Phew. That was a busy week. In case you missed them, here is a recap on the podcasts and other projects we put out there this week. I’ve listed the podcasts out below. I think that the most exciting thing that came out of this week for me personally were the things that came out of the adults in recovery Slack forum that we have going.
The wonderful peeps in there created a channel specifically for edaw2017 brainstorming and out of that came a number of blogs, social media posts, and this incredible statement that you see to the left here.
I love this because it shows the diversity of the group that we are, and also because it came out as one of the most important messages that adults in recovery felt the need to promote. That we are here. Often we feel invisible in the eating disorders world because there is so much focus on the stereotypical teenage sufferer. Yet we are here.
So to be clear. Eating disorders are not defined by age, BMI, weight, length of illness, gender, race or size. None of these determine the presence of severity of an eating disorder – nor are they measurements of full recovery.
No More Hiding. No More Shame
Another item to come out of that brainstorm was Anorexia Recovery Wristbands. These say “Eat your way to recovery” and can be worn on your wrist as a reminder, but also as a statement that eating disorders are not to be shut in the closet anymore. We will not be ashamed any more. This statement is us saying that we did not choose this illness, but we do choose to fight it. 
Mine is not going to come off my wrist. You can be fully recovered and wear one of these in solidarity too. You can wear one if you don’t have an eating disorder but stand in solidarity for those who do.
No more hiding.
You can buy your wristband here. All proceeds go to AEDRA meal support.
We had a wild time with social media images, memes, recovery statements. If you don’t follow us already, you can find the AEDRA facebook page here. Twitter here.
Text/Messaging Eating Disorder Support Offering
I’m beyond excited about this. It is an online text/messaging support service that means you can get unlimited text support with a recovery coach for just $30 per week!
I will personally oversee all messages, so while it may not be me personally working with you, I do see all that goes on. The coaches are people whom I have been working with closely and trust implicitly.
I am excited because this means that those of you for whom even a phone or video support system is too intrusive do have an option. I will be writing more about this, but in the meantime you can find out more here.
The podcast series was a real push for me as I suddenly decided on Sunday evening that I would publish a new podcast every day of the week this week. For that, I asked for your feedback on various topics that I think affect adults in recovery from eating disorders.
Monday: Money and Work
The money and work one is a big topic of conversation for adults. We often have to pay for our own treatment. What do we do when we are too sick to work? Recovery is a full time job, so what about taking time out for that? And then there are the money-spending problems that many people with restrictive eating disorders have. I read out some startling insights into the lives of people in recovery right now and what they have to deal with.
Tuesday: Sex, Relationships, Family, Friends, Kids
The sex/relationships one is a big topic of conversation for adults. Lack of libido tends to lead to a dramatic fall in the desire to participate in sexual activity. Also the irritability and other disposition changes that many sufferers face as a reaction to malnutrition isn’t exactly a relationship booster. Family life can be fraught as it is, but when an eating disorder barges in it takes on a whole new level of tension.
From lack of interest in sex, to dealing with family reactions to weight loss. That is what you told me about in this podcast.
Wednesday: Entrenched Behaviors and Identity Crisis
Today the focus is entrenched behaviours and overcoming the identity crisis that so many people in recovery from long term eating disorders have to deal with.
Thursday: Loneliness
Recording this podcast made me cry. So much sadness yet so much hope. The piece that I read out at the beginning touched many people’s hearts and so I published that on the AEDRA blog here with the author’s permission.
Friday: Yoga and Mindfulness in Eating Disorder Recovery
In this podcast I talk with the fabulous Chelsea Roff about yoga, mindfulness and mediation techniques and some in-depth explanations of exactly why they are a game changer in the later stages of eating disorder recovery. We also demo a 20 second breathing exercise that listeners can try for themselves!