faulker053

I was talking to a guy from San Francisco this week, and the subject turned to earthquakes. This long-time SF resident and survivor of the big quake of 1989 offered some very practical advice for me to share with my son, a San Francisco newbie, fortunately naïve about the seriousness of going through an earthquake. His focus was not on what to do during the crisis—although that advice is critical as well—but rather what to do before hand. How to be prepared for this challenging situation, because being prepared, as he put it, is the surest way to increase survival. Imagine that while sitting and discussing such matters my mind moved to you, my dear readers. No, there’s no need to worry about earthquakes for most of you. Rather, the subject of preparedness as a means to ensure survival and minimize damage struck me as most fitting—whether you struggle with an eating disorder or living free of diet rules. Have a plan , he said. In San Francisco that might mean knowing which are the secu...

It's all your mother's fault. Really, it's about lack of approval from your dad. If you're a boy or a man, it must mean you're gay. If you aren't underweight you certainly don't have anorexia. As long as you're eating healthy foods, you're okay. It's simply a choice. Once you've had it, you'll never truly recover. It's all about appearance and weight. You have to be ready to recover. True statements? Not at all. These commonly held misbeliefs about eating disorders do only harm. They minimize the complexity of eating disorders and the struggle of those suffering with anorexia, bulimia, and binge eating disorder.  They prejudice everyone from those living with an eating disorder, to providers treating those they may or may not know have eating disorders.  They lay guilt on parents who may be among the best supports for their kids in recovery, as evidenced by the FBT model.  They stereotype people based on weight--as if BMI alone dete...