A Journey Through Eating Disorders Support & Recovery

It is likely you have been on either or both sides of this conversation. Most of us have found ourselves either receiving care from a loved one during a season of mental illness, or providing care for someone we love who is struggling through their own hard season. Both positions are important ones. Working up the courage to be vulnerable…

Eating disorders can be consuming and overwhelming. The process of recovery is often described as a roller-coaster of emotions that can lead to successes, slips, and burn out. There’s opportunity and growth in the journey making it a really interesting ride! Although your relationship with food needs to be restored and healed, eating problems aren’t really about food. They are…

We all have our idiosyncrasies around eating. So when do our behaviors around eating become a problem? When are our eating patterns considered disordered and when are they considered an eating disorder? What defines “normal” eating and is there even such a thing? Is the fact that I eat virtually the same thing for breakfast every day problematic? Does having…

I Walk for my family and the millions of families who have been experienced the devastation of a loved one with an eating disorder. I Walk for the phone calls I receive every day from mothers crying that their child is very sick and no one will listen. I Walk for the families that have loved ones lying in hospitals…

"It seems like I am experiencing my feelings, now that I am no longer bingeing and purging my emotions”. This is a common phrase and even more common thought that many eating disorder clients have once they enter recovery. Eating disorders such as binge eating disorder, anorexia nervosa, and bulimia nervosa are often temporary and unhealthy coping mechanisms to numb…

I've read numerous articles about parental support and involvement in recovery for their loved ones with eating disorders. There's an abundance of research, support groups, and books guiding parents through the recovery process with their child. But there seems to be a gaping void for spouses. Little attention is given to this relationship when, as an adult, spouses are often…

My story and recovery journey are a winding road, sometimes confusing, even to me.  But luckily, I look forward to spending the rest of this journey healthfully figuring out recovery and life for myself. While sharing my story makes me feel vulnerable, I hope that even for one person, it will make them feel less alone.  My hope is for…

Are you finding an increase in anxiety due to the start of the holiday season? What comes to mind when you hear the word “holiday”? While this will certainly vary from person to person based on our background and culture, there are some common denominators, such as preparation, parties, family/friends, traditions, customs, resolutions and, of course, food. If you are…

The Alliance for Eating Disorders Awareness is proud to once again be named one of the 2019 Extraordinary Charities of Palm Beach County. Extraordinary Charities is a Palm Beach based nonprofit organization devoted to raising awareness of small but deserving Palm Beach County charities. Its Directory for Charitable Giving is an informative resource for anyone who wants to support organizations…

The treatment of eating disorders is one of healthcare’s most complex therapeutic pathways. Helping patients achieve recovery requires a sustained, collaborative, and multidisciplinary approach, tailored to the unique needs of the individual and family. And that’s just the start. Elisha Contner Wilkins, MS, LMFT, CEDS, executive director of Veritas Collaborative’s Richmond, Virginia, facility, shares her perspective on what it takes…