Last year we posted a couple of articles on what you can do at Christmas when you, or someone you know, is struggling.   December is triggering for many people. So we have a few more tips to help you to stay on your recovery path this Christmas.   Be mindful A lot of panic can stem from thinking about what has happened or what is going to happen; by practicing mindfulness you are focusing on the moment. Try and zero in on the things about Christmas that make you happy or try the 5 senses mindfulness technique to help ground you: 5 things you can see 4 things you can hear 3 things you can feel ..read more

Christmas can be triggering when you struggle with food or body image; it’s a holiday which puts heavy emphasis on spending time with family, eating food and drinking alcohol. It might be tough thinking of Christmas and the challenges that you will face but in asking yourself what you might struggle with you can take control of the situation and put in place a plan and/or communicate your worries with your friends and family. Try asking yourself the following 1. What is it about Christmas that I find challenging? e.g I am worried that I will end up binging 2. What has helped ..read more

What is body positivity? Body positivity, or BoPo as it is colloquially known, is about unlearning the negative concepts surrounding our bodies and letting go of the idea that some bodies hold more worth and deserve more acceptance and praise. The body positivity movement encourages us to recognise that all bodies hold equal value and purpose. BoPo has been gaining traction for some time now and promotes the understanding that you deserve to exist in your body without the judgement of others; it aims for a world where no one experiences prejudice or bias because of the body that they inhabit ..read more

Having issues with eating is tough and supporting someone who has eating difficulties comes with its own struggles but we have compiled these 9 things which might help you. 1. Identify warning signs This can be tough to do, there are many eating disorders with different tell tale signs and it can be tricky to identify. However, if you are worried about a loved one then trust your instincts. 2. Don’t believe the eating disorder myths There are so many myths about eating disorders and difficulties. Try not to focus on these myths as they can be inaccurate, for example, not all people struggl ..read more

Bio: Kat Schneider is a PhD researcher studying mindfulness and movement. She has completed an 8-week mindfulness course in Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction and Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy, and is the author of the blog Maybe Mindful, where she documents her own mindfulness journey, meditation practice, and research. What is a Binge? Everyone has probably binged (defined as eating more than usual, in a short period of time) at some point in their lives. Most of us have even occasionally felt ill or uncomfortable after eating too much. Maybe it was Christmas or Thanksgiving. Maybe y ..read more

Are you spending time with your family this Easter?   Another bank holiday is here and for many, the familiar panic is rising. What is it about bank holidays that strike fear into those who struggle with mental health? Well where do we start?! Back in December we wrote about Christmas and eating difficulties, both if you are struggling yourself and if you know someone struggling. This bank holiday we want to give you a short survival guide on spending time with (or without) your loved ones, it sounds counter intuitive to need a survival guide for spending time with the people you love but man ..read more

Bio: Kat Schneider is a PhD researcher studying mindfulness and movement. She has completed an 8-week mindfulness course in Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction and Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy, and is the author of the blog Maybe Mindful, where she documents her own mindfulness journey, meditation practice, and research. Mindfulness & Eating   I have previously written a few blog posts about mindfulness and eating, for instance Mindfulness and (binge) eating, A more personal post…, Mindfulness and body positivity, Mindful eating: Lessons from Buddhism, and Eating mindfully or diet ..read more

Please note: We do talk about calories in this post. Although this is something that we generally avoid it is unavoidable in this topic.   100 calorie snack This has been a story that has been around for a while, but due to its intricacy and complexity we haven’t commented on it yet. Change4Life is an initiative that is backed by the government and aims to promote healthy living choices for families that last a life time. One of their most recent campaigns which has been featured on TV is the 100 calorie snack. The idea being that “[they’re] suggesting a handy tip when buying packaged snacks ..read more

It’s our last blog post for eating disorder awareness week and we’d thought we’d end this saga by talking about recovery. Our previous blog posts have been a lot more factual in nature but this will have a slightly more different, personal, take. We hope you enjoy it! What is Recovery? Charli and I have had many conversations surrounding what recovery itself actually is. We came to the conclusion that recovery, like eating and body difficulties, is distinctly individual to the person. Some people have an epiphany moment where they suddenly decide that they need to recover. Others have a multit ..read more

Trigger Warning: This blog touches on abuse, trauma, addiction, drug abuse, suicide and self harm. Eating Disorders rarely come out of nowhere and infrequently turn up without bringing or aggravating other issues. It’s vital to recognise this, if we treat eating disorders as an isolated issue and do not support the whole person, or get to the root of the issue then it is much more likely that relapse will occur.   “The eating disorder isn’t the problem, it is a symptom of the problem” Although eating disorders can be influenced by external factors such as social media, media and social pressur ..read more