Anorexia – Michelle Sparkes

<p>Chelsea, 19, struggled with anorexia in her mid teens followed by a period of binge-eating and purging, which is not an uncommon experience in the recovery process from anorexia. In this podcast she speaks with...

<p>Chelsea, 19, struggled with anorexia in her mid teens followed by a period of binge-eating and purging, which is not an uncommon experience in the recovery process from anorexia. In this podcast she speaks with...

<p>Freda, 38, has struggled with anorexia and disordered eating for 19 years. In this podcast she talks about the process of finding freedom from the obsessive thoughts and rules that circumscribed her life until...

<p>Paralysing fear. Feeling stuck and terrified. Afraid to make a “wrong” decision; afraid to make any decision. Acute anxiety is a major feature of anorexia and something most of us will relate to in some measure. Even...

<p>When we are locked in the self hatred of the eating disorder ‘cage’ we need to experience ourselves as seen, known, understood, worthwhile, valuable, loved. Even when and especially in the midst of our most acute...

<p>When the ED voice (the bully in your head) is making it hard or impossible for you to take in the nurture you need to survive and thrive you need help. You need other people to come alongside you and help you fight...

<p>When you’re fighting anorexia, you become afraid to eat. The terror of losing control and getting fat is REAL and is created by the eating disorder itself. I want to tell you, food is not your enemy; the fear of food...

<p>Anorexia and other eating disorders reflect a hunger for life – a hunger to know oneself as loved, worthwhile, of value, and to feel secure within. This may surprise you because you may know someone who has developed...

<p>My ED shifted from anorexia to EDNOS to binge-eating, but the core truth I needed to know and experience at a deep gut level at EVERY stage of my ED was that I had worth and value as a person irrespective of my...

<p>The reason I’m so heated about worth, value and security is because a revelation and experience of these foundational truths deep in your soul will set you free from the lies at the heart of anorexia and other...

<p>I started this podcast on a roll about freedom but I got sidetracked by a conversation with a mum who was concerned about her 13-year-old daughter with anorexia and the treatment approach that was being taken. This...

<p>I believe the journey out of bondage into freedom requires a whole person approach. It’s not enough to focus on food or regular eating although that is very important. In my own journey from restricting anorexia into...

<p>When we’re in the midst of anorexia it is very difficult to articulate the struggle we experience within. Our behaviour towards food and body reflect our inner experience (and are highly expressive) but not in a way...

<p>Picking up from the last podcast (Why I differentiate Anorexia from other Eating Disorders), I want to now illuminate the experience of restricting anorexia, the tightening treadmill (see also TreadmillDiagram) and...

<p>The reason I differentiate anorexia from other eating disorders is because there are two sub-types of anorexia – a restricting sub-type and a binge-eating/purging sub type. Understanding the difference is important...