In our latest blog post, we explored some of the underpinnings of our society's obsession with thinness, uncovering a reality more nuanced and insidious than a mere preference for a certain body type. Rather, our society’s idealization of thinness is embedded in our broader patriarchal culture, disproportionately affecting women—and intentionally so at that!

Valentine’s Day is upon us! Perhaps because our culture holds romantic love in such high esteem, typically above other forms of love (such as familial love and the love shared between friends), this very reminder of the upcoming holiday carries great significance for many—and not always in the holiday’s favor.

If I were to ask you to conjure up an image of someone with an eating disorder, what would come to mind? For many of us, it’s an image of an emaciated, middle-class-or-higher white girl. Eating disorders, particularly anorexia nervosa, have long been viewed as a “skinny white girl” problem, at least predominantly.

Content warning: This blog post discusses dieting, disordered eating, body image, and weight. 

Ah, diet culture: that insidious, pervasive system of cultural myths that, in one way or another, tells us our health, character, and worth depend upon the fact of whether or not we are thin. Diet culture’s pervasiveness (and centuries-long history, which is rooted in white supremacy, healthism, and patriarchy) makes it so its pro-thin, anti-fat messages are difficult if not impossible to escape. It’s in the air we breathe. 

For many of us, the beginning of a new year is an energizing time. We embark on our New Year’s resolutions with the hope that this year will be the one where we become who we were always destined to be—the fitter, richer*, or otherwise “better” versions of ourselves that were lying dormant inside us all along, ready to be awakened. The underlying assumption is that it is only through the “bettering” of ourselves that we become worthwhile and whole. 

New year, new you! It’s time to plan a lifestyle overhaul! Or maybe not. After all, most New Year’s resolutions go out the window after January anyway. And setting goals for the new year doesn’t make you ‘better.’ You are 100% enough right now. But if you do want to strive for personal development, that’s great too. To find out how to set attainable goals, let’s look at why New Year’s resolutions often don’t work in the first place.

For most, the holidays are a time for gathering with family and friends, a time of togetherness, traditions, and feelings of nostalgia.  But what if they are not?  What if you are someone who has experienced trauma?  How might this change your relationship with the holidays?

Sugar has been demonized in diet culture for the past several years, often being characterized with fear-mongering words like “toxic” or “poison”.  Is sugar really as bad for you as you think?

While being prompted to consider the effectiveness of your self-care or boundary-setting methods may feel trite, there are legitimate reasons to do so, especially when preparing to maneuver the holidays amidst eating disorder (ED) recovery.

Having a negative body image can increase the negative thoughts and feelings a person has about themselves and be a driving factor to change their bodies through risky disordered behaviors like dieting, excessive exercise, invasive medical procedures and purging.

EMDR provided in a virtual therapeutic setting has the same empirically supported outcomes and treatment success just as it has in office over the past 30+ years.

While you are undoubtedly becoming the expert on how the eating disorder is impacting your family, you may not be aware of some additional complexities. Here is what to look out for . . .

Internal Family Systems is an evidence-based therapy, meaning that it is supported by scientific results. It was developed by Dr. Richard Schwartz, who discovered that his clients often spoke of themselves as having different ‘parts.’

Weight stigma is discrimination based on weight and size. This stigma impacts how people with larger bodies are perceived and treated and causes psychological distress just like other forms of bias and discrimination.

Are you ready to end your obsession with food and begin to trust your body again? There are so many reasons why people need support with food when they struggle with disordered eating or an eating disorder. Here are just a few.

You may have established a routine over the summer with set meal times and a consistent meal plan that will be hard to adjust once you return to school. Here are some tips for managing recovery when returning to school.

With each new generation becoming more ‘online’ than the last, and the rise of new social media platforms, it’s not surprising that eating disorders continue to plague young people. 

Ozempic is taking a backseat to new weight-loss drug medications that are stealing the spotlight.

In the next few years, there will be a variety of medications to help with diabetes that will be more cost-effective and, potentially, have fewer side effects. Is this good news? Unfortunately, this is a recipe for disaster in the eating disorder and mental health communities. 

The effects of an eating disorder (ED) are far-reaching and can adversely harm all bodily systems if left untreated. Because of the body’s interdependent systems, disordered eating behaviors can have a widespread effect. ED behaviors like restriction, binging, purging, and over-exercising can lead to malnourishment, and stress on the organs and the skeletal system.

The way we perceive our bodies can impact how we think and feel about ourselves. Our body image may influence everything from the clothes we wear and the activities we do to the careers we pursue and the people we surround ourselves with. If we have a negative body image, our quality of life will suffer.