millimeter of the affected area, drawing it out, making the painful experience last much longer. Emotional eating makes the experience last much longer and often times you never actually "get the bandaid off". Dealing with your feelings is step one. Face your issues. Bring them out of your subconscious and into your conscious reality. Accept that you are angry, lonely, stressed out or upset. Try to figure out why you feel the way you do and take steps towards solving the problem. If you can't do it on your own, see someone, a councillor or a therapist. It is their job to help people get through tough times, accept and deal with negative emotions, better understand themselves, the world around them and move on. If you don't deal with the root, the cause of the problem, you will never be able to move through the feelings that it brought on.

Although getting to the root of the problem and dealing with what bothers you is the biggest part of overcoming emotional eating the following tips will help:

Look elsewhere for comfort. Instead of reaching for the ice cream pale or the cookie jar, have a cup of tea, take a walk, phone a friend, watch a movie, listen to music, read or hit the gym.

Take ten minutes to pass. When you have a craving, accept it but don't act on it. Generally with emotional eating, the problem comes when people act immediately on a craving. It you give yourself some time to "think it through" it will pass. Curb cravings with flavoured herbal tea, they are healthy, tasty and will satisfy your oral fixations.

Don't bring junk food home. If it's not there, you can't eat it. If you are craving something un-healthy, you will be less likely to eat it if you have to go to the store to get it.

Make the TV room a "no food allowed" zone. So many people sit and eat mindlessly in front of the television. Avoid over eating by sitting down at the table and eating.

Always leave something on your plate. Even if it's just one bite. This reminds you that you are in control of the food, not the other way around. A little bit of empowerment can go a long way!

Eat right. If you aren't getting what you need from your diet you will be much more likely to emotional eating. Always eat breakfast following which eat a small meal every three to four hours. Your diet should consist of lean proteins, whole grains, fruits and vegetables.

Exercise and sleep. When you are working out and sleeping regularly you feel better and are able to better deal with stresses.

Make a healthy choice. If you must "fill the void" have fruit, vegetables with dip, or unbuttered air popped popcorn.

Stacy Lynn Zeman

Personal Trainer & Group Fitness Instructor

[http://www.thefitnessclubkelowna.com]

This post was made using the Auto Blogging Software from WebMagnates.org This line will not appear when posts are made after activating the software to full version.

Number One Reason For Developing an Eating Disorder

Hundreds of people have asked me why someone develops an eating disorder. Of course many issues are involved, but from my exploration of this field over the years, I have concluded that there is one outstanding theme that runs through every person with an eating disorder whom I have encountered. Early in their lives, people with eating disorders have experienced, on a sustained basis, relentless boundary invasion on every level.

When their physical, emotional, psychological, intellectual, sexual, and creative boundaries are consistently ignored and penetrated, people experience total boundary invasion. With no control and no way to end, protest, or, often, even acknowledge such invasions, these persons feel helplessness, despair, and a certainty that they are worthless to themselves or anyone else.

The consequences of such total invasion are vast. One consequence is an eating disorder. Having had so many boundaries disregarded, a person has no knowledge or skills in recognizing or honoring boundaries herself. She will eat or starve for emotional relief.

She may eat vast amounts of food for comfort value alone. She may deprive herself of food until her life is in danger. She has no internal regulator that tells her when she has reached her limit and experienced enough. Being oblivious to any boundaries means being oblivious to limits of any kind.

The compulsive overeater eats whenever and whatever she likes. She bases her choices on self-medication issues, not feelings of physical hunger.

The anorexic will not eat. There is no limit to her not eating. She will starve herself to death in search of relief from her emotional pain. She knows nothing of the experience of having enough. She couldn't say, "Enough," to an invader of her boundaries, and she can't say it to herself. The concept of enough has no meaning to her. She often feels that if she "disappeared," she might find some permanent relief.

I have heard countless anorexic young women talk ethereally, with a lost-in-a-beautiful-world-of-angels smile, of how wonderful it would be to become a vapor or a light dancing spirit in the clouds. Ah, such spiritual bliss, they imagine. In reality, it's the final self-protective act, to destroy their bodies and their lives completely. Then they can truly escape the complexities of being alive.

The bulimic will binge grotesque amounts of food. She will assault herself with more food than her body can tolerate. The compulsive overeater will, at last, have to stop eating if only because of the pain in her distended stomach. Her body sets a final limit. The bulimic has no such limit. She experiences (in her mind) no consequences of the food assault on her body. When her body cannot bear more, she will vomit it all out. Then she will resume her binge. She may reach her body's limits many times. Each time she does, she can throw up again and continue.

Eventually she stops, because she is completely exhausted, or she is in danger of being discovered. "Enough" has no meaning to her. There are no limits and no consequences for her disregard of her boundaries.

Realistically, of course, there are plenty of consequences. Her behavior inflicts serious damage to her body. And each time she attacks herself with a binge-and-purge episode, she destroys more of her spirit, soul, self-esteem, sanity, health, and value to herself and others.

Each violation deepens her ritualistic behavior, and she becomes more entrenched in her disorder. The consequence is increasing anguish and despair. Yet the eating disorder is not the cause of that anguish and despair. The eating disorder exists to numb her from her already existing psychological agonies.

For a while, maybe a few years, the eating disorder successfully blocks her awareness of pain too difficult to bear. But eventually the protective device of the eating disorder becomes just another boundary invader, this time self-induced, that weakens and damages her even more.

What do I mean by a history of boundary violations? Blatant and extreme boundary violations involve sexual molestation, sexual abuse, and physical abuse. Much has been written about these areas now, especially in material exploring Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID). Use your search engines to find some quality information posted on the Internet in these subject areas.

However, there are other kinds of boundary violations, and these are less dramatic, less discussed, more prevalent, and just as devastating to a persons psyche. When, in the name of caretaking, people in authority take over a young person's life, it constitutes boundary invasion.

When others deny her privacy, read her diary, borrow or take her things without permission, or use their ideas or goals or personalities to overwhelm her efforts in school or sports, that is a violation of her boundaries.

When others disregard or disdain her choices or deny her any control over her personal life, clothes, food, friends, and activities, they are invading her boundaries.

An invasion of boundaries also takes place when, in the name of caretaking, people give her no responsibilities of her own and attach no consequences to her actions. When the child or adolescent can have all the things she asks for without putting forth effort to earn such gifts, she learns nothing about personal effort, limits, consequences, or the meaning of enough. If she wants something, she gets it. That's all. If someone picks up her clothes, does her laundry, fixes her car, pays her bills, lends her money or things without expecting them returned, she experiences no boundaries and no limits.

If she doesn't have to keep her promises, if she doesn't reciprocate with caring actions for people who care for her, she learns nothing useful about herself in relationship to other people. The only thing she learns with certainty is that there are no limits to her behaviors or desires.

These boundary invasions are not loving acts, nor are they "spoiling" a child through overindulgence. Quite the contrary, they are acts of neglect. The child's taste, mind, capacity to learn, and ability to grow and function as an independent agent in the world remain unacknowledged.

When others, even well-meaning others, ignore her identity as a unique, developing, and competent individual and flood her with their personal agendas, she feels as if a steamroller had flattened out her psyche. She may learn to please, to manipulate, to compete, or to control, but she is unable to learn to be fully present in the world as her genuine self.

She doesn't learn that she has meaning and value. She doesn't learn that she can put that meaning and value within her to work to accomplish goals.

For example, if she breaks something, whether it is a lamp, a car, her word, or someone's heart, it is possible and healthier to give her the responsibility for making necessary repairs using her own resources and her own creativity. In such a process, she learns what effort means. She learns what responsibility and consequences for actions mean. She learns reasonable limits and reasonable expectations. Shhe develops resources to make healthy and caring decisions in the future.

Without such lessons, she learns are the tricks involved in adapting quickly to the expectations of others or being manipulative to get what she wants. These are poor and insubstantial tools to rely on when building an adult life.

Somewhere inside, over time, she may gradually realize this. But without a sense of boundaries, she will only become bewildered and anxious. She will accelerate her practice of using her eating disorder as a way to numb her feelings of anxiety. She will use her manipulating skills to get what she wants from whomever she can exploit.

As time passes, fewer people in her life will allow themselves to be manipulated. The quality of her circle of associates will decline as she seeks people she can control with her inadequate methods of functioning in the world. She will find herself in bad company. T

This becomes all the more reason to rely on eating disorder behaviors for comfort. The people around her are less reliable all the time. And finally, they tolerate her presence only because they can manipulate her.

She arrives at the total-victim position. Her manipulative skills backfire. People exist in this world who are better at manipulating and using than she. She has found them. She becomes their target and then their prey. Her dependence upon her eating disorder becomes her most valuable and trustworthy relationship.

Early in her development, she learned through massive boundary invasions (which perhaps seemed ordinary and unimportant at the time) that she was helpless to assert herself. She learned that she had no private or sacred space to cherish and respect. She could not acknowledge, even to herself, that she was being thwarted, invaded, controlled, manipulated, and forced to deny large aspects of her natural self. She had no recourse except to comply.

To succeed at being unaware of her natural tastes, curiosities, and inclinations and her pain in restraining her natural tendencies, she developed an eating disorder. Now that she's older and her manipulation skills are failing her, she only has her eating disorder to rely on. This may be the most crucial time in this person's life.

If her pain and despair are terrible enough and she is certain she cannot bear this way of living anymore, she still has choices. She can continue to rely on the eating disorder and by so doing take the path to self-destruction. Or she can reach out and get help.

This is a tough position for her. She's never known what enough was. Yet to choose to get help, she has to recognize that she has had enough pain. She's never known what a limit is. Yet she has to recognize that she has reached her limit and must choose between death and life. She has only known about pretense and manipulation. Yet she has to be honest to reach out for genuine help.

She feels massive anguish and pain before she stretches beyond her life pattern into what might bring her healing and recovery. She's reaching for something she can't imagine. It's difficult for a person with an eating disorder to decide to get help. She would have to allow herself to trust someone with knowledge of her real personhood.

She doesn't yet know that people who do respect and honor boundaries actually exist in this world. She doesn't yet know that there are people who can and will honor and cherish her most private and sacred inner spaces. She doesn't yet know that someday the trustworthy, respectful, steadfast, and competent caretaker she needs so badly can be herself.

Her first move toward recovery requires all the courage she can muster. Her recovery begins when with fear or rage, she rallies her courage to reach out for help.

Difficult, yes. But what she doesn't know yet is that she has been courageous all her life. She makes a grand discovery when she learns that she can apply her strength and courage to her own health. She can use her gifts to, at long last, be free of her eating disorder, be her genuine self in the world.

Professional Resources for Finding Help

Academy for Eating Disorders (AED)

American Anorexia and Bulimia Association (AABA)

Anorexia Nervosa and Related Disorders (ANRED)

Edreferral.com

International Association of Eating Disorders Professionals (IAEDP)

Joanna Poppink's Eating Disorders Resource List In-Patient Treatment Programs

National Eating Disorders Association (NEDA)

Joanna Poppink, Los Angeles psychotherapist, licensed since 1980 (MFT #15563), is deeply committed to bringing recovery to people suffering from eating disorders.

Her specialized psychotherapy practice is designed to allow clients to progress through anxiety situations to ongoing recovery from bulimia, compulsive eating, anorexia and binge eating. Her primary goal is to provide people with a way to achieve thorough and long lasting healing.

Eating Disorder Recovery book in progress through Conari Press
10573 West Pico Blvd. #20
Los Angeles, CA 90064
http://www.eatingdisorderrecovery.com
joanna@poppink.com

This post was made using the Auto Blogging Software from WebMagnates.org This line will not appear when posts are made after activating the software to full version.

To Eat Or Not to Eat? Eating Disorders

I would like to begin by covering what a few of the physiological factors are that can cause people to eat or not eat and then move on to specific eating disorders and some of the biopsychological views on them.

First it is important to understand the concept of hunger and fullness from physiological research and what it has shown us. Let us begin with things that have been discovered to be untrue. A common belief is that our blood glucose levels affect our hunger and satiety. However, research has shown that this is untrue; glucose levels remain fairly stable and do not fluctuate often. What does glucose have to do with hunger? The belief was that when our energy levels dropped so would our blood glucose, this would then trigger our hunger; we would then eat restoring our levels back up to a certain energy level. If this were true then people would maintain a relatively stable amount of weight because we would only eat for the amount of energy we needed. Another myth is that of the hypothalamus and its role in hunger and satiety. It was believed that it controlled satiety and feeding.

Instead research has shown that the hypothalamus controls energy metabolism not eating. A very common belief is that hunger is caused by an empty stomach and satiety is caused by the feeling of a full stomach. However, it was shown that people who had their stomachs removed still experienced feelings of hunger and satiety. Research has shown instead, that the gastrointestinal tract is the source of feelings of satiety. It was also found that the stomach and gastrointestinal system released chemicals called peptides which interacted with hormones and neurotransmitters in the brain; one of the peptides responsible for increasing appetites is synthesized in the brain in the hypothalamus.

The discovery of hunger and satiety peptides has re-established interest in the hypothalamus's role as well as the role of neurons in hunger and satiety. Research has also shown that serotonin plays a role in reducing hunger, eating and weight.

That was a lot of information to digest! What it basically means is that there are several factors that affect our feelings of hunger and satiety. Messages are sent via peptides to the body from areas such as the stomach and gastrointestinal tract to tell us when we are hungry or full. So if our bodies let us know when we are full or hungry how come some of us want to eat more or very little? Let's discuss some questions about anorexia and overeating and see if we can answer this.

Overeating

Q: My parents are obese, is that why I overeat?

A: That is a very good question and often people believe that it is simply a genetic factor which makes them obese. While genetics may play a small role in the chances of being able to become obese it seems to actually be our environments that shape our eating habits. For instance if the culture we live in heavily pushes processed, fatty, and unhealthy foods that promote weight gain and it is acceptable to eat it, then we will have a higher chance of developing a weight problem. Also our families play a role in our environments, so often what we eat, the amounts we eat, and how often we eat is learned from our family environments as well. Some people consume more energy because they crave more calorie rich foods. It has also been shown that some people have a strong response to the sight or smell of food which causes them to eat more. In short it is most likely environment but it may also be linked to genes or differences in our bodies.

Q: My boyfriend and I eat together all of the time, which means that we eat the same foods and amounts, but he never gains weight like I do. Why is that?

A: One cause may be due to the difference in the amount of physical activity between the two of you. This can be from obvious sources such as going to the gym or from the amount someone sits still or not, or if one constantly fidgets and moves around. Also, our bodies are not all alike; some people tend to use excess energy more efficiently than others.

Anorexia

Q: My sister thinks that I'm anorexic because of the magazines and movies I watch and that I want to look like the girls in them. Maybe it's true, but I really just don't want to eat food. What do you think it is?

A: While there is a link between our environment and the development of eating disorders it is also possible that it could be a higher than normal insulin response which results in interest of food but feel disgusted by fatty and sweet foods. There has also been discussion in the role of positive incentives which state that the more eating declines the less there is of a positive incentive in eating it although this has not been proved.

Q: I don't eat because every time I do I feel sick! Why?

A: As I touched on previously there could be a link between the facts that once you begin to eat less you lose incentive to eat. It has been considered that the effects on someone who is eating much less may cause adverse physiological effects. For instance people who have been deprived of food often become noxious when they try to eat. As you can see there are many possible reasons as to why one may not crave food as much as they once did. It may be that you need to try eating very small amounts of food often throughout the day and see if this helps with the feeling of being sick when trying to eat.

Amy Stier
A.A. Psychology
A.A. Interior Design
Authored several technical training courses and educational programs. Membership in following Professional Organizations: Center for Communication, Center to further Education in Design, American Psychological Association (Division 5)

This post was made using the Auto Blogging Software from WebMagnates.org This line will not appear when posts are made after activating the software to full version.