5 Steps to Help Your Clients Reach their Eating Disorder Recovery Summit!

Eating disorder recovery is like climbing a mountain – I was reflecting about this as I reached the summit of Bergen Peak in Evergreen, Colorado (see video below)! It was a long and sometimes difficult journey, but my traverse was eased by those who had created a trail to reach the summit. In addition, I was prepared, carrying the essentials that I needed with me in my backpack, and wearing the right gear. But it all began with my commitment to embark on this journey, and trusting my Inner Guide for Inspiration to complete this climb.

During my own eating disorder recovery, I learned five essential principles, and practicing these principles on a daily basis gradually allowed me to let go of eating disorder behaviors and embrace a new life of freedom! Now, as a Licensed Addiction Counselor and Certified Eating Disorder Specialist, I share these five principles with my clients. These principles comprise the method I created, Eating Disorder Intuitive Therapy (EDIT)™ – and I provide training and certification for Eating Disorder Recovery Coaches and Treatment Clinicians  to be able to help their clients. EDIT™ Certified professionals are like mountaineering guides, using these five EDIT™ Principles as steps to the summit of eating disorder recovery success.

1. Love Your Self – Commit to the Recovery Journey!
Even if clients have some ambivalence, emphasize their worthiness to recover and live the life they truly want to live! Give your clients essential tools to begin their recovery journey – these are specific EDIT™ Worksheets you’ll provide in an initial session. Using the hiking analogy, you’ll give your clients a backpack (which will be filled in the next steps), and a map (so they don’t feel likely they’re blindly wandering into the unknown). Some clients might wonder, “What about my bathroom scale? And a mirror?” You might explain that a bathroom scale would be a heavy item to carry, and use EDIT™ Worksheets to help them find freedom from weighing (or measuring their bodies in any way). As for the mirror, you can suggest that this journey of recovery will involve discovery of their True Self, which can’t be seen as an image of the body reflected in a mirror. Hold the vision of your clients as their True Self until they can envision this themselves.

2. Be True To Your Self – Enjoy Nourishment for the Whole Self!
This includes the body, mind, heart and soul – or, the physical, mental, emotional and spiritual aspects of recovery. Introduce the concept of listening to one’s Inner Wisdom, or Intuitive Therapist (IT) within themselves. Start with the EDIT™ Worksheets which help clients access their Intuition, and then guide them with the EDIT™ Worksheets for Intuitive Eating and Intuitive Exercise (or Mindful Movement).  Using eating disorder recovery as a mountain climbing metaphor, emphasize the importance of water, meals and snacks, and assist your clients to add these to their backpack for their recovery journey. To further support the body, your clients need adequate hiking shoes or boots, and trekking poles can make it easier on the knee and hip joints. Remind your clients that this recovery journey is not a sprint, and encourage them to take lots of breaks along the way.

3. Express Your Self – Attend to Thoughts, Feelings, and Authentic Needs!
This is a critical step on the eating disorder mountain climbing journey. Guide your clients to gently notice their thoughts and feelings, and assist them to be curious about their authentic needs (shifting from ED to IT). There are essential EDIT™ Worksheets which facilitate this process. Sometimes the path may be very clear and clients can proceed with ease… celebrate your clients’ successes! And then the path might disappear. have your clients wandered into the weeds (filled with thoughts from the ED mind) instead of the Way of Recovery (filled with hope and encouragement from the mind of IT)? Prepare your clients when the Way gets challenging, such as climbing through scree (broken rock fragments and loose stones that are often at higher elevations, especially nearing a mountain summit). This is when clients are concurrently climbing high and yet “slipping back” to address core issues. Affirm that the Way has challenges, and moving through these leads to workable solutions and more freedom from ED! Offer EDIT™ Worksheets to guide clients to develop healthy coping skills and explore those deeper issues. Clients may appreciate having a journal in their backpack, so they can take note of their challenges and successes on their recovery journey. Sometimes, life can get messy, so be sure that your clients have toilet paper and a trowel (to dig a hole and bury the s*** left behind)!

4. Give To Your Self – Become Full-filled from Within!
Many clients struggle with the concept of “enough.” They might strive to be “good enough,” always striving yet never arriving, it’s “never good enough.” This can be mimicked through ED behaviors, such as restrictive eating to reflect an inner emptiness, or binge eating in an attempt to fill a hole inside. Meanwhile, basic needs are barely being met. It’s like your clients are going in circles near the mountain top, unaware of who and where they really are, looking outside themselves for approval instead of pausing to realize their own Self-validation. Clients will never feel “good enough” listening to the voices of the world, also hearing the chatter from the mind of ED and the inner critic, which keeps them spinning. What would happen if you guided your client over to a couple of trees, where they can hang a hammock (which you thoughtfully put in their backpack)? Encourage your client to truly pause – and just be in the moment. This can be a challenge for clients, so assist them through visualizations and other EDIT™ skills. It’s like there is a spring-fed well that can suddenly appear anywhere your clients are, as long as they can be still and know their Intuitive Therapist is with them. This Inner Wisdom can spring forth, providing full-fillment from within, and clients can finally experience and appreciate their enough-ness. Guide your clients to affirm, “I AM good enough, always have been, and always will be!”

5. Believe In Your Self – Reach the Summit of Recovery Success!
By practicing the first four EDIT™ Principles, clients can begin to see the summit… only to realize that when they reach it, there is another summit that becomes visible. In the eating disorder recovery mountain climbing analogy, this is known as a “false summit.” It’s like working sooooooo hard, only to realize that you haven’t arrived to the top, and there’s still seemingly sooooooo much more to go on the journey. Somehow mustering more strength, the journey continues. But where is this strength coming from? Is it the small-s false self, who can experience moments of freedom from ED by controlling the ED behaviors, reaching a false summit? Or is it the Capital-S True Self, who has found a renewable Energy Source with Infinite Power and lasting Freedom from ED, which is always available by staying aware of one’s Mind? This is the Mind of one’s Intuitive Therapist and True Self, rather than the limited mind of the false self, still caught up in striving-yet-never-arriving, vulnerable to relapses with ED. Remind your clients that they have a compass (another recovery tool you tucked into an easily accessible side pocket of their backpack). The false self’s eyes are limited, but the Eyes of the Soul can see the Way (even in the dark). Clients might feel hopeless, like they’ll never reach the “real” summit, but with their Inner Compass, they Way is clear. At last, the mountain top is reached! Clients are so Grateful, often feeling Joy that they haven’t experience in years or decades. On top of this mountain, they have a 365º view of the world around them. They see other summits they can rise up to, and valleys they can venture into very deeply.  They realize that the journey of recovery can continue, by proceeding with the Confidence of their Intuitive Therapist as their ongoing Guide in Freedom.

“Love Your Self, Be True To Your Self, Express Your Self, Give To Your Self, Believe In Your Self,” you remind your clients, as they conclude their work with you. They smile and nod their head, knowing that this EDIT™ Message is always within their True Self.

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Article may be reprinted with the author bio below.

©2020 by Dr. Dorie McCubbrey. Dr. Dorie is a Certified Eating Disorder Specialist and Licensed Addiction Counselor who is passionate about training professionals to effectively guide clients in recovery from eating disorders. She is the President of the EDIT™ Training Institute LLC, which provides training and certification in her method of Eating Disorder Intuitive Therapy (EDIT)™.  She also provides sessions for clients who struggle with these issues, either in person or by phone/video. Learn more at: https://www.drdorie.com

*****

Want more that this “taste” of EDIT™? Dr. Dorie is passionate about her method of Eating Disorder Intuitive Therapy (EDIT)™ to help people overcome eating disorders and addictions.  She provides customized programs for people in recovery from eating disorders and who struggle with weight issues, and  EDIT™ eating disorder training and certification for coaches and clinicians worldwide. CALL 303-494-1975 – GET CERTIFIED – ATTEND ONLINE RETREAT

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From Halloween to Thanksgiving to Holiday Parties into the New Year – food seems to be everywhere. Here are a few strategies to help your clients (or yourself) to find balance with emotions and eating. This can help overcome the temptation to binge (and then possibly purge), or to engage is restrictive behaviors which result in feelings of deprivation (and then possibly a binge/purge). Try these EDIT™ Skills to break the ED cycle, and enjoy this Holiday Season:

1. Trust Your Intuition with Food Choices – Get in touch with the foods you truly love. I mean, LOVE. Is it really the Halloween on every corner display in the grocery store? Or, Aunt Martha’s fruit cake that you feel obligated to eat to please her? Or, those store-baked cookies someone brought to the Holiday Office Party? Think back to your own pleasant memories of this time of year. Maybe you really LOVE apples dipped in caramel, or the turkey stuffing the your Nana used to make, or your Grandma’s shortbread cookies. Make your own list of “favorite foods,” and see if you can focus on these as your food choices. When you’re shopping specifically for apples and caramel, it’s easy to overlook all the candy. When you’re bringing your Nana’s stuffing to the family gathering, maybe you can say to Aunt Martha as she passes the fruitcake, “No, thanks, I’m stuffed!” (Yes, pun intended). And, at the Holiday Party, people will be asking, “Who baked these cookies? I want the recipe!” I hope this strategy helps you to focus more on enjoying the foods you love, while connecting more with others.
2. Check In with Your Feelings Often – Notice the sensations in your body, as well as your predominant emotions. Be curious about a possible link between your emotions and your body sensations. Rate these sensations on a scale from 1 to 10, and if they seem very intense (a 9 or 10), pause to a coping skill to bring the intensity down to a manageable level (a 4 or 5. Consider using the EDIT™ Worksheet (at end of article) to help you develop ways to meet your specific needs. Take a photo of the completed worksheet, so if you are feeling emotionally vulnerable before a holiday event, you can pull out your phone for a quick reminder about emotional balance. This is an effective way to avoid using ED behaviors to cope.
3. Give the Gift of Self-Care – Yes, to your Self! This is a busy time of year, and much of the focus can be about, “What costume should I make for my daughter? What is the best gift for my boss? What present should I get my nephew, Jimmy?” All of this, on top of the regular responsibilities of everyday life. Be sure to beep recovery as your #1 priority, and reflect about simple Self-Care you can enjoy every day – perhaps a 5-minute morning meditation, pausing for a cup of tea in the afternoon, or buying yourself a gift (and wrapping it)!

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Article may be reprinted with the author bio below.

©2019 by Dr. Dorie McCubbrey. Dr. Dorie is a Certified Eating Disorder Specialist and Licensed Addiction Counselor who is passionate about training professionals to effectively guide clients in recovery from eating disorders, through her Eating Disorder Intuitive Therapy (EDIT)™ Certified program. She also provides sessions for clients who struggle with these issues, either in person or by phone. Learn more at: https://www.drdorie.com

*****

Want more that this “taste” of EDIT™? Dr. Dorie is passionate about her method of Eating Disorder Intuitive Therapy (EDIT)™ to help people overcome eating disorders and addictions.  She provides customized programs for people in recovery from eating disorders and who struggle with weight issues, and  EDIT™ eating disorder training and certification for coaches and clinicians worldwide. CALL 303-494-1975 – EMAIL DR. DORIE – GET CERTIFIED 

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CLICK IMAGE to VIEW & PRINT WORKSHEET

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Our clients get stuck in eating disorder recovery because they can’t hear their intuitive wisdom which is there to guide them on a healthy path. We as eating disorder clinicians and recovery coaches can solve this “hearing problem” by helping our clients learn how to listen to the intuitive messages within them and all around them. This EDIT™ Worksheet which can be a “hearing aid” for your clients:

Scroll below the image for guidelines about using the worksheet.
CLICK ON IMAGE TO DOWNLOAD AND PRINT

I’d like to introduce you to Amanda Grace Caldwell, who is an EDIT™ Certified III – Eating Disorder Treatment Clinician. Amanda Grace was a Counselor Intern under my supervision at Positive Pathways from January, 2014 through December, 2015. She is a knowledgeable and compassionate therapist, who works with clients in Houston, Texas. You can contact Amanda Grace with any comments or questions, including how to get started with individual sessions (see bottom of article).
– Dr. Dorie

The emphasis of the Eating Disorder Intuitive Therapy (EDIT)™ approach is to guide our clients to shift from the voice of the Eating Disorder (ED) to the healing wisdom of the Intuitive Therapist (IT) within themselves. Through practicing the Be True To Your Self principle, clients discover how to become “Intuitive Eaters,” finding freedom from eating disordered eating. In addition, clients learn how to be “Intuitive Exercisers,” where they can truly enjoy the movement of their bodies, and actually have fun with fitness. As a first step towards Intuitive Eating and Intuitive Exercise, we can guide our clients with perspectives about Intuitive Living – the ways in which their Intuitive Therapist (IT) is trying to “speak” to them through a variety of messages, if they pay attention.

We live in a society rich with information. Whether it’s in a magazine, television show, online or even in a conversation, we hear and see messages everywhere. The voice of the Eating Disorder (ED) is formed from these external messages – dictating how to look, what to eat (or not eat), and most decisions in general. Our clients look outside themselves for guidance, wondering, “Who should I be?” Then, our clients seek approval from outside sources, questioning, “Am I good enough?” Recovery is about “turning up the volume” of the client’s inner guidance – the voice of their Intuitive Therapist (IT). Ultimately, clients will be able to “go within” to make decisions and receive validation.

Clients may be so used to looking outside themselves for guidance, that this concept of “going within” may be very unfamiliar to them, and it may also feel unsafe. This worksheet is a step towards paying attention to intuitive messages, and beginning to trust them. Clients need guidance to notice some of the internal and external messages they are currently hearing and seeing, which reflect their “Intuitive Knowing.” When used appropriately, this exercise helps clients make choices and empowers them to take the next step needed for their healing.

The first step in this exercise is to look at the internal messages a client might be hearing. It’s important to use their language when describing intuition. For some clients, they might best relate to the idea of a “gut feeling” or a “still, small voice.” When I describe intuition to clients I sit with, I explain that it’s the inner voice we hear when the world goes quiet. If your client has a difficult time tapping into their inner voice, try to introduce solitude or stillness into your sessions. Help them find the space to connect with what might be inside of them. Guide them to list five internal messages they have recently received, for example: I’m feeling guided to become a teacher; I have a sense I need to break up with my boyfriend; I really need more time to write in my journal.

When guiding clients to trust their intuition, it’s important to also help them realize that they don’t want to completely ignore the messages from the outside world. Although clients can sometimes internalize these external messages in a harmful way (feeding the voice of ED), clients can also use these external messages to bring healing and freedom along their journey (in alignment with the wisdom of their IT).

The second half of this worksheet focuses on the external messages clients might experience. These messages can be defined as signs, fate, coincidence or happenstance. Help your client explore what comes to mind and encourage them to write down all that they become aware of. As you walk through this exercise, the light bulb will start to go off for clients as they begin to connect the dots and become aware of themes. For example: I keep seeing that commercial on TV and it makes me think of my friend Suzy – maybe I need to call her; That’s the third time someone has mentioned that book – I guess I need to read it; I was re-routed due to construction today, and noticed a new park I’d love to go explore.

The final step of this exercise is to help clients integrate the internal and external messages they have seen and heard. When evaluation all that has come to one’s mind, connections can be made. Clients are empowered when they realize the answers they needed were with them the entire time.

At one point in my life, it was an internal and external message that helped me make a big decision. I was in Colorado at the time, pursuing my counseling degree, but I was homesick for my friends and family in Texas. I wasn’t sure whether to stay or go home. While on a trip to Houston, when all was quiet, I heard a voice say, “You’re not done.” At the end of that trip, I was driving to the airport to head back to Colorado when I noticed a billboard sign that said, “Come to Life.” It was an advertisement for Colorado. These messages told me what I needed to do. I needed to stay in Colorado. Clients can find the same validation I did when they begin to make meaning out of the messages they hear everyday.

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Want to enhance intuitive messages? Contact Amanda Grace Caldwell, MA, LPCC – the author of this blog article. She is an EDIT™ Certified III – Eating Disorder Treatment Clinician who meets with clients in Houston, Texas. EMAIL AMANDA GRACE

Interested in a FREE consultation with Dr. Dorie? Dr. Dorie is passionate about her method of Eating Disorder Intuitive Therapy (EDIT)™ to help people overcome eating disorders and addictions.  She provides customized counseling for eating disorders and alcohol / drug addiction at her Positive Pathways treatment center in Evergreen, Colorado – and EDIT™ eating disorder training and certification for coaches and clinicians worldwide. CALL 303-494-1975 – EMAIL DR. DORIE

The post Intuitive Messages in Eating Disorder Recovery appeared first on INTUITIVE THERAPY™ | Healthy Weight Loss | Eating Disorder Recovery Coach.

Eating Disorder Intuitive Therapy (EDIT)™ can lead to complete recovery from eating disorders – which means having a healthy body image; a clear sense of values and identity beyond one’s body; the ability to intuitively and mindfully enjoy all foods without restricting, binge eating, or purging; effective ways of coping with a range of emotions; regular Self-Care practices; relapse prevention skills; and a strong presence of one’s “Intuitive Therapist” to guide ongoing recovery.

My name is Dr. Dorie McCubbrey, the Creator of EDIT™ – which I developed during my own eating disorder recovery. Practicing the five principles of EDIT™ led to my freedom from anorexia, bulimia and binge eating disorder, and continuing to live these principles in my own life allows me to stay free. This is how I know that complete recovery is possible! Also, as a Licensed Addiction Counselor and Certified Eating Disorder Specialist, I’ve been using the EDIT™ process with my clients for more than 20 years, and have guided thousands on their journeys of complete recovery from eating disorders.

I truly believe that by practicing the five principles of EDIT™, anyone can find freedom from anorexia, bulimia, binge eating disorder, or other issues with food, exercise and weight. Here’s a “taste” of each of the five principles, and what freedom can feel like:

Love Your Self: You look in the mirror, and truly LOVE what you see – your radiant essence, your compassionate heart, your creative mind, and your strong body. You are free from society’s standards of what others think is “ideal,” and you fully embrace your True Self!

Be True To Your Self: You live your life in alignment with your “Intuitive Therapist” – your own inner guide to eating, exercise, and all decisions in your life. You trust your intuition for the type and amount of food your body needs. You rely on your intuition for the flow of mindful movement. You go within to access intuition for relationship guidance, career choices, and moment to moment needs.

Express Your Self: You have skills to safely and fully experience a range of emotions as they come and go through the day. You view your emotions as “messengers,” pointing to areas in your life you need to address. You approach all emotions with curiosity, knowing they are guiding you on your healthy path. 

Give To Your Self: You incorporate Self-Care throughout your day, to “feed your true hunger” – spiritually, emotionally, mentally and physically. When you are “nourished from within,” there is no need for eating disorder behaviors of any kind.

Believe In Your Self: You wake up every morning, excited for the opportunities in your life! You live as if you’ve never had an eating disorder. Occasionally, an old “ED” thought might pop into your mind, but rather than acting on it, you naturally become curious about it – as “IT,” your “Intuitive Therapist,” takes over. Your ED-IT transformation is what complete recovery is all about!

Article may be reprinted with the author bio below.

©2018 by Dr. Dorie McCubbrey. Dr. Dorie is a Certified Eating Disorder Specialist and Licensed Addiction Counselor who is passionate about training professionals to effectively guide clients in recovery from eating disorders, through her Eating Disorder Intuitive Therapy (EDIT)™ Certified program. She also meets with clients at her treatment center, Positive Pathways PLLC, located in Evergreen Colorado. Learn more at: https://www.drdorie.com

*****

Want more that this “taste” of EDIT™? Dr. Dorie is passionate about her method of Eating Disorder Intuitive Therapy (EDIT)™ to help people overcome eating disorders and addictions.  She provides customized counseling for eating disorders and alcohol / drug addiction at her Positive Pathways treatment center in Evergreen, Colorado – and EDIT™ eating disorder training and certification for coaches and clinicians worldwide. CALL 303-494-1975 – EMAIL DR. DORIE – GET CERTIFIED

The post Eating Disorders: Complete Recovery appeared first on INTUITIVE THERAPY™ | Healthy Weight Loss | Eating Disorder Recovery Coach.

The second EDIT™ Principle involves everything about INTUITION – how to use one’s intuitive wisdom for guidance about eating, exercise, and everyday life. This intuitive wisdom is what we can also call the insight of the Intuitive Therapist within us all. People with eating disorders typically only hear the chatter of their eating disorder (ED) mind. But as EDIT™ Practitioners, we model the voice of the Intuitive Therapist (IT) until clients can her IT within themselves. The EDIT™ process involves having ED-IT dialogues with clients. Here’s what this might sound like:

ED (false self) – “I follow the rules and do what I should do.”

The “rules” involve eating, exercising, and other eating disorder behaviors, as well as countless expectations of others. The false self adopts these rules as ones own, unaware that they are being imposed from outside influences. Many rules contradict each other, which is a setup for the rules to be broken, followed by attempts to resume the rules with even more rigidity. The false self is adamant that it is moving in the right direction, without realizing it is blindly going in circles.

IT (True Self): “I trust my intuition, in all areas of my life.”

Intuition is an inner knowing, a gut feeling, an awareness which comes without any logical analysis – it is the “voice” of the True Self. Intuition is accessed to guide all decisions, including career direction, family and relationship choices, as well as eating and exercise selections. The True Self may listen to the others opinions, then discern whether they are in alignment with ones own values. The True Self has an inner compass, which always points in the right direction.

Try this “taste” of EDIT™ – Reasons WHY We Eat

Click on the image below for a downloadable worksheet which you can use to explore how the concepts of intuition can be applied to eating disorder behaviors. Discuss the three reasons WHY we eat, and guide your client to trust their INTUITION for the type and amount of food their body needs.

Scroll below the image for guidelines about using the worksheet.
CLICK ON IMAGE TO DOWNLOAD AND PRINT

I’m feeling low on energy, and need a snack…
I just finished dinner, and want something sweet…
I’ve just had a stressful day, and want my favorite comfort food…

Can you relate to eating for these three different reasons? The first is the body’s PHYSICAL NEED for food – or, HUNGER. The second is a PHYSICAL DESIRE for specific foods although not necessarily hungry, for example, dessert – also called APPETITE. The third is an EMOTIONAL DESIRE for specific foods, as a means of self-soothing – referred to as COMFORT. It’s normal to eat for all three of these reasons – and eating disorders reflect being out of balance with why we eat. Eating disorder recovery is about restoring this balance, through Intuitive Eating.

As a little more background information for you as an EDIT™ practitioner – I developed the terminology for these three reasons why people eat as an outcome of my own research. I observed the eating patterns of people who reported never having had an eating disorder, and noted that the reasons people ate fell into three main categories. My original terms were “Physical Need,” “Physical Desire,” and “Emotional Desire” – which I have since simplified as “Hunger,” “Appetite,” and “Comfort.”

On a typical day, people without eating disorders reported eating for the three different reasons with these percentages: Hunger (75-100%), Appetite (0-25%), Comfort (0-10%). What this means is that some days, a person might eat in this distribution: Hunger (75%), Appetite (15%), Comfort (10%). Another day, perhaps their proportions may be: Hunger (90%), Appetite (10%), Comfort (0%). Occasionally, people without eating disorders reported: Hunger (100%), Appetite (0%), Comfort (0%). However, most often, people without eating disorders ate with some percentage for all three reasons.

When I ask people with eating disorders the reasons why they eat, I often find different ranges for different types of eating disorders. For example, people with Anorexia typically report something like: Hunger (100%), Appetite (0%), Comfort (0%). However, many anorexics resist eating even if they do feel hungry, and only eat if they feel extreme hunger. In contrast, people with Bulimia or Binge Eating Disorder typically report something like: Hunger (0%), Appetite (25%), Comfort (75%). These individuals may actually eat some of the time because they are hungry – but to them it might seem like they are eating because they “want to” but don’t really “need to.” These individuals especially identify with eating for comfort, noting that they use food as a means of coping with intense emotions. People who identify themselves as having a Food Addiction report a slightly different percentage, usually something like: Hunger (0%), Appetite (75%), Comfort (25%). These individuals tend to relate to the concept that they are drawn to the taste of food and “love to eat,” but are less aware of using food as a means of emotional coping.

When you use this worksheet with your clients, begin by explaining the three reasons why people eat. Next, ask your client why they tend to eat on a typical day, so you can get a sense of their percentages for each of the three reasons. Ask your client why they think they “should” eat – any they will probably say something like, “I should only eat when I’m hungry” – which is what many weight loss programs advocate. Emphasize that it’s OK to eat for all three reasons, and then encourage your client to being their journey of Intuitive Eating by simply noticing their current eating patterns. Encourage them to gently ask, “Why am I about to eat right now?” Non-judgmental awareness is the first step in eating disorder recovery!

©2018 by Dr. Dorie McCubbrey. Dr. Dorie is a Certified Eating Disorder Specialist and Licensed Addiction Counselor who is passionate about training professionals to effectively guide clients in recovery from eating disorders, through her Eating Disorder Intuitive Therapy (EDIT)™ Certified program. She also meets with clients at her treatment center, Positive Pathways PLLC, located in Evergreen Colorado. Learn more at: https://www.drdorie.com

Article may be reprinted with this author bio.

*****

Want more that this “taste” of EDIT™? Dr. Dorie is passionate about her method of Eating Disorder Intuitive Therapy (EDIT)™ to help people overcome eating disorders and addictions.  She provides customized counseling for eating disorders and alcohol / drug addiction at her Positive Pathways treatment center in Evergreen, Colorado – and EDIT™ eating disorder training and certification for coaches and clinicians worldwide. CALL 303-494-1975 – EMAIL DR. DORIE – GET CERTIFIED

The post Be True To Your Self appeared first on INTUITIVE THERAPY™ | Healthy Weight Loss | Eating Disorder Recovery Coach.

I’d like to introduce you to Emily Johnson, who is a Registered Psychotherapist and an EDIT™ Certified III – Eating Disorder Treatment Clinician. Emily completed her internship and continued to work under my supervision for several years, at my previous office location in Denver, Colorado. She is a knowledgeable and compassionate clinician, who is passionate about helping athletes in recovery from eating disorders. She is an amateur athlete who has overcome her own eating disorder, and finds “intuitive exercise” to be a healthy part of her recovery.
– Dr. Dorie

Do you exercise regularly?  Do you play a team sport?  Do you consider yourself an athlete?  My name is Emily Johnson, and my view of sports is that they give so much more than the physical benefits of exercise.  I see how sports give people endurance, empowerment, and a sense of purpose.  It doesn’t matter whether you are walking 5Ks or running marathons, bouldering in a gym or scaling El Capitan – if you find that your activity of choice is part of who you are and what you value, then by my definition you are an athlete.

Healthy athletes have a sense of wonder at their body’s ability to jump as high as they can, navigate curves at high speed on a bicycle, or move in spectacular ways for their particular sport.  If an athlete loses this awe and instead focuses on “awesomeness” and winning at any cost, this opens the door for eating disorders to enter.  Competitive athletes are often under extreme pressure from coaches, parents, and teammates.  Sometimes weight and size become a part of that pressure.  Runners are told if they lose weight, they’ll run faster.  Gymnasts and ballerinas are “supposed to” be petite and slender, in order to get the highest scores or earn the best parts.  This focus on weight and size can lead to dietary restrictions and excessive exercise patterns – and the development of Anorexia, Bulimia or Binge Eating Disorder.  Personality traits that make the best athletes – such as coachability, perfectionism, and selflessness – are the same traits that are common in individuals with eating disorders.

So how does one ditch eating disorders and excel as an athlete?  The focus turns back to what you, the individual, get from your activity of choice.  Quieting that Eating Disorder voice that tells you that your value is based in your weight, your performance, or how perfectly you can stick to a training program.  Reclaiming that sense of wonder about your body as it moves, and enjoying the feeling of healthy competition.

PS – Yes, that’s me in the photo! This was taken after my first triathlon, the Las Vegas Century Ride, September 22, 2012.

Looking for guidance with INTUITIVE EXERCISE? EMILY JOHNSON, MA (the author of this blog article) is an EDIT™ Certified III – Eating Disorder Treatment Clinician, and is currently employed by an eating disorder treatment center. Although she does not work with clients unless they are patients at the center, Dr. Dorie is available to meet 1-on-1 with athletes with eating disorders.

Interested in a FREE consultation with Dr. Dorie? Dr. Dorie is passionate about her method of Eating Disorder Intuitive Therapy (EDIT)™ to help people overcome eating disorders and addictions.  She provides customized counseling for eating disorders and alcohol / drug addiction at her Positive Pathways treatment center in Evergreen, Colorado – and EDIT™ eating disorder training and certification for coaches and clinicians worldwide. CALL 303-494-1975 – EMAIL DR. DORIE

The post Intuitive Exercise for Athletes with Eating Disorders appeared first on INTUITIVE THERAPY™ | Healthy Weight Loss | Eating Disorder Recovery Coach.