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Internal Spring Cleaning
Is your eating disorder treatment program focusing on
modern or antiquated therapy models?
Welcome Spring! Along with the new season, it is
time for a Spring cleaning. Let's focus on cleaning
your internal house, including evaluating your current
healing modality.
Is your eating disorder recovery program focused
on food?
A food plan won't heal your eating disorder. It may
even be a substitute for allowing you to dig below the
surface. A "meal plan" in terms of understanding
portions needed congruent with your energy
requirements is not a bad idea. However, once you
allow yourself to explore the feelings behind the food,
a lot more will fall in place.
Have you shirked your responsibility for healing
your relationship with food by labeling your eating
disorder as a "third party?"
An eating disorder is not an invader in your body that
requires an exorcism. Although you may feel that you
need to separate yourself from your eating disorder,
the Yoga-based approach to eating disorder recovery
is to integrate and bring into balance the physical,
emotional and spiritual. This means moving towards
wholeness.
Do you believe that you will simply "grow out of
your eating disorder?"
If you suffer long enough, you may grow into the
disorder in a big way. It will be harder to manage the
longer it festers. An eating disorder is not like the pair
of pants that you once wore when you were five years
old and now you are 25. Will you grow out of your
cancer? Your diabetes?
Are you still focusing on your thoughts?
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) as we know it has
many limitations. It focuses on engaging deeply
with your thoughts giving them more power than
necessary. Acceptance and Commitment Therapy
(ACT) is an offshoot of CBT that focus on you in the
driver's seat, giving less importance to your thoughts.
ACT, like yoga, requires you to dip below the surface
of your thoughts by acknowledging them without giving
them more power. It is similar to mindfulness as we
observe these thoughts without reacting to them or
judging these thoughts.
Does your recovery therapy involve a peer coach?
The new model for substance abuse recovery
requires incorporation of a peer coach-one who has
been there, done that. Eating disorder recovery lags
behind a bit as there are mixed views on the peer
coach from eating disorder professional
associations. In my recent article, "Yoga as the
Missing Link in Eating Disorder Recovery" published
in Yoga Therapy Today, it states that, "It is often the
Yoga teacher in whom the student will confide-
based on the relationship-before turning to other
qualified, professional help." Those in recovery can
relate best to those who have been through the
trenches. You will find a peer coach incorporated into
the Reconnect with Food program that follows the
substance abuse model, which requires the same
accountability as licensed professionals.
Is your eating disorder treatment program working for
you, or do you need a change? Change is difficult, but
is it more difficult to stay where you are? Allow your
Spring to give you a new perspective on your eating
disorder recovery program.
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Inner Door Center Yoga-Based Eating
Disorder Treatment Programs
Located in the eclectic and trendy town of Royal Oak,
MI. Ask about housing for those who live out of the
area.
We participate with several health/managed care
plans.
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