Seetha has been feeling anxious lately. She has been working tirelessly to get into medical school. With late nights, early rises, staying in to study, applying to different schools, volunteering at the hospital, and everything in between, Seetha is also exhausted. On this one Saturday morning, when she couldn’t study any longer, she decided to…
Introduction Growing up is not an easy time for children nor parents. Children are faced with changes in personality, emotions and behaviors, as well as constant physical changes as their bodies develop and mature; this makes them particularly vulnerable to preoccupations with body shape and weight. Those living in larger bodies might find it particularly…
Introduction Intuitive eating isn’t just about eating whatever you want, whenever you want. Intuitive eating is also about using nutritional principles as a guide and not as rules. This is called Gentle Nutrition. Gentle nutrition is the 10th and last principle of intuitive eating: « Honor your health with gentle nutrition ». It means that…
Introduction to yoga Have you ever seen people practice yoga and wondered what it’s all about? What are they doing and what’s the purpose? In recent times, yoga has gained in popularity among several populations, including those in eating disorder (ED) recovery. In fact, yoga has been integrated in residential programs for ED recovery, which…
In the public eye, trauma is often viewed as a major event that poses an immediate sense of danger. In reality, trauma is a very complex experience that can occur on multiple timeframes, in a variety of forms, and of varying degrees. Traumas can be both physical and/or psychological. These include chronic traumas, which are…
Polycystic Ovary Syndrome, also known as PCOS, comes from the presence of small cysts on the ovaries (although not everyone with the condition has cysts on their ovaries). PCOS is not well-understood and can be misdiagnosed in many instances. This is one of the most common hormonal disorders occurring in people assigned female at birth…
Have you ever heard of “orthorexia”? It’s a term to describe a type of disordered eating pattern. While not an official eating disorder in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual V (DSM V), it describes a tendency to move towards “healthful“ and “clean“ foods, often leading to an extreme fear of consuming “unhealthy“ foods. What is…
Social media is very present in our everyday lives, and many spend hours mindlessly scrolling through Instagram or Facebook and posting on their accounts. Social media has many advantages, such as connecting and interacting with friends and family and getting updates on other people’s lives, but have you ever thought about the downsides of social…
After taking some time to reflect on your relationship with exercise, you might be ready to take steps to rewrite the narrative of how and why you move your body. Let’s continue with a story we encounter often in our clinic. For anonymity purposes, we’ll continue to name the client Anika. Anika recognized…
Can someone who practices regular exercise be struggling with their relationship with movement? Based on the messages of diet culture, exercising can be promoted as something we “should” be doing in order to attain a specific, yet unrealistic body aesthetic, or as a way to compensate for eating “bad” foods. How does this message impact…