Eat-in-Peace Resolutions

Thank you to all who submitted your eat-in-peace resolutions. Below is a sampling of some of the intentions that generously graced my inbox in the last couple of weeks. Take a peek - they're inspiring! Contest winners (whom I notified by email) were chosen blindly by a third party, and the books are on their way! I wish everyone the happiest and most peaceful of new years. . . .

"My resolution is to live my life and not wait to do things when I get thin!! I have put off so many ideas thinking I didn't deserve that till I lose weight."

"Ultimately, I want to work on not judging everything I eat.  For example, I want to stop the inner voice that seems to have a comment about everything I eat.  If I eat ice cream, I want to just have ice cream, instead of thinking "oh, that was more sugar.  I already had sugar today".  Or "I'm having pizza tonight, even though I ate a lot of carbs today and didn't get enough vegetables."  The self judging is something I want to end because it's not necessary and just makes me feel doubtful with everything I eat."

"My resolution is to continue to eat for health and not restrict any foods except those that trigger migraines for me. It will be about wellness, not weight loss."

"I resolve to continue the progress I've made by maintaining my break-up with the scale, by appreciating my values and accomplishments, and by living a life without fear or guilt. I will not speak or think negatively of myself or stress myself out with frivolous worry about food or exercise. I will own my decisions and enjoy this journey."

"My DEWHAED New year’s resolution is to stop comparing myself to others or to a vision of what I want to be – which is usually a skinnier version of me. Instead, I would like to live my life as who I am, in the here and now, with a healthy attitude and a grateful heart for how far I have come."

"Every year, I give something up for the New Year, only to fall flat on my face and feel worse than before. Cheese, carbs, soda. I've lost and gained and lost and gained hundreds of pounds, and at my biggest and smallest, I felt terrible about myself. I binged to my largest size, and I restricted to my smallest.

This year, I'm giving up guilt. My birthday was a few weeks ago and I got a head start on my Resolution by getting rid of my scale. Weighing myself every day was screwing with my head, my whole day was good or bad based on what numbers I saw. From now on, I am going to love myself, to mindfully eat the foods I enjoy without measuring or weighing or counting anything, and I'm going to live, really truly live. I'm going to stop hiding at home and avoiding friends and social situations because I am ashamed of my body. It may not be perfect, but it is mine and it is all I have. This body has been good to me, much better than I have been to it.

I'm a mom now, I need to be healthy not only for myself, but for my son. And health is not just about a healthy weight, but a healthy mind and a healthy relationship with food. I want to be a good role model for my baby. My childhood memories of my mother almost all involve her avoiding cameras and saying "no thanks, I'm on a diet." I want my son to remember me and his childhood differently."

You can find Does Every Woman Have an Eating Disorder? Challenging Our Nation's Fixation with Food and Weight on Amazon (as a paperback and Kindle) and at BarnesandNoble.com. 

Holiday Book Contest!

It's hard to believe that my book has been out for six months. For almost eight years, I toiled away on this blog, and then, this past June, the book finally came to print.

In celebration of this half-year publication mark, and in keeping with the holiday spirit, I am going to give away two signed copies of Does Every Woman Have an Eating Disorder? to my loyal readers. It's this community that inspired me to write the book and that continues to motivate me to post regular content on this blog.

To enter the contest, either email me privately (drstaceyny at gmail dot com) or comment below with your DEWHAED New Year's resolution. No diet talk, no rigid exercise plans, no weight-loss promises - only body-positive, revamped resolutions that promote eating in peace and accepting/respecting yourself. No resolution is too small or too big - just an intention to create a healthier relationship with food or your body.

The deadline for resolutions is 12/22. Winners will be selected at random that week, and the books should arrive around the new year. In celebration of good health. . .

Fine print: Please enter the contest only once. For those who submit via email, please include your mailing address to receive a book if you win. If you submit via comment, be sure to send me a follow-up email with your mailing address. By submitting a resolution, you authorize DEWHAED to post your anonymous response. Winners will be selected by drawing so as to preserve resolution integrity.



You can find Does Every Woman Have an Eating Disorder? Challenging Our Nation's Fixation with Food and Weight on Amazon (as a paperback and Kindle) and at BarnesandNoble.com. 

Is DBT Effective for the Treatment of Eating Disorders?

My article appeared originally on Recovery Brands' Pro Corner site.

Dialectical-behavioral therapy (DBT), as developed by Dr. Marsha Linehan, is a type of therapy that helps patients reduce emotional reactivity and improve thought patterns and interpersonal interactions. The therapy, a hybrid of cognitive-behavioral therapy and tenets from eastern philosophies (primarily Buddhism), was created to help those who struggle with borderline personality disorder and chronic suicidality. However, DBT has also shown promise in the treatment of substance use disorders and eating disorders.

DBT is a problem-solving, but accepting approach – one that helps patients change, while accepting them for who they are. This duality (or “dialectical” view) seems to sit well with many patients as they struggle on the road toward recovery. The avoidance of either/or thinking (e.g., “I’m either recovered or I’m a failure”) can help patients restructure other black-or-white thought patterns common in those with eating disorders.

DBT offers an affect-regulation approach to eating disorders – helping sufferers to cope less pathologically with some of the challenging emotions that might precipitate eating disorder symptoms.-STACEY ROSENFELD

DBT offers an affect-regulation approach to eating disorders – helping sufferers to cope less pathologically with some of the challenging emotions that might precipitate eating disorder symptoms. Patients who are treated with DBT learn four broad, overlapping sets of skills in the areas of: 1) mindfulness 2) distress tolerance 3) emotion regulation and 4) interpersonal effectiveness.

Individual skills in the mindfulness module include learning how to use one’s “wise mind” and engaging in non-judgmental awareness. In the distress tolerance module, patients hone crisis coping skills, such as distracting and self-soothing. With emotion regulation, patients learn how to identify and label emotions, as well as how to create a life that is less vulnerable to intense emotional shifts. In the interpersonal effectiveness module, patients learn assertiveness skills, such as asking for what they need and saying no to others’ request.

The Research

Research into the efficacy of using DBT to treat eating disorders has been encouraging, though additional, broader research is warranted. In an early study of women with binge eating disorder, participants treated with DBT showed significant reduction in binge eating behavior, with 89 percent of the sample binge-free at the end of the study and 56 percent abstinent at the six-month follow-up. In a similar study of women with bulimia nervosa, results showed “highly significant decreases” in bulimic symptoms following DBT treatment.

More recently, researchers piloted the use of DBT with adult patients with anorexia, and the treatment showed promise. DBT was associated with increased BMI in participants, evident at six- and twelve-months.

DBT in Action

A number of eating disorder treatment centers offer DBT as a complement to other types of therapies. Patients typically learn DBT in group settings, where the modules are introduced cyclically so that new patients can join the discussion at any time. Patients often report that DBT provides a helpful, solution-oriented adjunct to their treatment. Particularly when distressed, they can rely on their DBT skills to cope with emotional challenges in the moment.

Take the case of Eddie, a 45-year-old man with binge eating disorder. Learning DBT was helpful in reducing his binge episodes through various pathways. He became more mindful of his hunger and mood states through a consistent mindfulness practice. He learned how to better insulate himself against emotional distress – behaviors like consistent sleep hygiene and sufficient food intake helped protect him against any emotional waves he encountered. (Eating enough, too, helped protect him against over-hunger, which often triggered a binge).

Eddie had earmarked some tools from his distress tolerance module so that when he did experience distress, he had some alternatives to bingeing. Some of his go-to self-soothing skills included going for a drive or spending time with his dog. Finally, Eddie had learned that a significant trigger for his binges was feeling overwhelmed by life’s demands and promises to others at work and home. In the interpersonal module, Eddie learned how to say no skillfully to others’ requests, a practice that previously evaded him. These skills collectively helped Eddie experience a significant reduction in binge eating episodes and an improvement in overall wellbeing.

You can find Does Every Woman Have an Eating Disorder? Challenging Our Nation's Fixation with Food and Weight on Amazon (as a paperback and Kindle) and at BarnesandNoble.com.