Research provides the opportunity to challenge long-held beliefs about the existence, nature, and contextual factors related to different processes. In the case of Eating Disorders (ED), there are some important, but relatively little-known, study findings that contradict common notions about the eating behaviors in Anorexia Nervosa (AN), Bulimia Nervosa (BN)…

The Eating Disorder (ED) voice in the heads of those with Anorexia Nervosa (AN), Bulimia Nervosa (BN), Binge Eating Disorder (BED), and Other Specified Feeding and Eating Disorders (OSFED) is a dictator with strict rules who yells at people constantly to follow his orders, or else. ED likes to make…

We did not choose to have our Eating Disorders (EDs); it is combo of genetics/environment. EDs don’t discriminate; any combination of gender, age, ethnicity, SES, etc. can have them. These illnesses are not about “vanity;” they are serious, potentially life-threatening diseases. We cannot “just eat;” there are many medical, psychological…

Eating Disorder Processes Threat Level Thermometers (Scale of 1–11): 11 = Highest Threat “Red Level Alert” 1 = Lowest Threat “All Systems Normal” Medical Stability Behaviors Cognitions Impairment 11 = Inpatient ICU Life threatening 100% consuming Severe in all areas . 5 = Abnormal labs Used often to cope ED…

From an evolutionary endurance perspective, our bodies are designed to fight for our survival. Environmental famine was a normal occurrence for our ancestors, and the humans that did live to create the next generation were those that adapted, both biologically and behaviorally. This involved slowing down body systems to conserve…

Much has been written about the topic of relapse in the process of Eating Disorder (ED) recovery, both from a professional (usually prevention) perspective, as well as a personal (usually experienced) perspective. However, like other potential aspects of EDs (e.g., severe, irreversible medical complications, death), there is often a denial…

When you are in the depths of an Eating Disorder (ED), and even in the beginning of recovery, it is difficult to accurately tune in to your body’s signals and perceive the level of severity of your illness. ED distorts your cues and views, such that you do not feel…

Throughout the course of my illness and recovery from Anorexia Nervosa (AN), I have had a love-hate relationship with the scale. It is one of the main tools of an Eating Disorder (ED), and one that ED used to control me when I was in the depths of his grip…

I am in the 1% of the population with my personal experiences; in both good and bad ways. It is a reminder to myself (and others) that no one’s life is perfect (no matter how it may seem on the outside), and that there is often a counterbalance between life’s…