mental-health

  • WHOA THERE, STEADY ON

    It’s a jigsaw puzzle this recovery lark.  The starting piece has to be the food.  Whichever school of thought you subscribe to in terms of how eating disorders develop, I think it makes sense that food needs to be the starting point for recovery.  The brain needs to be well nourished to enable the deep… Read more

  • SHUT THE FUCK UP

    I’m not entirely comfortable with the concept of an ‘ED voice’ and it’s not a term that I use readily (ED = eating disorder). I do not hear voices inside my head.  I’m not psychotic or schizophrenic, nor do I have a shoulder imp whispering negative words into my ear. I’ve frequently heard it said… Read more

  • GO FORTH NAKED

    Maybe not stark naked.  I mean, if you have the body confidence to do so, then kudos to you and I’m jealous! No, I mean without the mask. One of my key observations worth noting this week has been linked to my upcoming return to work.  In many ways, I am excited, and I spoke… Read more

  • “JUST GET READY FI WORK, WORK, WORK, WORK, WORK”

    I love my job.  Not many people can say that and so I feel lucky that I genuinely enjoy what I do.  I was devastated at the thought of having to take time off for treatment after being diagnosed with anorexia. Since returning from a career break, in 2015, I had not had a single… Read more

  • THOUGHTS FROM A WEEKEND AWAY

    Last week I went to London for a couple of nights with my husband.  The main reason for the trip was to see Raye at the O2, but we thought we might as well go a day early and make more of it.  We had a last minute change of plan in terms of where… Read more

  • NEVER UNDERESTIMATE THE SIGNIFICANCE OF HOW YOU DEAL WITH A SMASHED PLATE

    I painted a plate a couple of weeks ago. I had a lovely time doing so with some of my fellow patients from my treatment programme. It had been a ‘mindful’ social get together where we painted a pottery item of our choice whilst chatting and incorporating our ‘prescribed’ morning snack and drink.  I chose… Read more

  • SIT

    How do you think your dog feels when you tell him to sit?  My dog let’s out little whimpers, looking up with eyes wide, body tense and twitching at any sense of movement from me.  I’m guessing he feels pretty uncomfortable.  But he sits with the discomfort, knowing that something good will result. We put… Read more

  • GLIMMERS

    Recovery is a gradual and subtle process.  You don’t wake up one morning and feel better.  In the early days you can’t imagine ever feeling any different and even several weeks in, you perhaps even feel worse at times; you’re eating what feel like enormous amounts of food whilst your brain is screaming at you… Read more

  • CAN I BE TOTALLY HONEST?

    Honestly sits top of my key values.  I knew this already having explored values during previous psychological therapy.  I have further reflected on my key values recently as part of thinking about identity and how my values form part of who I am.   There was no question then that I would be completely open with… Read more

  • I LOVE ME, I LOVE ME NOT, I LOVE ME, I LOVE ME NOT…

    In order to truly recover from anorexia and be able to enjoy a life of complete food freedom without any form of restriction or compensatory behaviours I must embrace a version of me that I have never known. This realisation occurred only a few weeks ago after a discussion with one of the clinicians on… Read more