Blog
Fashion states they are ready to embrace “real women”
04.01.10
Sounds promising!
At a recent fashion industry forum, both Michael Kors and Ansa Wintour of Vogue claimed that fashion is ready to embrace real women versus a girlish figure. Sounds good…And it appears Italian and French Vogue are backing this up by featuring a “plus size” model for a 32 page spread.
Sounds like progress….hopefully it can continue and such efforts will become commonplace versus newsworthy. Then we can begin challenging the label “plus size”!
Navigating Rocky Waters
03.21.10
For most people early on, the idea of eating disorder recovery feels unattainable and impossible. As therapy progresses and eating normalizes, people often reflect back on that place acknowledging how foreign recovery once seemed compared the attainable reality of the present.
Entering into recovery from any type of eating disorder requires a difficult leap of faith. It means letting go of a safety raft that has consistently served you, although not well, through some rocky waters. It means having faith that you are able to swim alone and can make it to shore without that raft.
You can.
Letting go of the raft requires managing painful feelings, tolerating periods of discomfort and being okay with that. It also means gaining something back–your life. The truth is, life is full of murky and rocky waters. It is full of peaceful and beautiful ones as well. You deserve to have both without the pull of the eating disorder demanding pieces of you.
If you are not ready to let go of that raft today, perhaps you can dip your toe into the water. You may be surprised at how good it feels.
Skills and Strategies for Parents and Partners
03.15.10
Join Dr.Tippen and Judith Banker, MA, LLP, FAED for at the Center for Eating Disorders (111 N. Main Street Ann Arbor Michigan 48104) for a workshop titled Skills and Strategies for Parents and Partners. The workshop will be held on Saturday April 17th from 9:00-2:00 p.m. It will address many issues pertinent to understanding and coping with a loved one’s eating disorder.
The workshop will teach you to:
* Identify your caregiver style
* Pick your battles– when to support and when to walk away
* Recognize the eating disorder voice
* Tips for dealing with chronic illness
To register, contact the Center for Eating Disorders at (734) 668-8585 or info@center4ed.org
Reconnecting with our bodies
02.22.10
Many of us engage in daily and ongoing battles with our body. This war is not isolated to only size and shape. It extends to hair color, eye color, and complexion. We engage in daily rituals, trying to change or modify the way we look. We spend inordinate amounts of time judging ourselves and wishing we looked different or better, labeling ourselves as a “failures” or “inadequate” when we fail to reach the gigantic expectations we set for ourselves.
Ouch.
Nowhere within this daily battle is there time or acknowledgment for the many wondrous things our bodies do for us. We take things such as breathing, walking, feeling, and communicating for granted. We rarely acknowledge the safe and comfortable home our bodies provide.
A recent conversation with someone fighting a chronic illness put all of this into immediate perspective for me. At the end of the conversation, she stated, “I will never take my body for granted again.” Fighting to heal has illustrated for her not only how much our bodies do for us, but how very delicate they can be. As I watch her love and appreciation for her body grow as she fights, I have been struck by the irony. So often we fight our bodies because we fail to accept them, not because they fail us.
Take time today to think about the things your body DOES for you. Try shifting your perception from body hatred to body love. If love feels like too much of a stretch, how about respect? acknowledgment? It is possible to improve your relationship with your body and your health one step at a time…