Essential oils are the Holy Grail to my self-care routine. They were an amazing supplement to my therapy, nutrition planning, and treatment plan during the beginning of my recovery. Therefore, I will be starting a Self-Care series about how I use essential oils within my daily, and weekly routine. Today’s post is dedicated to prevention and intervention for that oh so dreaded cold….yes it’s that season, everyone is getting sick, therefore why not boost that immune system and soothe the senses!? When it comes to Eating Disorder Recovery, getting sick with a cold, or the stomach flu, or really anything, is just a part of the process. Your body is doing its very best to build up your immune system, therefore weird things start to happen, like getting sick! In the beginning of my own recovery, I was constantly sick with a cold, sinus infection, bloated, and swollen, because my body was figuring out how to be healthy again…. because in reality, my body wasn’t being treated very well for a good ten years! This was the hard part of recovery…. remember, it gets worse before it gets better! Therefore, essential oils played a major part within this not so
Month: October 2016
Eating Disorders in Males-#EatingDisordersItsNotJustAWhiteGirlThing
Penn State Kicker, Joey Julius recently went public with his Eating Disorder. Julius spoke on his diagnosis of Binge Eating Disorder (BED) with purging behaviors and bulimic tendencies. It is public figures, like Joey, that can be an inspiration, and voice for females and males around the country who are living with Eating Disorders. You can read Joey’s story here. For today’s post, we are getting “a bit clinical” and tearing down those misperceptions and false assumptions about Eating Disorders. So many individuals believe that an Eating Disorders (ED) is “just a white girl thing”, that ED is just about women wanting to be a certain size, that it about women who eat too many salads, its about rich girls who don’t appreciate what they have, it is just a thing that the spoiled, white, rich girl deals with….this list of misperceptions goes on and on and on…. The truth is that males live with Eating Disorders too, it IS NOT JUST A WHITE GIRL DISORDER!! Here are some truths behind those false assumptions when it comes to males and Eating Disorders, according to current peer reviewed, clinical research and the Diagnostic Statistic Manual volume 5 (DSM-5) Males represent 25% of
First Aid Self-Care
Okay….so about this self care thing! Many people think that self care is just another term for being selfish, some people think it is this new creation made by the Millennial generation to fight the corporate life, but in truth, Self-Care is something that is necessary for each and every individual! And, if you don’t practice Self-Care, you will most likely end up being/having a “break down” of some sort, sleep deprived, malnourished, sick, late to work, struggling with daily tasks, and not being able to bring your best self to whatever it is that you do! Self-Care is the crux to being our best selves, and when we forget to care for ourselves, we lose sight of what is important, and we end up in a state of crisis! With that being said, prevention is key when practicing Self-Care. By prevention, I mean making sure that you avoid that dreaded breakdown due to being overworked, overtired, and not taking the time to take care of yourself! Therefore, anyone that struggles with the concept of Self-Care, or maybe finding the time to practice Self-Care, will benefit from the two analogies stated below… Airplane Oxygen Mask Self-Care: Think about that oh so
Acknowleging Your Anxiety and Protecting Your Recovery With Prevention #MotivationIsNotJustForMondays
TGIF, am I right?! It seems as though the world is going a bit crazy as of late, and I hope that anyone and everyone that is within Hurricane Matthew’s path or wake is out of harms way and safe! On Fridays I usually focus on Physical Exercise and Healthy Motivations, but today will be a bit different, in that my situation has changed a bit this week! I am going into a procedure this afternoon to have an oh so dreaded double gum graft and I thought it would be perfect to touch on acknowledging anxiety, protecting your recovery, and maintaining healthy motivations through self care and physical exercise! I had a quadruple gum graft about five and a half years ago, and let me tell you it was AWFUL! My periodontist was shocked with how long it took me to heal from the graft, and how long it took me to recover from the pain….and we quickly realized that this was due to my intense anxiety! I am sure that many of you can relate, in that my anxiety manifests itself in ways that are not necessarily visible to the outside world! For instance, so much of my anxiety “comes
Body Image Conception With Guest Author Jesaira Glover!
Happy Wednesday! Get excited because we have a “Guest Author” today! Therefore we are shifting our focus from just Eating Disorders to the oh so consuming and relevant topic of BODY IMAGE….as ALL of us experience struggles with how we perceive ourselves. Today’s post is a continuation of the #EatingDisordersItsNotJustAWhiteGirlThing, this series is all about tearing down those oh so common misconceptions about Eating Disorders, and Eating Disorder Recovery, and in this case body image conception. This weeks “guest author” needs no introduction in that she is such an inspiration, has a way with both the written and verbal word, and is such an amazing presence within The Online Clinical Mental Health Counseling department at The Chicago School of Professional Psychology. Jesaira Glover, is a fellow peer, fellow graduate assistant, and fellow female that I consider a friend and inspiration….Jesaira’s story is unique, honest, and beautiful! I hope you enjoy her story!….. For many years, I struggled with body image. I grew up in urban Detroit and although, my mama made us eat veggies with every meal, yet I still seem to be this chubby little girl. I vividly recall childhood memories of fellow students teasing me and calling me
Self Care Through Cooking
Cooking and the art of making meals has always been at the forefront of my own self care routine. Ever since I was in grade school, I found joy in cooking, I always helped my mom with big holiday meals, I was a cook book junkie, and I was even enrolled at a four year culinary school for a hot minute before I realized that I desired the traditional college experience. For me, cooking has always been personal, in that I love the unique creations that come about within the moment, there are no real mistakes in cooking, it is all about experimenting, and learning. Let me just say…that it took some hard work and self-love, but I was finally able to find a safe place with food again…and having a healthy relationship with food is possible! Keep in mind I am purely talking about cooking and not baking, as baking is all about measurements and accuracy…. therefore, I do not excel at baking…. But for those of you that do, please share your tips, tricks, recipes or just your story! I’m very aware, that cooking is incredibly intimidating to many people, it seems like a chore, and to most