I’d like to introduce you to Janelle Hunt, who is a Registered Dietitian and an EDIT™ Certified III – Eating Disorder Treatment Clinician. Janelle worked with me at my previous office location in Denver, Colorado. She is a knowledgeable and compassionate clinician, who specializes in nutritional counseling for people in recovery from eating disorders. She guides her clients to learn the real facts about nutrition – in this article, you’ll learn the facts about fats. If you’re “hungry for more,” please contact Janelle about becoming a client (see bottom of article).
– Dr. Dorie

As a dietitian who specializes in the treatment of eating disorders, I enjoy educating my clients about the role of nutrition in eating disorder recovery. Eating well isn’t just about weight gain or weight loss – it’s about feeding your brain so you can think clearly and feel in balance emotionally.

You’ve probably heard this statement from your parents, teachers, or dietitians – “Eat your green veggies!” If you are in recovery from an eating disorder, this may seem like yet another “food rule,” which you either take to an extreme by over consuming these foods, or, you may rebel and eat very few green veggies.

Have you ever wondered, “Why does my brain need green veggies?” Consuming enough folate-rich food is often talked about in the news as a way to assure having a healthy pregnancy. So, since folate so important for women who are pregnant, is folate important for non-pregnant women, and men, too? Recently, a great deal of research with folate has been done, which everyone should pay attention to, as it effects the health of the brain.

Folate is commonly found in deep green veggies, such as spinach, asparagus, turnip greens, and broccoli. In addition, it is found in whole grain cereals, lentils, and black, navy or kidney beans. When we eat folate-rich food, it is converted in the intestine into a substance called L-Methylfolate, which goes into our brain and makes the neurotransmitters serotonin, norepinephrine and dopamine. You may have heard of the importance of having a good balance of these neurotransmitters in the brain, because of their role in having a balanced mood.

Proper levels of serotonin, norepinephrine and dopamine can help reduce depression and anxiety – and overall, when these neurotransmitters are in balance, we have a sense of wellbeing. If the balance in your brain is off, medications can be helpful. Seventy percent of clients have to get their medications changed, or feel no real shift in their depression or mood, which has stumped doctors for years. It turns out that many of these clients lack a key component to convert folate to L-Methylfolate. If there’s no L-Methylfolate for your brain, then you can’t make serotonin, norepinephrine and dopamine and therefore can’t feel relief from depression.

If you have tried numerous antidepressant medications, are consuming enough folate in your diet, and you still suffer from symptoms of depression – it may be worth talking to your psychiatrist or medical doctor to request a blood test to determine if your body does not make the component to convert folate to L-Methylfolate. If you are deficient, then you can take a supplement to treat the deficiency, your medications will start working correctly, and you can feel better!

*****

Looking for guidance with NUTRITION? Contact Janelle Hunt, MS, RD – the author of this blog article. She is an EDIT™ Certified III – Eating Disorder Treatment Clinician, and has a specialty in nutritional counseling for eating disorders. – EMAIL JANELLE

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 Eating Disorders and Nutrition: Your Brain Needs Greens 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 also a big movie fan.
– Dr. Dorie

Movies can be a great way to add context to things that we are going through – like eating disorders and emotions. The journeys of characters can help us gain different perspectives on our situations. To illustrate how we can navigate through the complexities of eating disorders and emotions, the movie Inside Out by Disney’s Pixar offers a wonderful roadmap.

Inside Out is a great story about a young girl and an emotional journey. It combines elements of the hero’s journey with important emotional truths about the human experience. For those struggling with eating disorders and emotions, this movie can be a great analogy for the interplay of our primary emotions, and how to allow our emotions to come into balance. All of our emotions have a purpose, and while some may be uncomfortable, it is learning how to feel all of our feelings that complete recovery from eating disorders is possible.

Without giving too much of the storyline away, Inside Out shows how we need all of our emotions, and that when we favor one, it can squelch important experiences. The main character, Riley, is shown in her stages of developing memories and personality. One of her dominant emotions strives to keep in control of all experiences in order to make Riley happy. Putting on a happy face even when we are feeling sad or angry or afraid is a common experience for many people. However, we were born with the ability to experience a range of emotions for a reason. They color our memories and contribute to the complexity of who we are.

When it comes to struggling with eating disorders and emotions, we may be searching for a way to feel a positive emotion at the price of another emotion that needs to be acknowledged. In the movie, there is a command center in the mind, and one emotion in particular assumes charge over it. But this keeps other emotions from getting in their say. The more we try to bury that other feeling, the more it tries to get into our consciousness. With eating disorders, we might use binge eating, purging or restrictive eating as a way to bury feelings we don’t like. But as illustrated in the movie, those uncomfortable emotions are the key to our wholeness – and to eating disorder recovery.

Inside Out illustrates that not all experiences and memories are black and white. Life is not all happy nor all sad, all angry nor all fear. The richness of life taps into all of our emotions, like colors of a rainbow. Joy can come from sadness. Anger can come from fear. And when we are honest about our emotional experience, we allow ourselves to experience things in a more richly colorful way – and even deepen our connections with others through our authentic and vulnerable emotional expression.

*****

Looking for guidance with emotions? 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 clients to explore emotions.

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 – GET CERTIFIED

The post Eating Disorders and Emotions: Inside Out appeared first on INTUITIVE THERAPY™ | Healthy Weight Loss | Eating Disorder Recovery Coach.

The Robin Williams suicide on August 11, 2014 took most people by surprise. How could someone who made us laugh until our sides ached, be aching within so much that he ended up taking his own life? Since his death, it has been revealed that he struggled with Depression, Alcoholism and other Drug Addictions, and was also in the early stages of Parkinson’s Disease. All of these issues could have been more than he believed he could handle – which could have led to hopelessness.

The #1 indicator of Suicide Risk is hopelessness – a belief that things will never change, at least not for the better, and that a worsening of one’s situation would be intolerable. If you or someone you know ever expressed feeling hopeless, it’s important to get professional help immediately! Hopelessness can lead to suicidal thoughts, but there are many interventions which can shift hopelessness back into hope.

If you struggle with Eating Disorders, sometimes you might feel depressed. Try to observe the thoughts which can be underneath your depression, such as, “This eating disorder is taking a toll on me,” or, “I don’t know if I have what it takes to recover.” Gently notice these thoughts, and then shift your focus to some things that are going well right now in your life, or things you’re looking forward to. Consider making a gratitude list of 5-10 things which can help shift your mood to feeling uplifted and hopeful.

Hold onto hope! No matter what medical or mental/emotional diagnosis you may have, and no matter what your current resources or life situation, the key is to ask for help. Talk honestly about your thoughts and feelings of hopelessness, and keep asking for help until you find hopeful solutions. Although we do not provide crisis counseling at Positive Pathways, please prevent situations like Robin Williams suicide and reach out for help. Here are some telephone numbers to get help NOW:

Denver Metro Crisis Line: 888-885-1222
National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 800-273-8255

The post Robin Williams: Depression, Addiction and Suicide Risk appeared first on INTUITIVE THERAPY™ | Healthy Weight Loss | Eating Disorder Recovery Coach.