Guest Speaker this Sunday December 2nd!

Come meet Henah Gupta, Ph.D. Henah works at The Renfrew Center and has extensive experience in the area of Eating Disorders. She will be visiting with us this weekend and talking about the stages of change.

See you this Sunday,December 2nd, 2007 at our usual meeting place, Flamingo Road Church, room 127 (main auditorium building) at 7:00 PM.

Candle Light Vigil

Hi all,
Earlier tonight, the members and pledges of Delta Phi Epsilon and Beta Theta Pi, held a candle light vigil by the Graham Center Fountain at Florida International University's University Park Campus. Here is what I shared with them at the meeting:

On behalf of FIU, ANAD, Delta Phi Epsilon and Beta Theta Pi:

to those that are struggling:
there is hope for recovery, and for you to have a full a life free of the chains of addiction....never give up, and take the risk, make the choice to recover and accept help.

to those that dedicate their lives to helping those that struggle with mental illness: thank you

to those that have lost the battle: we miss you and will help others in your memory











to all of you here tonight: we can all do something, learn, get involved, make a difference, share the message of acceptance, we are all beautiful and unique in our own way...there is no need to look a certain way or to be anyone but who we truly are.









in memory of:
Ronit R. (1974-2007)

Dying to Be Thin: The Disturbing Truth behind Anorexia, Bulimia and America's Body Obsession (60 min)

If you want to see the movie that was played at FIU movie night last night, Dying to Be Thin: The Disturbing Truth behind Anorexia, Bulimia and America's Body Obsession (60 min) and have a fast internet connection, you can watch it free on the PBS/NOVA website by clicking HERE and then clicking on the Quick Time or Real Player links.

The movie is divided into 8 chapters online: Abnormally Thin (Anorexia Nervosa), Cultural Pressures, The Search for Answers, Treatment, The Ballet World, Running on Empty, Bulimia Nervosa & Road to Recovery.

note: it includes stories of models, dancers, athletes, and everyday girls and women that have recovered and/or are in recovery from Anorexia and Bulimia. I really liked the story of former supermodel turned plus size model Kate Dillon and her statements shortly before the end of the film (Chapter 8).

FIU Eating Disorder Awareness Week

Hi All,

This week, Delta Phi Epsilon and Beta Theta Pi, a sorority and a fraternity at FIU's University Park Campus in Miami are hosting an eating disorder awareness week (ANAD Week 2007).



Monday was the kick off event. Nikki Kramer, MSW from Renfrew and Broward ANAD, and Heather Maio, Psy.D from the Renfrew Center gave a very informative presentation and question and answer session on Eating Disorders to the members and pledges of DPE and BTP. I didn't have a camera with me on monday, but there was a student reporter from the FIU University paper. If I can get pictures from him I will post them here (check back soon).

Tuesday was movie night. We saw: Dying to Be Thin - The Disturbing Truth behind Anorexia, Bulimia and America's Body Obsession (60 min). After the movie, we had a question and answer session and students asked me questions that I answered from the point of view of someone in recovery from an eating disorder.

Wednesday they will be hosting a yoga and nutrition event for FIU students and Thursday they will close the week with a candlelight vigil. I will post some pics of the candlelight vigil after thursday.

The girls and guys of Delta Phi Epsilon and Beta Theta Pi at FIU have put so much effort into this week. A big thanks to them for sharing ANAD's message: Accept Yourself...Accept Others.

peace, hope and love,

Lily

Enchanted Trailer (Disney Movie)

Hi all,
I saw a good movie yesterday, a Disney movie called Enchanted. Make sure to watch the youtube video trailer at the end of this post.

Enchanted is the story of a traditional fairytale princess named Giselle that is sent to the real world (New York City). Reviewers are recognizing Disney for making fun of the traditional trademark storyline and stereotypes that have made their movies famous.

Enchanted is a fun reminder that a story book life would not be practical in real life....the big dresses would not fit through the doorways, if you made a dress out of curtains you end up with holes in the curtains, people don't spontaneously break out into song in the middle of a sentence, if you called your animal friends to help tidy the house, rats and roaches might come too....

And even though it is a traditional "fish out of water" tale and Giselle seems to not fit in, she still manages to not shrink back in the face of the tough reality of New York City. Giselle keeps her sense of wonder in the simple things, her kindness, empathy, optimism, hope, and also makes a positive difference in the tough reality she lives in.

Though it has a slightly predictable Hollywood ending with a twist, there are still lessons to be learned...

Many times we suffer because we wish things were different than they are. What is your New York City? What part of your storybook fairytale do you have to let go of because it is not working in reality? What qualities can you keep? Are you waiting for someone to rescue you? How can you make the most of the life you have?

Here is the trailer...
 

peace, hope and love,

Sample Affirmations and the Science Behind Positive Thinking

Affirmations are a great way to practice positive thinking. According to research, positive emotions/thoughts improve mental function, which enhances brain biochemistry. Enhanced brain biochemistry in turn inspires more positive thoughts, and the whole process begins again. This upward spiral is as powerful as the downward spiral of negative thoughts.

Here are some sample affirmations for those of you that asked tonight at the meeting:

I am free.

My mind is clear.

I am safe.

I accept myself just as I am.

I respect, love and care for my body.

My life is a life of choice.

I live for today.

I stay in the moment.

I am ok just the way I am.

Today I am content with my life.

Today I keep it simple.

I am willing.

I live one day at a time.

I am not alone.

I am ok.

I embrace the journey.

************

so affirmations are not busy work, fluff, or some cool fad. They are a way to practice, learn and internalize positive, healthy ways of thinking and being.

peace, hope and love,

Lily

Coping with the Holidays

Our meeting topic this Sunday will be Coping with the Holidays. Make sure to join us for an hour of support, information and encouragement. See you this Sunday, November 18th at 7:00 PM at our usual meeting place. Room 127 in the main auditorium building at Flamingo Road Church in Cooper City, FL.

peace, hope and love,

ANAD Broward County Chapter

Happy Vs. Unhappy Research

Research shows that:
"Happy people do not experience one success after another and unhappy people, one failure after another. Instead, surveys show that happy people and unhappy people tend to have had very similar life experiences. The difference is that the average unhappy person spends more than twice as much time thinking about unpleasant events in their lives, while happy people tend to seek and rely upon information that brightens their personal outlook." (Lyubomirsky, 1994)

source: The 100 Simple Secrets of Happy People: What Scientists Have Learned and How You Can Use It by David Niven, Ph.D.

The Power of Language and Stories

Hi all,
This is a continuation of ideas related to the previous post on The Power of Choice.

Check out the latest picture of my nephew Jonah (you can click on it to see a bigger picture). Doesn't he look extremely happy?

I showed this picture to a lady at work and she asked me a question that really stayed with me and got me thinking. She said:

"What happens with this kind of happiness when we grow up? "

Her question made me think...so what is different between us and Jonah? What is something we have that he does not have? Answers are many, but I am going to focus on one of the major differences: The Power of Language and Stories. Jonah does not have language or stories yet.

I am reading a book right now called What Happy People Know by Dan Baker, Ph.D. In this book he talks about Six Happiness Tools and Six Happiness Traps.

The Power of Language and Stories is one of the happiness tools and here is what the author says:

"We don't describe the world we see, we see the world we describe. Language, as the single most fundamental force of the human intellect, has the power to alter perception. We think in words and these words have the power to limit us or to set us free; they can frighten us or evoke our courage (...) the stories we tell ourselves about our own life eventually become our lives. We can tell healthy stories or horror stories. The choice is ours."

************

So we obviously can't go back to being babies in the physical/intellectual sense, but I think it is possible to recapture some of that lost happiness.

Listening to our own stories of fear of not being enough (The Negative Mind) had the power to bring us to the depths of addiction...I believe the opposite is also true.

Imagine what is possible if we use the power of language and stories to our advantage...

til next time,

The Power of Choice

The following is one of my favorite statements on the power of the choices we make... I remember hearing this for the first time a while back and going WOW! For me, this quote was one of those "AHA!" moments....



"Why do we keep re-creating the same reality?
Why do we keep having the same relationships?
Why do we keep getting the same jobs...
over and over again?

In this infinite sea of potentials that exist around us...
how come we keep re-creating the same realities?

Isn't it amazing that we have options and potentials that exist...
but we're unaware of them?

Is it possible that we're so conditioned to our daily lives...
so conditioned to the way we create our lives...
that we buy the idea that we have no control at all?"

~ Dr. Joe Dispenza

***********

we all have a choice and our future does not have to be an extension of our past...

peace, hope and love,

Lily

Keep Going by Ralph Marston

Hi All,

Here is the poem we used to close the meeting tonight.

Keep Going
When you've reached the goal you've chosen for yourself, set
your sights on an even higher objective. And keep going.

When things have not worked out the way you planned, learn
the valuable lessons that the experience has to offer. And
keep going.

The key to meaningful achievement is not in how clever you
are or how lucky you are or in how much advantage you can
gain over others. The key is to keep going.

When other people give you encouragement, insight and
assistance, thank them for their help while offering your
own special value to in return. And keep going.

When others seek to block your every effort, raise yourself
up to where you can clearly see beyond their petty,
shortsighted attempts. And keep going.

Whatever may come or go or happen or fail to happen, there
is always a way, some way or another, to keep going. You
will get wherever you wish to go when you consistently
choose, in each moment, to simply, thankfully and gracefully
keep going.

~ Ralph Marston