Posts Tagged anorexia
Comparing Yourself to Others
Posted by mmorand on October 1, 2011 I know, I know. You don’t do that! But maybe someone you know does….? Just kidding! We all do it – even the healthiest of us fall into the trap of comparing ourselves to others from time to time. If we’re using food to cope or any other harmful coping strategy, I guarantee you, you are spending far more time than is helpful or necessary comparing yourself to others. This exercise will help you notice when you’re getting caught in the comparison game and help you to understand why you do it and how to step free. Below are some suggestions of things to be noticing over the next week. Email me and tell me what you notice and we’ll have a dialogue about some simple things you can do to feel more confident in your own skin and less attached to what others have or do or think or feel. We can’t be free of our use of food to cope with stress until we understand where our stress comes from and create effective, life-enhancing ways of thinking and behaving in stressful situations. So, let’s go! (more…)Recovery Overview and ‘Check Your Tone’ Review
Posted by mmorand on October 1, 2011 Hello out there! Last week I invited you to explore a key piece of reconnaissance. The assignment was as follows: Notice the different tone in your voice at different times, with different people, and around different topics. Please review last week’s article if you missed it and give it a try this week, it will help immensely in your recovery. If you gave the homework a go you likely noticed that your tone and body language changed radically depending on who you were talking to and where and what topic you were covering. Some adjustment of tone is appropriate given the topic and the location and the person. Ie. It wouldn’t be appropriate to speak to the bank teller in the same intimate tone that we use for our partner in a tender moment. At least not in most cultures that I know of. This of course is not to say that we can’t feel love in our heart for everyone we meet and be warm and caring towards them. It is stating though that our emotions naturally come through in our tone. (more…)Natural Eating Check In For Beginners
Posted by mmorand on September 10, 2011 (more…)How to Learn to Eat Naturally Again: The CEDRIC Method Step-by-Step Process
Posted by mmorand on August 20, 2011 This week I’m sharing a brief but invaluable tool for any of you who would like to be able to trust yourself to be around any food, in any quantity, any time. Sound good? If you follow these steps, you will quickly be able to identify when you’re using food to cope vs. when you are just confused about what to eat and how much, and getting anxious because of that. If you’re at a point in your use of the core CEDRIC Method tools where you are able to manage your stress in rational, life-enhancing ways, you’ll also be able, in a 2-3 weeks, to trust your body to know what and how much it needs, and as a result, you’ll feel much more peaceful and at ease in your body and around food. (more…)Yoga and All or Nothing Thinking
Posted by Cedric on August 13, 2011 When I think back on the incredible insecurity and self-consciousness I used to feel just leaving my house in the morning, I think it’s truly remarkable that I was able to take part in classes such as yoga and meditation and personal growth workshops, etc., before my recovery from binge eating and exercise bulimia. There was something in me that knew, as there clearly is in you if you are reading this, that there had to be some way for me to be in the world without feeling so bloody small and anxious all the time. I mean, others could do it. Or at least it seemed like they could. So maybe, just maybe, I could too. And so the 20-year-old me existed with fingers crossed; breath held; hoping for the best but fearing the worst, sheepishly inching forward. Ahhh, but at least I was moving forward! (more…)Tags: all-or-nothing thinking, anorexia, anxiety, binge eating, body image, bulimia, compulsive eating, drill sergeant, eating disorder treatment, eating disorders, healthy eating, insecurity, meditation, natural eating, recovery, self care, self esteem, triggers, yoga
Posted in: All-or-Nothing Thinking
Leave a Comment (2) →Establishing a Normal Relationship with Food
Posted by mmorand on July 30, 2011 This week, I’m writing in response to a question from a web program participant as part of a web program forum discussion about establishing a normal relationship with food. Since my answer to her question was rather lengthy and detailed and, I believe, relevant to you all, I thought I’d share the question and answer here for this week’s “Tools for Recovery” article. Question: If we’ve spent years using food to cope and stuck in the Diet Mentality, how the hell do we have a clue what is normal around what to eat and how much? Michelle’s Answer: In my own personal recovery and my 17 years as a specialist in this field, if there’s one thing I have learned, it is this: In the early stages of recovery, it is not helpful to focus on food in a structured way or to get caught up in some external meter of what to eat, when or how much. (more…)Tags: all-or-nothing thinking, anorexia, anxiety, binge eating, body image, bulimia, compulsive eating, core beliefs, drill sergeant, eating disorder treatment, eating disorders, list of stressors, natural eating, nurturing, overeating, rebalancing, recovery, self care, self esteem, self love, self worth, triggers
Posted in: CEDRIC Centre
Leave a Comment (1) →Releasing All or Nothing Thoughts
Posted by mmorand on June 25, 2011 Okay folks, we’re coming to the end of this series of Natural Eating Q&A articles and today I want to focus on releasing all or nothing thoughts. This week, we have a little twist on the theme, with a specific focus on how our learned helplessness and the irrational, all-or-nothing thinking that’s at the root of it, makes this process of recovery so much harder and longer than it has to be. In fact, if you put even a few minutes of effort a day into catching the all-or-nothing stories we’ll be reviewing over the next few weeks, and responding as I suggest, you will see an immediate – I mean immediate – shift in your anxiety level and in your focus on food and use of food to cope. Not only that, but those stories just won’t come up anymore. You’ll never have to hear them again! (more…)Tags: all-or-nothing thinking, anorexia, anxiety, binge eating, body image, bulimia, compulsive eating, core beliefs, diet mentality, drill sergeant, eating disorder treatment, eating disorders, learned helplessness, self care, self esteem, self love, self worth
Posted in: CEDRIC Centre, Natural Eating 101
Leave a Comment (0) →Creating Safety Around “Those” Foods: Natural Eating Q&A
Posted by mmorand on June 11, 2011 Hello all. We are moving through our series of questions on the in’s and out’s of Natural Eating with this week’s question: How can I trust myself around certain foods when every time I get around them or have them in the house I binge? This is such a common question in my work with clients. Regardless of whether they restrict, binge or purge, I am confident it will hit home with anyone who uses food to cope. (more…)Tags: acceptance, all-or-nothing thinking, anorexia, anxiety, binge eating, body image, bulimia, CEDRIC Centre, compulsive eating, core beliefs, eating disorder treatment, eating disorders, exploring, learned helplessness, overeating, recovery, self care, self esteem, self love, self worth, triggers
Posted in: CEDRIC Centre, Natural Eating 101
Leave a Comment (1) →What if I Want to Eat Now Without Checking In?! Natural Eating 101 Q&A
Posted by mmorand on May 28, 2011 We are continuing our Natural Eating Q&A session with a question that comes up with each and every client I’ve ever supported through this process. It goes something like this: “What if I try to check in but the voice in my head just says: “Who cares about checking in?! I just want food now!!!” Well, this is a pretty simple one. If you’re hearing that dialogue in your head when you realize you’re wanting to use food to cope, it absolutely, no exceptions, means that you’re feeling overwhelmed and you are afraid that if you don’t use food to cope in that moment, you’ll get consumed by the thoughts and feelings you’re trying to keep at bay through the act of eating (and then maybe purging or beating yourself up). (more…)Tags: all-or-nothing thinking, anorexia, anxiety, binge eating, body image, bulimia, CEDRIC Centre, compulsive eating, core beliefs, drill sergeant, eating disorder clinics, eating disorder treatment, eating disorders, exploring, forgiveness, healing, list of stressors, nurturing, overeating, rebalancing, recovery, self care, self confidence, self esteem, self love, self worth, triggers
Posted in: CEDRIC Centre, Natural Eating 101
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