MedWorm.com provides a medical RSS filtering service. Over 6000 RSS medical sources are combined and output via different filters. This feed contains the latest items from the 'Life After Recovery' source. Fri, 07 Nov 2008 17:27:23 +0100 http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/typepad/Gurze/life_after_recovery/~3/428907976/a-new-book-for.html Hi Everyone,I've just received a new book that might interest you. If family communication is an issue in your household, take a look at CONQUERING EATING DISORDERS: HOW FAMILY COMMUNICATION HEALS, by Sue Cooper and Peggy Norton, just out from Seal Press.  The book offers a wide variety of familiar profiles at risk for eating disorders -- the athlete, the perfectionist, the sensitive child -- but also includes triggers such as overprotective, depressed, or overidentified parents.  More important, the book offers tips for BOTH parents and kids to talk together about these issues to defuse and manage them. One caveat: this book requires open minds and hearts.  I'm not sure it will be of much help if either parents or kids are in full-throttle denial, defense, or guilt mode.&... Life After Recovery blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1902120 Wed, 22 Oct 2008 04:00:00 +0100 1902120 http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/typepad/Gurze/life_after_recovery/~3/426706218/beautiful-weigh.html A friend just sent me this quote.  I just want to share it with you: I love to weigh, to settle, to gravitate toward that which most strongly and rightfully attracts me;-- not hang by the beam of scale and try to weigh less,--not suppose a case, but take the case that is; to travel the only path I can, and that on which no power can resist me.                                                                             Henry David Thoreau   In other words...The weight that is truest and most powerful for you, that allows you to ... Life After Recovery blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1895636 Mon, 20 Oct 2008 04:00:00 +0100 1895636 http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/typepad/Gurze/life_after_recovery/~3/419916993/fat-talk-free-w.html Hi Everyone,This just in! The Academy for Eating Disorders in partnership with Tri Delta  sorority is launching Fat Talk Free Week (Oct. 13-17), a new body image education and eating disorders prevention program aimed at women of all ages.**  Tri Delta worked with researcher and AED member Carolyn Becker, PhD, FAED, to create this unique, evidence-based prevention and outreach effort. The 5 day Fat Talk Free Week event, although designed to target women in the United States, has the potential to span the globe, helping to draw attention to the damaging impact of "fat talk" on self-esteem and body image. You can participate in Fat Talk Free Week, or simply learn more about it, by clicking on this video link: https://secure.pursuantgroup.net/pursuant4/deltadeltad... Life After Recovery blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1876518 Mon, 13 Oct 2008 04:00:00 +0100 1876518 http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/typepad/Gurze/life_after_recovery/~3/404841768/act-now-for-men.html Dear Friends,Between my own (obsessive!) election fever and concern over the Wall Street crash this week, I've neglected another urgent piece of political business that directly impacts the lives of those struggling with eating disorders.  Mental Health Parity legislation will compel insurers to treat mental health and addiction problems as they do other health problems.  To get this legislation through Congress, we need to act immediately.Here is the latest call to action from Kitty Westin and the Eating Disorders Coalition: With Congress scheduled to adjourn this week, we need to urge them to bring parity across the finish line before they go home. We’ve are so close! Although the parity agreement passed both houses on Sept. 23, Senate and House leaders still need to agree o... Life After Recovery blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1834832 Sat, 27 Sep 2008 04:00:00 +0100 1834832 http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/typepad/Gurze/life_after_recovery/~3/392646315/thank-you.html I want to thank the dozens of you who added your stories to the hundreds that we are considering for a new book of letters about recovery.  Our editorial team at the Academy for Eating Disorders is reading through the letters now.  We'll be selecting those that give compelling snapshots of life at the different stages of recovery and offer advice and hope to others.  The resulting book will benefit the work of the AED in sponsoring more research, education, and prevention efforts. As the project advances I'll keep you updated.  Right now, I just want to thank all of you who took the time to write your stories and contribute them to the cause.  If your letter is selected we'll be in touch over the next few weeks. In the meantime, I wish you well and encourage you ... Life After Recovery blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1791739 Sun, 14 Sep 2008 04:00:00 +0100 1791739 http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/typepad/Gurze/life_after_recovery/~3/382447755/honor-a-life-wi.html I just received a wonderful idea from my friend Cathy Berger Kaye, who has dedicated her life to service in all its various forms.  This idea demonstrates just how vital and wonderfully symbolic the gift of food can be -- if we can stop abusing it long enough to appreciate its true value.  I think we can all gain something valuable by embracing her idea and accepting her challenge.  Cathy lives in Los Angeles, but every one of us has a food bank or shelter somewhere near us.  Find the one closest to you and remind yourself what food is really good for: life. Here is Cathy's letter: Today is my mother’s birthday, the first since she passed away last February, and I have had asensational day celebrating her. This experience led me to sit down and compose this invitati... Life After Recovery blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1764300 Wed, 03 Sep 2008 04:00:00 +0100 1764300 http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/typepad/Gurze/life_after_recovery/~3/379430605/america-the-bea.html Hi Everybody,I want to encourage you to search out and see a new documentary, AMERICA THE BEAUTIFUL.  Filmmaker Darryl Roberts, in the spirit of Michael Moore, does a fabulous job connecting the dots between the beauty industry's profit motive and the skyrocketing rates of eating disorders, girls' poor self-esteem, and male chauvinism.  The film includes compelling interviews with Eve Ensler, NEDA's Lynn Grefe, and Monte Nido's Carolyn Costin, but it paints a bigger picture by exposing the effect of air-brushed ads on men's sexual attitudes; the true dangers of plastic surgery and the chemicals used in cosmetics; and the tough road of litigation against looksism.  There's even a segment on the rise in plastic surgery for animals, to illustrate just how far our country's obse... Life After Recovery blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1750435 Sat, 30 Aug 2008 04:00:00 +0100 1750435 http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/typepad/Gurze/life_after_recovery/~3/376799191/last-call-for-y.html Happy Labor Day everyone!I want to thank all of you who have sent your letters about recovery for the book I'm compiling to benefit the Academy for Eating Disorders.  Your stories are remarkable and inspiring. I also want to remind those of you who still would like to contribute, our deadline for submissions is Sept. 1. A recap of our project:This will be a collection of YOUR voices sharing your individual stories and wisdom.  My goal is to trace the arc of recovery through your snapshots of life at the various stages of restoration and discovery that produce wellbeing.  I'm working with a fabulous team of therapists with the AED who will help select the letters for publication and provide resources for readers at the different stages of recovery.  I'll add my two cen... Life After Recovery blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1739528 Wed, 27 Aug 2008 04:00:00 +0100 1739528 http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/typepad/Gurze/life_after_recovery/~3/376799192/new-site-for-ma.html Hello All,I just received a note from Patrick Bergstrom, a former college lacrosse player recovering from a 4 year battle with anorexia nervosa.  Patrick just finished working with Lacrosse Magazine on a story about athletics and ED, which will be in the September issue. He is working with the NCAA to reach out to college students and athletes. His is such a rare and much needed perspective, and he's now made it his mission to reach out and help others on the college level. So I thought I'd post his new website www.ichosetolive.com I also want to encourage you all to keep your letters coming for our AED benefit book on the stages of recovery!  Our editorial team will be reviewing, selecting, and organizing the letters for the book in the next few weeks.  Thank you so mu... Life After Recovery blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1739529 Wed, 13 Aug 2008 04:00:00 +0100 1739529 http://www.eatingdisordersblogs.com/life_after_recovery/2008/08/new-site-for-ma.html Hello All,I just received a note from Patrick Bergstrom, a former college lacrosse player recovering from a 4 year battle with anorexia nervosa.  Patrick just finished working with Lacrosse Magazine on a story about athletics and ED, which will be in the September issue. He is working with the NCAA to reach out to college students and athletes. His is such a rare and much needed perspective, and he's now made it his mission to reach out and help others on the college level. So I thought I'd post his new website www.ichosetolive.com I also want to encourage you all to keep your letters coming for our AED benefit book on the stages of recovery!  Our editorial team will be reviewing, selecting, and organizing the letters for the book in the next few weeks.  Thank you so mu... Life After Recovery blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1705014 Wed, 13 Aug 2008 04:00:00 +0100 1705014 http://www.eatingdisordersblogs.com/life_after_recovery/2008/08/what-works-for.html Dear friends, How are you?  Let me re-phrase that. How are you most you? I really want to know the answer because I believe it is central to the process of recovery. And I am asking you because I???d love to include your stories in a new book I???m developing to benefit the Academy for Eating Disorders??? efforts to prevent eating disorders. So many books about ED focus on the suffering. But for those trapped in the spiral of suffering, it???s recovery that holds the mystery. So my aim this time around is to help de-mystify the process of recovery by presenting current perspectives from individuals at the different stages of the process.  I hope the resulting book will offer tangible information and inspire hope. Here???s what we need to know: 1. Wh... Life After Recovery blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1675185 Fri, 01 Aug 2008 04:00:00 +0100 1675185 http://www.eatingdisordersblogs.com/life_after_recovery/2008/07/take-action-jul.html Dear Friends, If you want to help make a real difference in the fight against eating disorders, please read the action alert below, and Call your representatives in support of Mental Health Parity tomorrow, Wednesday, July 9! Use your power! AimeeMessage from: Kitty Westin, President Eating Disorders Coalition for Research, Policy & Action National Call-in Day for Mental Health Parity Wednesday July 9th! Your help is urgently needed to help pass Mental Health Parity this session! Here is a link to National Call-in Day Online Advocacy Action Center: http://m1e.net/c?37976226-nbbjYUNEr29Iw%403446049-9qUWgB0ScpbPU On the website you will see background information, a script for the call and a tool you can use to punch in your zip code and get your Member of Congress and Senator... Life After Recovery blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1596887 Tue, 08 Jul 2008 04:00:00 +0100 1596887 http://www.eatingdisordersblogs.com/life_after_recovery/2008/07/whats-death-got.html Why don???t we talk about suicide when we talk about eating disorders? That???s what I wanted to know when I learned of supermodel Ruslana Korshunova???s leap from her 9th floor balcony in Manhattan last week. Authorities quickly deemed the 20-year-old???s death a suicide.  According to New York Magazine, ???Korshunova felt confused about the direction of her life, lost several pounds, and seemed to suffer from an undefined stomach problem.??? But she was also 5-foot-eight and wore a Size 4. What no one would say outright is that she was likely one of the 40% of high fashion models who, according to a 2007 investigation by the British Fashion Council, suffer from eating disorders. Instead, coverage of Korshunov???s death pointed to prescription drugs, a demanding work schedule, an ... Life After Recovery blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1583029 Sun, 06 Jul 2008 04:00:00 +0100 1583029 http://www.eatingdisordersblogs.com/life_after_recovery/2008/06/the-fight-for-i.html Dear Friends,The crisis in insurance coverage for eating disorders has been escalating for years.  The good news is that most recent lawsuits have been decided in favor of patients, forcing insurers to pay for treatment.  The bad news is that, too often, the lawsuits are decided too late to save those patients. Whatever our own stage of recovery, we should all be aware of this issue.  Here is an excellent op-ed from today's Los Angeles Times.  One of the authors is Dr. David Herzog, whom some of you may remember from my book.  He treated Caroline Knapp.        Starved for adequate care           Insurance companies too often deny needed treatment... Life After Recovery blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1553121 Sat, 28 Jun 2008 04:00:00 +0100 1553121 http://www.eatingdisordersblogs.com/life_after_recovery/2008/05/between-words.html Some of us struggle with gaps. Memory gaps, energy gaps, gaps between lovers, jobs, marriages, or friends. Some of us fall into the gaps and land in deep depressions, accompanied by whatever symptoms of self-abuse, starvation, alcohol, or bulimia come most naturally. Others reach out so fiercely for help that we pull others with us into the gap. And a few learn to breathe softly and float for dear life. I seem to be forever trying to mind the gap. I???m a middle-aged woman, an empty nest mother, an unemployed wife and writer currently ???between books.??? Most of my days seem comprised of gaps, and filling them is not always an option. As anyone my age knows, when the mind springs a gap ??? also charitably called a ???senior moment,??? the least effectiv... Life After Recovery blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1485030 Sat, 31 May 2008 04:00:00 +0100 1485030 http://www.eatingdisordersblogs.com/life_after_recovery/2008/05/on-becoming-a-p.html One of the choices that invariably accompanies recovery is the choice of occupation. ???What do you want to be???? we ask the reflection in the mirror. There are several possible variations of this question: ???What do you want to be tomorrow that you are not today???? ???What do you want to become that will impress your family and friends???? ???What do you want to become that will pay the bills???? ???What do you want to become in order to feel safe???? ???What do you want to become that will reflect the true you???? The problem is that all these questions assume you must become some thing in order to be someone. This common assumption confuses two essential aspects of identity: who you are and what you do. You are already someone. You have been since you were born. You will ... Life After Recovery blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1432835 Fri, 09 May 2008 04:00:00 +0100 1432835 http://www.eatingdisordersblogs.com/life_after_recovery/2008/05/spoonfed-art.html Hi Everybody,I thought this was a pretty wonderful recovery enterprise that might just interest you-Jewelry designer Karin Collins has designed a limited-edition spoon pendant for the National Eating Disorders Association that's available at www.nationaleatingdisorders.orgKarin originally started using actual spoons as a bite-sized canvas for her beautiful, sparkling wearable art pendants as an artistic therapy to conquer a nearly 20-year-long eating disorder. Fully recovered now, she continues to contribute to and spread awareness of the National Eating Disorders Association to keep the focus of SpoonFed Art on the reason it was started - to help heal.To see Karin's pendants click the "Neda Store" button at www.nationaleatingdisorders.org and proceed to the jewelry section.&nbsp... Life After Recovery blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1429343 Wed, 07 May 2008 04:00:00 +0100 1429343 http://www.eatingdisordersblogs.com/life_after_recovery/2008/04/love-to-live-ii.html My last blog, LOVE, TO LIVE, seems to have hit a nerve! I???ve received so many comments and notes at once that I want to reply to you ???at large.??? My point in the blog is that we all are better served in life by making choices out of love ??? or passion ??? than out of fear of error or rejection. Love stimulates a positive, constructive approach to life, while fear compels a negative retreat from the full experience of living. But the comments to this blog point out how distorted our perceptions of love can become, especially among those of us who are prone to eating disorders. Here are a few of your notes: - the big question remains, how do you tap the internal resource? - I know how to GIVE love...but I have no idea how receive it .I felt applause was love. And that i... Life After Recovery blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1409925 Wed, 30 Apr 2008 04:00:00 +0100 1409925 http://www.eatingdisordersblogs.com/life_after_recovery/2008/04/love-to-live.html (Source: Life After Recovery) Life After Recovery blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1402387 Sun, 27 Apr 2008 04:00:00 +0100 1402387 http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/typepad/Gurze/life_after_recovery/~3/269173294/why-she-feels-f.html Hello Everyone,I want to alert you to a good new book for friends and family who are struggling to understand eating disorders.  It's called WHY SHE FEELS FAT: Understanding Your Loved One's Eating Disorder and How You can Help. The authors, Johanna Marie McShane and Tony Paulson, are CA eating disorders therapists.  (Johanna blogs here at eatingdisordersblogs.com under WHY SHE FEELS FAT) Their book is very direct, accessible, and constructive.  The most difficult question I face when I speak to audiences is, "What should I do to help?"  Every situation is different, and it's difficult to give general advice without knowing the particulars.WHY SHE FEELS FAT helps to ground readers by giving them quotes from patients that reveal how eating disorders skew per... Life After Recovery blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1368940 Sat, 12 Apr 2008 04:00:00 +0100 1368940 http://www.eatingdisordersblogs.com/life_after_recovery/2008/03/on-the-road-aga.html Dear Friends,Sorry I've been offline the past few weeks.  Travel, speaking events, and family and teaching obligations seem to have devoured my days.  And soon I will be off again! I want to share some upcoming dates with you.  If the links below do not work, please visit my website www.gainingthetruth.com or www.booktour.com/author/aimee_liu#top  for more details.   Also, for anyone affiliated with A Chance to Heal in Philadelphia, I'll be speaking at a parent meeting at a private home in Philadelphia the evening of April 23.  For details call (215) 885-2420. Hope to see you around the country! Aimee Tuesday, April 15, 6:00 PM             Aimee Liu at the University of Michigan ... Life After Recovery blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1325523 Tue, 25 Mar 2008 04:00:00 +0100 1325523 http://www.eatingdisordersblogs.com/life_after_recovery/2008/02/give-eating-dis.html Thank you, one and all, to everyone who submitted a new name for eating disorders! The diversity of ideas alone shows how complex these problems are ??? and what a grave disservice it is to pigeonhole them as ???food and weight??? issues. Before I list the 5 names that spoke to me as the most right-on, I???d like to share the whole list. I think it reflects the difficulty of coming up with one label that applies to the wide variety of these conditions, especially when we consider factoids such as 1) most people who die of eating disorders do not die directly of starvation or obesity, but suicide; 2) weight is not always an indicator of an eating disorder; and 3) eating disorder behavior and thoughts often have nothing to do with food. Here then, are all your suggestions, along with comme... Life After Recovery blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1251176 Fri, 22 Feb 2008 05:00:00 +0100 1251176 http://www.eatingdisordersblogs.com/life_after_recovery/2008/02/theres-no-accou.html With the end of the 2008 spring fashion Season in Paris coinciding with Eating Disorders Awareness Week next week, it seems a good time to ask what became of the international designers’ grand promises to replace the look of starvation with a glow of health on the catwalks.  Last year, if you will recall, the anorexia-related deaths of two runway models (since followed by at least one more) prompted fashion week organizers on both sides of the Atlantic to vow with great fanfare to promote “the message that beauty is health.” Milan’s Chamber of Fashion issued a non-binding “manifesto” stating that design leaders had a responsibility to "creatively and constructively transmit positive aesthetic models as an instrument of prevention" of eating disorders. ... Life After Recovery blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1246704 Wed, 20 Feb 2008 05:00:00 +0100 1246704 http://www.eatingdisordersblogs.com/life_after_recovery/2008/02/why-the-obama-c.html As I stood before Michelle Obama, Caroline Kennedy, Oprah, and Maria Shriver at last Sunday???s Women for Obama rally, I was struck by the emotional strength of every point they made.  This campaign, Maria Shriver said, is really ???about us, and what we can do when we come together.??? ???The question in this race is not whether Barack is ready,??? Michelle Obama agreed. ???The question is, what are we ready for???? ???We have won the struggle,??? Oprah said, ???and we have the right to compete??? free from the constraints of gender and race.??? ???Each and every one of us can be an agent for change,??? Caroline Kennedy told us, to which we, in our thousands, thundered back YES WE CAN! Unity, Engagement, and Hope are the real watchwords of this campaign. They are also... Life After Recovery blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1208183 Tue, 05 Feb 2008 05:00:00 +0100 1208183 http://www.eatingdisordersblogs.com/life_after_recovery/2008/01/naming-contest.html Hi Everyone, I’ve been so impressed by the early entries to the “Give Eating Disorders a New Name” contest that I’d like to share them with you. These suggestions really speak to the true experience of this unique body-mind relationship. The entrants have given me permission to post their ideas and comments so that we can inspire others in coming weeks to send their ideas togainingcontest@gmail.com Take a look and put on your thinking caps! The contest will continue until February 26. I am now gathering a group of eating disorders experts to help me pick the winners. I really think there are terrific insights in these suggestions and comments. Read on: From Julia Temple-Mcneill: · “S.E.A.S.” self evaluated anxiety syndrome I have had an ED for 27 year... Life After Recovery blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1191589 Thu, 31 Jan 2008 05:00:00 +0100 1191589 http://www.eatingdisordersblogs.com/life_after_recovery/2008/01/help-give-eatin.html A NEW NAMING CONTEST FROM GAINING: Okay, Friends- We all now know that eating disorders are biologically based conditions. We know that anorexia nervosa has a higher mortality rate than alcoholism or schizophrenia, but that the cause of death is not always directly related to food intake or starvation. We know that DNA determines who is likely to develop an eating disorder and who is not. We know that eating disorders serve as distress signals ??? symptoms ??? of much deeper and more complex syndromes of personality, anxiety, and behavior. We ALSO know that these conditions can be re-directed toward health instead of disease. Here is a note I just received from a brilliant doctor and dear friend who has a history of anorexia himself: ???Eating disorders never go away.  The beha... Life After Recovery blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1179974 Sat, 26 Jan 2008 05:00:00 +0100 1179974 http://www.eatingdisordersblogs.com/life_after_recovery/2008/01/yes-your-wonder.html Dear Friends,I want to share 2 glowing reviews of the anthology FOR KEEPS, edited by Victoria Zackheim. I'm pleased to be one of the contributors.I promise, this book of grace and hard-earned wisdom will fill you with courage.Here is the direct link to the book:http://www.amazon.com/Keeps-Women-Bodies-Growing-Acceptance/dp/1580052045/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1200879188&sr=1-1 And here are the latest reviews: Body + Soul magazine (Martha Stewart) LEARNING TO LOVE THE BODY Women writers on celebrating the imperfections   Some anthologies suffer from too much of the same thing. But in For Keeps: Women Tell the Truth About Their Bodies, Growing Older, and Acceptance (Seal Press), editor Victoria Zackheim has brought together writers from a range of ages an... Life After Recovery blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1165407 Sun, 20 Jan 2008 05:00:00 +0100 1165407 http://www.eatingdisordersblogs.com/life_after_recovery/2008/01/its-the-biology.html This study suggests that even a nugget of accurate biological information can influence how health care professionals perceive the illness,??? said Dr. Cynthia M. Bulik, William and Jeanne Jordan Distinguished Professor of Eating Disorders and Psychiatry, director of UNC???s Eating Disorders Program and the study???s senior author. ???It opens up new horizons for accurate information campaigns to help the public understand that people with anorexia nervosa are not to blame for their illness and that biology plays a role,??? Bulik said. Anorexia nervosa is characterized by the relentless pursuit to be thin and obsessive fears of being fat. Self-starvation, extreme weight loss and related medical complications that accompany the disorder can result in death. More people die from anorexia t... Life After Recovery blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1142778 Thu, 10 Jan 2008 05:00:00 +0100 1142778 http://www.eatingdisordersblogs.com/life_after_recovery/2007/12/food-for-new-ye.html Happy New Year, Everyone! I hope your holidays have been warm and relaxing, with plenty of good books and friends to keep you company. As we head into 2008, I wanted to send you a couple of updates. First, my book GAINING is now available in paperback, with an all-new reading group guide. Ask for it at your favorite bookstore, or order at Amazon.com. Second, a reminder that the fabulous anthology, FOR KEEPS: Women Tell the Truth About their Bodies, Growing Older, and Acceptance, is also available from Seal Press. Edited by Victoria Zackheim, this gem of a collection includes powerful essays by Abby Frucht, Ellen Sussman, Elizabeth Rosner, Caroline Leavitt, Susan Ito, and many others, including me! Please do check it out. (My essay, “Dead Bone,” is about the curse of ... Life After Recovery blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1123435 Mon, 31 Dec 2007 05:00:00 +0100 1123435 http://www.eatingdisordersblogs.com/life_after_recovery/2007/12/to-speak-and-to.html Eating disorders often create an illusion of safety in silence. You (Source: Life After Recovery) Life After Recovery blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1101740 Mon, 17 Dec 2007 05:00:00 +0100 1101740 http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/typepad/Gurze/life_after_recovery/~3/187936561/this-holidaydon.html The holidays present a special challenge for people who are vulnerable to eating disorders. Too much stress, social pressure, family tension, performance anxiety, and – of course – the omnipresence of food. Every one of these holiday elements can trigger the urge to binge, purge, or starve. One way to curb the urge is to study it – closely – and respect the message it is sending. The impulse is not the enemy. This mistaken notion is part of the myth that surrounds eating disorders. Like all self-destructive impulses, urges to restrict, overeat, or purge are distress signals – warnings that the body is under attack and in danger of overloading. Attack from what? Here are a few of the infinite possibilities, depending on your particular experiences: ... Life After Recovery blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1040266 Tue, 20 Nov 2007 05:00:00 +0100 1040266 http://www.eatingdisordersblogs.com/life_after_recovery/2007/11/neda-online-auc.html NEDA Auction Time, everyone! Please help  spread the word about the National Eating Disorders Association's star-studded "Every BODY Is Beautiful" Online Fundraising Auction event, which is running from November 1st through December 2nd, 2007 - hosted by music star Sara Evans and featuring many other celebrity contributors! Here's the news from NEDA:       Acclaimed Los Angeles-based wearable art designer Karin Collins (please see her inspiring health-related story below and at www.SpoonFedArt.com) is once again promoting and participating in the annual National Eating Disorders Association "Every BODY Is Beautiful" Online Fundraising Auction, which is running from November 1st through December 2nd, 2007. There are a number of fantastic items... Life After Recovery blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1018967 Sat, 10 Nov 2007 05:00:00 +0100 1018967 http://www.eatingdisordersblogs.com/life_after_recovery/2007/10/kindness-joy.html I’d like to share with you my reflections after a remarkable weekend. On Friday I addressed a group of women in Wilmette, Illinois, about body image; on Saturday a group of patients at Sheppard Pratt’s Center for Eating Disorders in Maryland; and on Sunday an audience of patients, recovered patients, parents, and therapists at Sheppard Pratt’s conference center. Then, when I arrived at the Baltimore airport to head for home, I discovered Piero Ferrucci’s gem of a book THE POWER OF KINDNESS in the airport bookshop. That did it. I’d been riding a wave of kindness all weekend, and was now officially high on it. The kindness was certainly not all mine. In Illinois, those 100 beautiful mid-life women were there in order to raise support for nursing scholarships... Life After Recovery blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=970246 Mon, 22 Oct 2007 04:00:00 +0100 970246 http://www.eatingdisordersblogs.com/life_after_recovery/2007/10/participate-in-.html Discussion topics will be based on your experiences and opinions of anorexia, your experiences of recovery and your opinions about treatment interventions. Am I eligible to take part in the study? You are eligible to take part if you meet the following criteria: You are 18 years old or over You have access to the internet You have recovered from anorexia So, what am I being asked to do? Once you have read the information sheet and decided that you wish to take part you need to fill in the consent form that was provided with this information sheet and return it to me by e-mail (swilliams@qmuc.ac.uk). When I have received your consent form I will e-mail you three quick questionnaires which will ask you for some background information about yourself, your anorexic behaviours ... Life After Recovery blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=945579 Thu, 11 Oct 2007 04:00:00 +0100 945579 http://www.eatingdisordersblogs.com/life_after_recovery/2007/10/learning-to-see.html I recently had a fascinating online discussion with one of my readers that I???d like to share with you. It energized both of us. I hope it will do the same for you!    From: Megan Sent: Sunday, September 30, 2007 7:26 PM  Hi Aimee,  I have been bulimic for 18 years. While I have sought recovery a few times, the treatment programs were obviously not successful. I loved "Gaining", and I have people in my Facebook group "Bulimia - Living with It" reading it. (By the way, before you shake your head, my group is not pro- "ana or "mia", it is a group for bulimics in all stages...tips are not encouraged, only support). There is one girl in my group who is legally blind and has never even seen Mary-Kate Olsen or Nicole Richie. It... Life After Recovery blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=918154 Mon, 01 Oct 2007 04:00:00 +0100 918154 http://www.eatingdisordersblogs.com/life_after_recovery/2007/09/calling-for-pow.html Dear friends, I'm creating a new page on my website at www.gainingthetruth.com and I'd like your help. This page is dedicated to the idea that true recovery can be defined asREstoration + disCOVERY. True recovery -- FULL recovery -- unleashes the power, passion, and purpose that disorder suppresses. This page honors those who have achieved full recovery and are turning their power, passion, and purpose to creative enterprises that help others. I have heard from so many artists, musicians, and community activists who have histories of eating disorders and whose current work embodies this idea of "power, passion, and purpose." I want to post links to their websites on this page.  But I don't want to do this without permission, and I do want to make sure I post current link... Life After Recovery blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=906302 Wed, 26 Sep 2007 04:00:00 +0100 906302 http://www.eatingdisordersblogs.com/life_after_recovery/2007/09/whats-right-wit.html Have you seen the Cingular ad tagged “Mother Love” that “changes the conversation” about cell phones? “I have NOT had it up to here with you, young lady,” the mother shouts, to which her daughter replies, “Why do you insist on treating me like an adult?” As the mother hands her a cell phone, the teen snarls, “I love you,” and the mother answers, “I know you really mean that...you grateful little --”  The commercial makes vividly clear that we need to change the conversation about much more than cell phones. We need to challenge the script that so many of us follow without thinking in our families, our culture, and with ourselves. Instead of screaming, “What’s wrong with you!” we need to pay attention to what’s right -- in all of us. T... Life After Recovery blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=903843 Tue, 25 Sep 2007 04:00:00 +0100 903843 http://www.eatingdisordersblogs.com/life_after_recovery/2007/09/aimee-may-be-sp.html Dear Friends,I will soon be back on the road, heading out, I hope, to talk to you in person! Here are the public events at which I'll be speaking about women???s body image, my book Gaining, and the truth about eating disorders in coming months. Please join me if you can! Be well!Aimee Friday, October 19, 2007 Rush North Shore Medical Center benefit luncheon Michigan Shores Club 911 Michigan Avenue, Wilmette Reception 11 am, Lunch Noon For tickets: 847/933-6440 or womensboard@rsh.net All proceeds from this event will benefit nursing scholarships at Rush North Shore Medical Center. To purchase Gaining  in advance of the luncheon, please visit The Book Stall, 811 Elm Street, Winnetka. 10% of proceeds from the book sales at The Book Stall will be donated back to this eve... Life After Recovery blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=874746 Sat, 15 Sep 2007 04:00:00 +0100 874746 http://www.eatingdisordersblogs.com/life_after_recovery/2007/08/back-to-life-wi.html Monday, August 20, 2007   Dear Friends, I must apologize for being off-line this past month. After a long and active life my 95-year-old father died two weeks ago, and I was back in Connecticut to be with him at the time and to help my mother afterwards. To watch cancer whittle a strong and capable man down to anorexic proportions is a sobering experience, especially for someone who has intentionally starved herself to those proportions. Such wasting serves as a grave reminder of how eating disorders, too, waste life.  On a lighter note, I was recently contacted by the brilliant new website www.ChickSpeak.com to answer a set of interview questions posed by ChickSpeak readers. I’m pleased to be able to post the resulting interview for you below.  These were c... Life After Recovery blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=811325 Mon, 20 Aug 2007 04:00:00 +0100 811325 http://www.eatingdisordersblogs.com/life_after_recovery/2007/07/hopefull-creati.html Dear Friends, In the course of writing GAINING I came to believe that three of the defining aspects of a truly healthy human being are creativity, compassion, and generosity. Making art, feeling kindness toward others, and giving back to the world are all signals of hope. I recently received an announcement from a young woman who, in just these ways, serves as a beacon of hope. She is launching a project in which you might want to participate. She has a line of hope-filled clothing that you might find supportive, and through which we all can support NEDA. I???ll let Erin???s announcement tell the rest. ALWAYS be well!! Aimee ________________________________________________________________ For Immediate Release           &n... Life After Recovery blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=764514 Sat, 28 Jul 2007 04:00:00 +0100 764514 http://www.eatingdisordersblogs.com/life_after_recovery/2007/07/announcing-the-.html (Source: Life After Recovery) Life After Recovery blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=741549 Tue, 17 Jul 2007 04:00:00 +0100 741549 http://www.eatingdisordersblogs.com/life_after_recovery/2007/07/ed-treatment-fo.html Dear Friends, I want to share some contacts that may be of interest, especially if you or someone you know is looking for an eating disorders treatment program that specializes in working with adults. First, though, Gaining received a terrific review of just published by the Academy for Eating Disorders in their AED Forum. The reviewer is Renee Rienecke Hoste, PhD, of The University of Chicago Hospitals: “Gaining: The Truth about Life after Eating Disorders” Aimee Liu published “Solitaire”, the first memoir of anorexia, in 1979 after she struggled with the eating disorder as an adolescent. Although at the time she considered herself recovered, a relapse thirty years later encouraged Liu to reconsider the meaning of the word “recovery”.  Liu draws from mu... Life After Recovery blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=730814 Thu, 05 Jul 2007 04:00:00 +0100 730814 http://www.eatingdisordersblogs.com/life_after_recovery/2007/06/love-your-body-.html Dear Friends- I recently received this inspiring announcement about an event now in the works for next October in North Carolina. If you are an artist, you may want to submit some work for the show. If you live anywhere near Winston-Salem, you will surely want to attend the celebration. Read on, Aimee   Submit work for the Love Your Body show, a community art exhibition celebrating body diversity. I am collecting art (visual, written, or performance/film) that explores making peace with the body. Art will be accepted until September 25 th and can be submitted via post or email  if the artist is not local. The show will be on display at Salem College's South Corridor Gallery (Winston-Salem, NC)  from October 8 th through November 5th 2007 There is no entry fe... Life After Recovery blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=730815 Sun, 24 Jun 2007 04:00:00 +0100 730815 http://www.eatingdisordersblogs.com/life_after_recovery/2007/06/we_do_not_have_.html Through one of those involuntary subscription switch-and-baits that seem to occur with increasing frequency lately, Us magazine started showing up in my mailbox last month. For the first few weeks I tossed it directly into the trash. Each cover, it seemed, featured an alarming photograph of some starlet over a caption of feigned concern: “Is she too thin?” Inside, anonymous copywriters speculated about whether Paris or Britney or Jen had put on or taken off weight, looked frumpy, or had gotten dumped, hitched, or arrested. But as the issues kept coming I couldn’t help wonder what exactly kept them coming. Us, of course, is a publicist’s dream machine. Celebrities may moan about paparazzi, but those candid photos seem to prove that even Julia Roberts and Carmen Diaz lug groceries j... Life After Recovery blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=730816 Tue, 19 Jun 2007 04:00:00 +0100 730816 http://www.eatingdisordersblogs.com/life_after_recovery/2007/06/home_from_china.html Hello Everyone! I’m back from an astounding trip to China, where I visited the lovely Lu Shan, the mountain that I described as Cloud Mountain in my novel of that name. My father’s family used to summer in Kuling, the valley at the top of the mountain, in the 1920s. The town there was built by Americans in the early 1900s, and most of the fieldstone villas are still intact, now being carefully tended and kept by their Chinese residents. We discovered that the home my grandparents built was bombed by the Japanese in 1938, but with the help of a local architect and historian, we located my grandfather’s name inscribed in a stone tablet beside a bridge that he had built in 1926. And my grandparents’ house is memorialized inadvertently in another way – Mao Tse Tung had a villa built... Life After Recovery blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=730817 Fri, 01 Jun 2007 04:00:00 +0100 730817 http://www.eatingdisordersblogs.com/life_after_recovery/2007/05/chatting_with_y.html Dear Friends, Some of you may have joined the online chat I did the other night on www.realmentalhealth.com. It was my first telechat, and I found it quite hectic to do all that typing in real time! But the response was very positive, and the transcript has now been posted.  I hope you'll take a look and let others know it's up at http://www.realmentalhealth.com/eating_disorders/chat_eating_disorders_050807_AimeeLiu.asp and also at http://www.healthyplace.com/Communities/Eating_Disorders/Site/transcripts/life_after_eating_disorders.asp   I'm off to China for a few weeks to visit the home of my ancestors, so have a wonderful rest of May. I'll check in when I get back!   Be good to yourself,  Aimee GAINING: The Truth About Life After Eating Disorders ... Life After Recovery blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=730818 Fri, 11 May 2007 04:00:00 +0100 730818 http://www.eatingdisordersblogs.com/life_after_recovery/2007/05/chat_with_me.html Hi there!This coming Tuesday, May 8, at 9pmET/6pmPT I'll be doing a live online chat with www.realmentalhealth.com  Why don't you join us?The event is FREE and will last about an hour.  We'll be talking about recovery, treatment, and my research for GAINING: The Truth About Life After Eating Disorders To sign up, go tohttp://www.realmentalhealth.com/chat/chat_events.asp I look forward to chatting with you! Aimee (Source: Life After Recovery) Life After Recovery blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=730819 Sun, 06 May 2007 04:00:00 +0100 730819 http://www.eatingdisordersblogs.com/life_after_recovery/2007/04/achieving_emoti.html “Just as people now see the value of exercising the body consistently and for the rest of their life, it’s similar with emotional skills.”-- Richard Davidson, Ph.D., University of Wisconsin   Something is wrong with American education, and that something has everything to do with America’s definition of success. I’m just home from a trip to Harvard University, where I gave a talk about the half-life of eating disorders – the half that so frequently persists after people recover from the physical symptoms of anorexia and bulimia. Gaining a full life, I told the audience of mostly female students, requires honesty, intimacy, trust, and joy, and a level of self-awareness and acceptance that can reduce the anxiety that, among those prone to eating disorders, will otherwi... Life After Recovery blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=730820 Fri, 27 Apr 2007 04:00:00 +0100 730820 http://www.eatingdisordersblogs.com/life_after_recovery/2007/04/id_love_to_meet.html Dear Friends, In this "bulletin blog" I want to alert you to a few coming events, but before I get to those I’d like to recommend a fabulous book about the power of the mind to change our lives for the better. TRAIN YOUR MIND CHANGE YOUR BRAIN, by Newsweek science writer Sharon Begley, examines the latest research in neuroplasticity in a quest to understand how mindful awareness practices can have the powerful effects on reducing stress, relieving anxiety, and increasing immunity that have recently been measured, both in Buddhist practitioners and research volunteers. The book raises all sorts of exciting and encouraging possibilities. In particular, it highlights the health we all stand to gain through increased self-awareness.   Next, to let you know about some upco... Life After Recovery blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=730821 Fri, 20 Apr 2007 04:00:00 +0100 730821 http://www.eatingdisordersblogs.com/life_after_recovery/2007/04/the_halflives_o.html   I do believe there are many lucky souls who, with the help of excellent treatment and open, supportive, and generous families, spring from their eating disorders into thriving lives without harboring a trace of their old compulsive behaviors. But I also know from personal experience and observation – and from the more than one hundred letters I’ve received since my book Gaining was published last month – that most of us with histories of anorexia and bulimia graduate instead to what I now call the “half-life” of eating disorders. That is, we may quit starving, bingeing, and purging on food, but we still restrict and torment our appetites for food, love, sex, and comfort in other ways that make us suffer – and sometimes make our loved ones suffer. This is especially true... Life After Recovery blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=730822 Tue, 10 Apr 2007 04:00:00 +0100 730822