“It’s hopeless”.
Just a thought.
“My eating will never be perfect”.
Just a thought.
“My body is ugly and worthless”.
Just a thought.
Gentle Reminder: Just a Thought
Tag: eating disorder recovery
Expert Insight: Losing Weight Naturally
“When you do start to eat when you are hungry and stop when you are full after years of being on one scheme or another, you will most likely go down a size or several sizes.
Unless you have been eating drastically less than your body needs for years, your weight should stabilise at its natural set point, which will be lower than what you’ve achieved through dieting and bingeing”.
Susie Orbach, “On Eating”
When clients first seek help for their emotion-driven overeating issues, they often think if they can just lose weight, everything else will be OK.
In this way, therapy can be seen as another weight-loss initiative. There’s sometimes a sense of disappointment that we’re not focusing on weight during sessions and, as a result, some clients assume I’m anti-weight loss.
Are You Committed to Your Destination?
I remember the day I wanted to give up.
I was at home. It was a warm, bright morning and sunlight was streaming into the study. I was heading towards the door but, as I passed my desk, something stopped me.
A simple thought.
“This is too hard”.
I’d worked so hard to understand my issues with food and myself but, despite my efforts, I couldn’t make enough sense of them to consistently affect my eating behaviour. Although my bingeing had stopped, I was still eating when I knew I wasn’t hungry. It felt like an impossible struggle with no way out.
Expert Insight: What Makes You Truly Happy
“The more you know about what makes you truly happy, the better you will be at finding it. Pleasure, joy, contentment and satisfaction may be sitting on your doorstep, but they’re not going to reach up and ring your bell!”
Karen R. Koenig, “The Food & Feelings Workbook”
Ironically, pleasure, joy, contentment and satisfaction will be ringing my doorbell this afternoon in the shape of two of my best friends. We’ve known each other for decades and, although we only get to see each other once or twice a year, we always seem to pick up where we left off.
I have no doubt that during the two days we’ll be together we won’t stop talking unless we’re asleep. We’ll cry, we’ll talk utter nonsense and we’ll laugh until it hurts which, for three 50-something women, is – let’s face it – a risky endeavour.
In short, we’ll have an Utterly Good Time.
Continue reading “Expert Insight: What Makes You Truly Happy”
What Mask Do You Wear?
As I was showing her into the room for the start of our session last week, a client asked “how are you?”. I launched into an extensive account of what was going on in my life, including my concerns about my cat’s digestive issues and my feelings about Brexit. Half an hour later, she got to talk about her stuff.
Of course, this didn’t happen.
Although I strive to be authentic and transparent in my responses to clients, it would be highly inappropriate and unethical for me to talk about myself in this way.
I simply replied “I’m fine, thanks”. Continue reading “What Mask Do You Wear?”
Food for Thought: The Risk of Authenticity
“Authenticity is a collection of choices that we have to make every day. It’s about the choice to show up and be real. The choice to be honest. The choice to let our true selves be seen”. – Brené Brown
It’s a lovely idea, isn’t it? We have the choice on a daily basis to be genuinely who we are. It’s often what we yearn for – to have the courage to be ourselves, regardless of what other people think.
But…
What if.
What if people don’t like us?
What if people tell us we’re wrong?
What if we risk being ourselves and we get hurt?
Continue reading “Food for Thought: The Risk of Authenticity”
Julie de Rohan 