Hi all-

I just approved a bunch of new members, so a big welcome to them.  This list has
been pretty quiet, so I wanted to remind everyone that anyone can start topics
at any time on any issues related to eating disorders.  This list is private and
viewable only by members, all of whom either have personal experience with an
eating disorder or work professionally in the field of eating disorder
treatment, so rest assured that you are among people who understand and care.

Thanks again,

Rachel

Hi-

Facebook has this relatively new feature for bloggers that allows you
to subscribe to a blog and set up a network via Facebook.  I set up a
group for www.the-f-word.org and invite you all to join it.

http://apps.facebook.com/blognetworks/blogpage.php?aid=21427904&blogid=19571

If you have a similar Facebook group page, please post your links so
that I can join yours, too.

Thanks,

Rachel

Hi all-

I just wanted to let you know about the new Twitter feed for
www.the-f-word.org.  I come across lots of news articles and new
studies that I just don't have time to blog about, but are still of
interest to readers.  I'm going to start submitting those links to the
Twitter feed instead at http://twitter.com/thefwordblog

If you also have a related Twitter feed, post your link.

Thanks,

Rachel

I don't know if family based therapy works or not. To be honest, I
don't know much about it.

For me, I was an adult when I was diagnosed with ED-NOS. (A wife and
mom, no less.) Throughout my recovery, I have been faced with the
curse and blessing that there is only one person who can make me
recover - that person is me. I made a committment to myself when I
started recovery that I wouldn't lie. Stretch the truth, omit facts -
absolutely! but I would never outright lie. And it's this committment
to myself that propels me forward.

With that being said, I'm an adult with responsibilities to others,
most especially my son.

Essentially, accepting the fact that my behaviors are my own and that
I am the only one able to change them has helped me in my recovery.
But this rests on the premise that my family is not capable (or will
not) change. So why bother getting them involved in therapy?

I'd be interested to hear if any adult has tried family-based therapy
and how it worked for them.

--- In edstudies@yahoogroups.com, "Rachel Richardson"
<sshutterbbug@...> wrote:
>
> Does family based therapy work?  What are your thoughts?
>
>
> http://www.firstcoastnews.com/news/news-article.aspx?storyid=93866
>
> By Nesita Kwan WMAQ/NBC News Channel
>
> High school senior Brittany Goodrich is visiting colleges and
weighing
> her choices, but the simple act of weighing herself casts a shadow
> over every decision she and her parents make.
>
> "I would never say I'm anorexic," Goodrich said. "It's like someone
> who is afraid of spiders. Food freaks me out." Early in high school,
> Brittany wanted to drop a few pounds, but then she couldn't stop.
She
> kept getting thinner and thinner and her behavior became more
bizarre.
> She was down to 93 pounds at one point, and by then, her parents
said
> it was an emergency.
>
> "She could have literally dropped at any minute," said her dad.
>
> Goodrich said she was paralyzed by fear.
>
> "You're afraid to put anything in your body, it's like you're just
> sitting slowly watching yourself die -- it's miserable," said
Goodrich.
>
> For two years, the Goodriches struggled to find help, and finally,
> they turned to Dr. Daniel LeGrange's program at the University of
> Chicago that emphasizes family therapy -- not individual counseling.
>
> "This approach relies heavily on getting the child to accept there
is
> no way the parents are going to back off," LeGrange said.
>
> Under this approach, the first task is to push the anorexic into
> gaining weight because talking therapy can't work when you're too
> hungry to think straight. The Goodriches said the first thing they
> learned is that the first thing an anorexic starves is their brain
so
> they started constantly pushing food.
>
> "You can sit for an hour and a half at the table with her to get her
> to eat something," said Mrs. Goodrich.
>
> "Eventually, the personality takes over -- it's the eating disorder
> that's afraid of the food. It gets angry and yells and screams at my
> parents," said Goodrich.
>
> Her parents said the more weight she gains, the more logical she
> thinks. The process is intense, time consuming and emotional, and
> LeGrange said not every family has the stamina for it. But the
> Goodriches did and now college is in Brittany's future.
>
> She's reasonably confident that on her own, she'll be able to stick
> with an eating routine. But if not:
>
> "I know if I call them up, they'll tell me what to do -- there's
> always that."
>

Sweet! I'll check it out tomorrow. I must do some schoolwork today OR
ELSE!

Oh, one more thing! I've been meaning to ask you about this for ages.
New posts for Disordered Times don't seem to be showing up on the
Eating Disorders Digest. Could you investigate this when you have some
(non-existent) time? :)

Hi all-

I've started a new eating disorders related messageboard to go along
with my site at www.the-f-word.org/discuss

I've started several comments across the board in different categories
to get the discussion ball rolling, but the messageboard is looking
pretty sparse.  There's nothing lonelier than a messageboard without
active discussion so I hope you will help me out by starting and
responding to a few comments. And, if you have any suggestions for the
board, please let me know.


Thanks!

Rachel

This makes sense to me...I had tons of anxiety as a child.

--- In edstudies@yahoogroups.com, "Rachel Richardson"
<sshutterbbug@...> wrote:
>
>
http://parentcenter.babycenter.com/204_childhood-anxiety-may-make-anorexia-worse\
_5232605.pc
>
> Childhood anxiety may make anorexia worse
>
> Fri, May 16, 2008 (Reuters Health) — Anorexic women with a history of
> childhood anxiety may have particularly severe symptoms of the eating
> disorder, a study suggests.
>
> It's known that anxiety disorders, like social phobia and obsessive
> compulsive disorder, are far more common among people with anorexia
> than in the general population. Often, these anxiety disorders appear
> before the eating disorder does.
>
> In the new study, published in the International Journal of Eating
> Disorders, researchers looked at whether a history of childhood
> "overanxious disorder" was related to the severity of women's anorexia.
>
> Dr. Cynthia M. Bulik, of the University of North Carolina at Chapel
> Hill, and colleagues found that of 637 women with anorexia, 39 percent
> reported symptoms of childhood overanxious disorder. In nearly all
> cases, those symptoms arose before the onset of their anorexia.
>
> In general, the researchers found, women with a history of childhood
> anxiety exhibited "more extreme personality traits" and attitudes —
> like perfectionism and obsessive tendencies related to food — than
> women without a history of early anxiety disorders.
>
> They were also more likely to purge, by vomiting or abusing laxatives,
> in addition to strictly limiting their food intake.
>
> According to Bulik's team, childhood anxiety disorders "may represent
> one entree" into anorexia. This, they say, underscores the importance
> of recognizing and treating these conditions early on.
>

Does family based therapy work?  What are your thoughts?


http://www.firstcoastnews.com/news/news-article.aspx?storyid=93866

By Nesita Kwan WMAQ/NBC News Channel

High school senior Brittany Goodrich is visiting colleges and weighing
her choices, but the simple act of weighing herself casts a shadow
over every decision she and her parents make.

"I would never say I'm anorexic," Goodrich said. "It's like someone
who is afraid of spiders. Food freaks me out." Early in high school,
Brittany wanted to drop a few pounds, but then she couldn't stop. She
kept getting thinner and thinner and her behavior became more bizarre.
She was down to 93 pounds at one point, and by then, her parents said
it was an emergency.

"She could have literally dropped at any minute," said her dad.

Goodrich said she was paralyzed by fear.

"You're afraid to put anything in your body, it's like you're just
sitting slowly watching yourself die -- it's miserable," said Goodrich.

For two years, the Goodriches struggled to find help, and finally,
they turned to Dr. Daniel LeGrange's program at the University of
Chicago that emphasizes family therapy -- not individual counseling.

"This approach relies heavily on getting the child to accept there is
no way the parents are going to back off," LeGrange said.

Under this approach, the first task is to push the anorexic into
gaining weight because talking therapy can't work when you're too
hungry to think straight. The Goodriches said the first thing they
learned is that the first thing an anorexic starves is their brain so
they started constantly pushing food.

"You can sit for an hour and a half at the table with her to get her
to eat something," said Mrs. Goodrich.

"Eventually, the personality takes over -- it's the eating disorder
that's afraid of the food. It gets angry and yells and screams at my
parents," said Goodrich.

Her parents said the more weight she gains, the more logical she
thinks. The process is intense, time consuming and emotional, and
LeGrange said not every family has the stamina for it. But the
Goodriches did and now college is in Brittany's future.

She's reasonably confident that on her own, she'll be able to stick
with an eating routine. But if not:

"I know if I call them up, they'll tell me what to do -- there's
always that."

http://parentcenter.babycenter.com/204_childhood-anxiety-may-make-anorexia-worse\
_5232605.pc

Childhood anxiety may make anorexia worse

Fri, May 16, 2008 (Reuters Health) — Anorexic women with a history of
childhood anxiety may have particularly severe symptoms of the eating
disorder, a study suggests.

It's known that anxiety disorders, like social phobia and obsessive
compulsive disorder, are far more common among people with anorexia
than in the general population. Often, these anxiety disorders appear
before the eating disorder does.

In the new study, published in the International Journal of Eating
Disorders, researchers looked at whether a history of childhood
"overanxious disorder" was related to the severity of women's anorexia.

Dr. Cynthia M. Bulik, of the University of North Carolina at Chapel
Hill, and colleagues found that of 637 women with anorexia, 39 percent
reported symptoms of childhood overanxious disorder. In nearly all
cases, those symptoms arose before the onset of their anorexia.

In general, the researchers found, women with a history of childhood
anxiety exhibited "more extreme personality traits" and attitudes —
like perfectionism and obsessive tendencies related to food — than
women without a history of early anxiety disorders.

They were also more likely to purge, by vomiting or abusing laxatives,
in addition to strictly limiting their food intake.

According to Bulik's team, childhood anxiety disorders "may represent
one entree" into anorexia. This, they say, underscores the importance
of recognizing and treating these conditions early on.

Hi all-

Osteoporosis is a threat for many with a serious eating disorder, so I
thought I'd pass along this FYI about Osteoporosis Awareness Month.
Charlynn at Disordered Times made a great post a few weeks ago with
some recommendations on testing and what to do to prevent further bone
loss here: http://www.disorderedtimes.com/archives/151

For more information or materials to download, go to
http://www.nof.org/eventsandprograms/index.htm#Osteoporosis%20Awareness%20and%20\
Prevention%20Month:%20May%202006

-Rachel

Hi all-

I know this group has been quiet, but I hope in time it will grow to
be a thriving discussion forum.  I wanted to let everyone know we have
reached a milestone - Tori is our 10th member to join.  She gets a
virtual cookie in appreciation.

Please do let others you think might be interested know about this
group.  I envision this to be a place frequented by people with eating
disorders, their friends and families, and medical professionals.

-Rachel