“Sick Enough” Is a Lie
Recently, I have been reading about the disparity in medical responses based on gender. One study*, published in Academic Emergency Medicine, found that women who went to the emergency room with severe stomach pain had to wait almost 33% longer than men with the same...
When Do I Earn the Right to Lose Weight?
A client recently said, “Anna, I’ve been working on my relationship with food and my body for a long time. I feel pretty confident and stable in recovery. When do I get to work on changing my body?” And I replied, “You mean, when do you earn the right to lose weight?”...
Season of Connection
The holiday season is a season of connection. Time spent with family and friends celebrating with both seasoned traditions and new experiences. Because connection can feel vulnerable in a period of distress, you may find yourself wanting to disconnect to protect your...
Aging
Anti Anti-aging Advocacy We live in a world that is obsessed with preventing aging. Ponce de Leon, a 16th century Spanish explorer, set sail in search of the fountain of youth- a legendary magical spring of water that would restore youth. While he failed to...
Ask For What You Need
When I was a teenager, I had a therapist who shared an insight that has stuck with me. She said, “Healthy people ask for what they need.” For 17-year-old me, this felt like a revelation, as I was accustomed to trying to do most things in my life independently....
The AND in Body Acceptance
As a woman, my relationship with my body is ever changing. Each new decade brings new experiences and new ways my body asks me to accept her. In my early 20s, in recovery from my eating disorder, I worked proactively to accept my body for who and how she is. This...
Comparison and Social Media
We live in a world where validation from others is consistent. Instead of forming an opinion of ourselves based on our own sense of worth and value, we look to outsiders in hopes of feeling assured. Social media has created a space where praise and accolades are given...
Seasons of Eating Recovery
Each fall, I love watching the world around me color into brilliant autumnal tones. Plants change color before my eyes, revealing bright hidden hues right before winter frosts come and take the plants into dormancy. It’s one last golden hurrah before succumbing to the...
Leaps of Faith in Recovery
In one of my all-time favorite films, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, the hero, the rugged adventurer-professor Indiana Jones, is faced with a set of tasks he must complete in order to find the Holy Grail and save his father’s life. In one task, deep inside an...
A voice From the Circle
Anna Packard PhD and contribution from a group psychotherapy client When my clients graduate therapy, I always ask them to write a “This I believe essay” as a final assignment. The purpose of this assignment is to put into words their healing transformations or...
Permission to Move Forward in Recovery
Have you ever heard of a “live list”? It’s the concept of creating a list of things you want to complete or experience within a specific time frame. It could be a summer live list, a live list to complete by a specific age, or maybe even a list of things that you...
Commit to Coping, Here’s How
How are you doing? No, really, how are you doing? Life can be hard and learning how to really take good care of yourself can take a little time, but it’s so worth the effort. Coping Skills are for Humans If you’re a human, congratulations, you need coping skills....