If you would consider your eating simply unbalanced you may find yourself able to use self learning and self reflection to get back to eating in a more satisfying and healthful manner. If you try doing this on your own and still feel stuck don’t hesitate to reach out for help. More and more people today reach out before they get to the state of being diagnosed with a full blown eating disorder.

In either case early intervention is life saving. Eating Disorders have the highest mortality rate of all mental diseases.

Signs that you may have a difficult relationship with food and/or that your body image is to the point of being disordered:

• You are excessively concerned with being fat
• You are obsessed with or avoid the scale
• You are obsessed with diets and or calories
• You avoid activities because of weight and shape concerns
• Your menstrual periods have stopped
• You regularly over exercise
• You try to purge your foods by vomiting, use of laxatives or diuretics
• You restrict your foods even when hungry
• You binge eat regularly (with or with out purging)
• You compulsively think about food to the point of hording, hiding or stealing it

Unbalanced eating could include:

• Those who do not get their basic nutritional needs met
• Diabetics who need more education
• Those with low self care attention
• Compulsive over-eaters
• Those needing help with weight management
• Those in recovery from eating disorder

It’s not about the food and it’s not-not about the food

It’s enough to twist their mind into a knot when I first mention this idea to a new client because to them it’s ALL about the food…they think. The underlying issues that send people to food for relief are many:

• Anxiety
• Panic attacks
• Depression
• OCD (obsessive compulsive disorder)
• Lack of self awareness and insight
• Lack of understanding of self harm
• Lack of basic health education
• Lack of understanding triggers
• Lack of healthy stress reduction skills
• Lack of understanding mindfulness

Whew! That’s a lot! So if you are looking to find your way out of either disordered eating or unbalanced eating come along… you are not alone believe me! The rewards are incredible and well worth the effort. Changes you can make:

• Decrease fear of food
• Uncover and eliminate your triggers
• Decrease the focus on your body weight and size
• Learn awareness of appetite and hunger cues
• Learn to eat with joy and moderation
• Enjoy a full spectrum of healthy food choices
• Lose the judgment around food
• Understand the difference between emotional and physical hunger
• Discover your own personal portion control
• Enjoy socializing while eating

In short becoming an active participant in your relationship with food and life!

Content from Nourishing by Heart.

• Anorexia nervosa, also referred to simply as anorexia
• Bulimia nervosa, also known as bulimarexia or simply bulimia
• Binge eating disorder, also known as binge eating or binging

have different origins and symptoms, the warning signs will, naturally, also differ. The warning signs will be slightly different for the person recognizing his or her own behavior as problematic, and the outside observer – parent, relative, friend, or teacher – whose concern has been raised.

Observation of any one or combination of the symptoms mentioned below is not the equivalent of a diagnosis, which can only be carried out by a medical professional, and some symptoms individually may either a) occur in healthy individuals due to other causes (e.g., use of sports drinks) or b) be symptoms of an entirely different disorder altogether.

Warning Signs of Anorexia Nervosa

Teens who have anorexia nervosa may exhibit the following characteristics:

• noticeable weight-loss
• cessation of menstruation
• excessive concern with weight gain; possibly spends much time before the mirror
• distortion of body image
• aversion to eating, such as skipping meals and taking minute portions
• extreme narrowing of range of foods consumed
• moodiness
• difficulty concentrating
• growth of lanugo (fine, thin hair) all over the body
• dry skin
• use of diet soda and sports drinks

Warning Signs of Bulimia Nervosa

Teens who have bulimia nervosa may exhibit the following characteristics:

• eating unusually large amounts of food (though people who are healthy may do this periodically while having no disorder)
• eating particularly quickly
• eating past the point of comfortable fullness
• eating when not really hungry
• eating alone (due to embarrassment)
• experiencing negative feelings after overeating
• no noticeable physical change from normal
• excessive concern about body
• secretiveness
• purging behavior (through use of vomiting, diuretics, diet pills, or laxatives)
• over-exercise
• fasting or frequent dieting

Warning Signs of Binge Eating Disorder

Teens who have binge eating disorder may have some things in common with the first part – the binging part – of bulimia nervosa, including the following:

• eating unusually large amounts of food (though people who are healthy may do this periodically while having no disorder)
• eating particularly quickly
• eating past the point of comfortable fullness
• eating when not really hungry
• eating alone (due to embarrassment)
• experiencing negative feelings after overeating
• gaining weight

Teen Eating Disorder Warning Signs Sources:

win.niddk.nih.gov/publications/binge.htm#howdoes

eatingdisorderscoalition.org/reports/statistics.html

nyu.edu/999/faqs/bodyimage.html

anred.com/warn.html

There you can answer 20 questions that will give you an idea if your drinking patterns are safe, risky or harmful. The test is completely confidential and anonymous; your results are not recorded; and are available only to you. You are not asked for any personal identifying information.

This quiz does not provide a diagnosis of alcohol abuse, alcohol dependence or alcoholism. The results cannot substitute for a full evaluation by a healthcare professional, and should only be used as a guide to understanding your alcohol use and the potential health issues involved with it.

I’m excited to be back in the islands. I have been concentrating on finding resources on Maui for the last month or so. I have been able to reconnect with colleagues and meet several new professionals. I’m finding out that “Ice” Crystal Methamphetamine continue to be a major problem here in the islands. Prescription Drug Addiction is quickly approaching Ice as a major issue. Oxycontin, Oxycodone, Klonopin, Xanax, Adderall, Ambein to name a few. Alcohol and Marijuana are still number one Drugs of Abuse I have had the pleasure of meeting Rae Ariel and Judy Gabriel two therapist that make up Maui Intensives. These women both have and impressive resume and together they are a healing machine. Maui Intensives is just that intensive therapy individualized for the couple, individual, or family.

Dr. Kelly Doty PhD just opened her practice on the West Side providing Adolescent and Adult Psychological Services. Visit her here.

Jenny Shaw Licensed Mental Health Therapist is in Wailea. Jenny specializes in Eating Disorders, Self Harm, Addictions, Abuse, Depression, Relationship issues. Jenny also does nutrition and fitness coaching. Visit Jenny’s website here.

Joanne Marroni LMHC, CSAC specializes in addiction issues. She does Chemical Dependency Assessments, Relapse Prevention, and Substance Abuse Education amongst other counseling services give her a call at 574-876-0711.

These are just a few of the many professionals I have spoken with these last few weeks. All of the professionals I meet are warm, compassionate, and really want to help.

I spent a week in California visiting, sitting in on groups, and getting a bird’s eye view of the marvelous treatment facilities I am representing in Hawaii. Alta Mira Recovery, Beacon House, Center for Discovery/Oceanaire — these people care.

Please be sure and click on Preferred Providers at Behavioral Health Hawaii to learn more about this top notch facilities.

Survey of teens: Word out on risks of meth

Doctor says results indicate campaign is making strides in changing attitudes

WAILUKU – Hawaii teens are becoming more aware of the dangers posed by meth and are more wary of trying the drug than they were two years ago, according to a survey by the Hawaii Meth Project.

The 2011 Hawaii Meth Use & Attitudes Survey found that 59 percent of island teens now see “great risk” in trying meth even once or twice, up 15 points from 2009. Perception of risk was even greater among young adults, with 73 percent saying there was “great risk,” an increase of 16 points.

“I believe that teens’ attitudes are changing,” said 17-year-old Matthew Torres, a recent Baldwin High School graduate and Hawaii Meth Project Teen Advisory Council member. “Kids are beginning to understand a lot more.”

Torres said he believed that television and radio ads warning about the dangers of meth, and outreach events where he and other teen advocates can warn their peers about the drug, had connected with young people.

According to the survey, a high number of teens, 87 percent, disapprove of trying meth, an increase of five points from two years ago. And 70 percent have told friends not to use the drug, an increase of 11 percent.

More than half of teens, 53 percent, also now report that they have discussed the issue of meth with their parents in the past year, up from 48 percent.

In an announcement released by the Hawaii Meth Project, supporters said the survey results showed that the program was working.

“The results of the study are overwhelmingly positive and clearly indicate the Hawaii Meth Project campaign is making tremendous strides in changing attitudes and behaviors toward meth,” said Dr. Kevin Kunz, a Big Island physician who is president of the American Board of Addiction Medicine.

Also Thursday, the Hawaii Meth Project rolled out the next wave of its public information campaign, including new radio commercials that feature incarcerated Hawaii teens describing their experiences with meth, and television ads created by Academy Award-winning filmmaker Darren Aronofsky.

Read the whole article here.

Detachment with love means caring enough about others to allow them to learn from their mistakes. It also means being responsible for our own welfare and making decisions without ulterior motives–the desire to control others.

If you find yourself resenting you child because they are using drugs, stealing from you, underachieving, expecting you to support them. Stop trying to get help for them and start by getting help for yourself. Get educated regarding the difference between healthy helping and enabling. When you are on the right track it will be easier to get the right kind of help for your loved one. Find a professional that understands addiction that can help you stay on the right track. Attend Alanon or Naranon meetings regularly. Don’t wait until a person wants help or “hits bottom” because that may be death. It is important to remember that we can do everything right and we still may lose them, but in recovery there is a higher likelihood of having “no regrets.” Get help today.

–Debbie Bayer, LMFT, CSAC

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There is an age-old debate over alcoholism: is the problem in the sufferer’s head — something that can be overcome through willpower, spirituality or talk therapy, perhaps — or is it a physical disease, one that needs continuing medical treatment in much the same way as, say, diabetes or epilepsy?

Increasingly, the medical establishment is putting its weight behind the physical diagnosis. In the latest evidence, 10 medical institutions have just introduced the first accredited residency programs in addiction medicine, where doctors who have completed medical school and a primary residency will be able to spend a year studying the relationship between addiction and brain chemistry.

Read the rest of this The New York Times article, here.

Dear Debbie. Thank you for your skilled help yesterday. Going with the resistance was a wise path to what seemed to be the best possible outcome yesterday. (addicted loved one) has lots of support in her world and lots of challenges. Hopefully this is a step toward a more whole and healthy self–which is a pretty wonderful self behind the defenses. Your creating a supportive and informative alliance with (addicted loved one), allowed us to ask hard questions which hopefully was a step toward her telling the truth–to herself and to us. Thank you again–maybe I will come see you again during this process– for myself.

(mother of addicted loved one)

–Debbie Bayer