Eating Disorders, COVID-19 and the Holidays – OH MY!  2020 has been a difficult year for all of us, and especially for those in recovery from eating disorders. Eating disorders happen in isolation, and recovery happens in connection with others. So, what happens to those in recovery from eating disorders, when we are supposed to avoid travel and not gather together? A variety of emotions can surface, I find that I’m using a specific Eating Disorder Intuitive Therapy (EDIT)™ worksheet with most of my clients (see below).

Many of my clients in recovery from eating disorders are expressing emotions such as anxiety, depression, frustration, sadness, grief, irritability – to name a few! There are specific aspects of relief which eating disorder behaviors can provide. For example, when feeling stressed, eating can offer a calming effect. Binge eating can increase that effect, at least initially. Then, feelings of guilt and shame can ensue, which can lead to purging behaviors for some people with eating disorders. When emotions feel out of control, other people dealing with eating disorders may find themselves attempting to feel in control through restrictive eating, meal skipping, or fasting.

All of these emotions can be exacerbated for people with eating disorders, as they attempt to cope with the Holidays and COVID-19 restrictions. What specific emotions are people with eating disorders feeling? What purpose are the eating disorder behaviors serving? What alternatives to the eating disorder behaviors can be considered, as a means of meeting ones true needs?

As people with eating disorders cope with COVID-19 during the Holidays, this worksheets is an excellent resource. You can click on the worksheet below, to view and print. This EDIT™ Worksheet has tips to help your clients better manage their emotions and access their true needs, instead of using eating disorder behaviors as a means of coping.

This EDIT™ Worksheet can be a great tool for YOUR clients – whether you’re an EDIT™ Certified Eating Disorder Peer Mentor, EDIT™ Certified Eating Disorder Recovery Coach, or EDIT™ Certified Eating Disorder Treatment Clinician.

If you’re NOT EDIT™ Certified, now is a great time to get started, with 50% OFF EDIT™ Certified Level I thru December 31st, 2020. YOU might need something to focus on if YOU’RE feeling isolated right now. YOU can make a unique difference for people with eating disorders need YOUR help, especially during this challenging time of the Holidays amidst COVID-19. CLICK HERE & GET CERTIFIED for only $245!

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, through her Eating Disorder Intuitive Therapy (EDIT)™ Certified program. During COVID-19, Dr. Dorie offers sessions by ZOOM for people in recovery from eating disorders. Learn more at: https://www.drdorie.com

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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, COVID-19 & Holiday Coping Skills appeared first on INTUITIVE THERAPY™ | Healthy Weight Loss | Eating Disorder Recovery Coach.

‘Tis the season – for family gatherings, Holiday parties… and lots of food. It can be enough of a challenge to stay on course with your eating disorder recovery in your day-to-day life. It’s even more challenging when you’re triggered by your Aunt Mary’s comments about your weight, or your Grandmother’s pumpkin pie. Here are a few strategies for eating disorders help for the holidays:

1. Know Your Triggers – Identify the people, places and events that are the most challenging for you to deal with. By acknowledging that your Aunt Mary always makes a comment about your weight, you can actually be less triggered when she makes a comment this year. She might say, “You look so good – how much weight have you lost?” Or, “What happened – you gained so much weight since the last time I saw you!” Knowing that she will make some kind of comment, you can be prepared and therefore less triggered. Similarly, knowing that you are going to a family function where you will encounter foods which can trigger your eating disorder behaviors, you can diffuse the power of the trigger simply by being aware of it. You know that your Grandmother will bring pumpkin pie – and you also know that she will push you to have a piece. You also know that she’ll give you a “sad look” if you decline to have a piece, and she’ll push you to have seconds if you agree to have one.
2. Have a Plan to Deal with Your Triggers – After you have identified some of the main triggers you might encounter, come up with specific action steps for each. When your Aunt Mary makes a comment about your weight, you might plan to say, “Let’s not focus on my weight. Let’s talk about the art class I am taking!” You can shift the conversation onto a topic that you enjoy talking about. As for the pumpkin pie, you might say ,”Grandma, you know that I love your pie! But this year, I’d only like one very small piece, and that’s it!” You can choose the boundary that feels right to you.
3. Follow-Up with Self-Care – After encountering people, places or events that were triggering, it’s a good idea to enjoy some extra Self-Care! Make a list of Self-Care ideas, and after your family event or party, scan your list and choose something that will help you feel “nourished from within.”  For example, your list might include: Call my friend Suzy, take a walk with my dog, get a massage, go see a movie, write in my journal, listen to my favorite music, read my gratitude list, go to a support group.

With these strategies for eating disorders help for the holidays, you can stay on your path of recovery!

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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

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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 Holiday Help appeared first on INTUITIVE THERAPY™ | Healthy Weight Loss | Eating Disorder Recovery Coach.

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 Registered Dietitian, part of my role is to provide education about nutrition. I recently taught a class on emotional vs. physical eating. I started the class by asking who felt they were an emotional eater, at which point about half of the class identified they emotionally ate. How about you? Let’s identify what exactly physical vs. emotional eating means, and discover which category you fall into majority of the time.

After I spent some time explaining this chart, the whole class was able to identify that they all do indeed emotionally eat. The reality is, we all emotionally eat at times – but, we each have differences in the frequency that it happens and the quantity of food consumed. We all link food with certain memories and we’re either taught or have learned to use food for enjoyment, to comfort ourselves, or try to satisfy a particular emotion we’re feeling. There is actually nothing wrong with some emotional eating; I bet you didn’t think you’d hear that from a dietitian!

Emotional eating does become a problem, though, when it begins to affect someone’s weight negatively – with significant fluctuations, either up or down. Emotional eating is also a problem if it starts to control someone’s life to the point where food becomes their primary coping tool, leading to a complete loss of the ability to eat according to true physical hunger/fullness cues.

So, maybe it’s time to stop beating ourselves up if we have a little something because it just sounds comforting or good. What would happen if you actually acknowledged that some emotional eating is normal, and give yourself permission to have food at times for this purpose? The key is to make sure you have a balance of other coping tools you also incorporate as well so you have balance.

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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: Physical vs. Emotional Eating appeared first on INTUITIVE THERAPY™ | Healthy Weight Loss | Eating Disorder Recovery Coach.