Health is Wealth

I'm still baffled about this: I was invited to give a presentation in Brantford about social media and bullying as well as mental health. I had been working on this presentation for many days, and it took me hours to prepare the presentation. This topic is important to me because, if you remember, I was bullied about a year ago online. It was an honour to be able to share my experience with others and help professionals and the community understand what they can do intervene. Today - on October 23, 2013 - I delivered the presentation to a group of teachers, parents, healthcare professionals, police officers, firefighters, Members of Parliament, and more. It was a wonderful experience and I really enjoyed it. And now, for the FIRST TIME EVER , I have recorded it for all of you to watch! It will be the first time most of you have ever seen me, so I hope I don't disappoint you! Please take the time to watch me present - I spent a lot of time preparing for it! Remember to...

As requested, here is a letter to ED - but this time, about how he is no longer a place in my life. I hope this encourages those who suffer, or those who know victims of ED. If you do not struggle with ED, try switching 'ED' in this letter to whatever your problem is - school, stress, drugs, alcohol, an addiction, etc. It feels freeing to be able to stand up to your problem and take control! ED, You have plagued for me a long time, perhaps for about seven years. When I was ill, you made me believe that you could make things better. That not eating and starving would stop people from teasing me and from making rude comments about my body. You made me think that starvation would make me look thinner and thus stop people from hurting my feelings. And sadly, I listened. I feel into your trap and I become very sick. Over the course of seven years, I became your slave. I ate very little food and lost weight. But each time I lost weight, it was never enough. You wanted me to lose m...

Perhaps you have heard the latest news: a school in Toronto has banned children from brining 'junk food' to school for lunch or snack. Apparently, this is supposed to foster healthy eating habits and curtail the obesity rates that we are facing. http://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/toronto-school-bans-junk-food-from-students-lunch-bags-1.1500394 As a nurse, I completely understand why this is occurring. Obesity is on the rise. But, even as a nurse, I look at the MULTIPLE causes of why this is so. Is it simply because kids are eating 'junk food' at school? What exactly is junk food? This school defines it as chocolate, candy, chips. etc. Okay, I understand that these are problematic foods when eaten in excess. Perhaps banning them from school lunches will help reduce obesity. BUT, kids can still eat these foods at home or on the weekends. Also, what kind of message are we giving kids about these foods? Is IT JUNK? NO. No food is garbage. Yes, these snacks might be not so nutr...

We have already discussed how patients with ED don't enjoy their food. They hate it. They will scream, shout, and do anything (really) to avoid food. Remember back when we mentioned dopamine and fullness and hunger cues? Well, that was related to hunger. But what about how we FEEL after we eat a MEAL? (Did you catch the rhyme I made there? Yes, I meant to do that!). Take a look at the picture for some information and a visual representation of the brain changes (some of them!) in anorexic patients. Interestingly, research continues to show that patients with ED have a blunted response to food. Let me introduce you to the insula: a part of the brain that is associated with emotional responses to food. In a person without ED, food stimulates the insula and it 'lights up' on PET scans (this is like a scan of the brain that shows where there is activity, compared to where there is no activity). Even after a meal, the insula remains active because eating makes us feel good. ...

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone! Aside from being a day off from school and work, this is a wonderful day to take some time to think of your blessings. We are often so busy during our normal lives that we stop to realize how much we have to be thankful for. I feel like this a lot. This week has, and will continue to be, very busy for me. I have so much going on, and my mood has been really off lately. I have been waking up angry, sad, frustrated, and stressed. So much to do, so little time, and so much pressure. But this weekend of thanks is just what I needed. (By the way, I LOVE Mickey Mouse and his gang - hence the adorable picture! I am obsessed with these characters!) Sometimes, we can forget how much we have to be thankful for. Try taking just two minutes to think of everything you are thankful for. You'll be surprised at how much there is! Remember these things: others may not have them, or maybe they are important to you. Whatever you can think of, be thankful for it. If y...

When I was really ill, I did not feel sick. Yes, I did see that I was skinny, but I never thought that I was THAT thin. I was so weak that I could not walk, but I still denied being ill. ED made many excuses for why I could not be that ill: I was alive, I was breathing, and I was able to do all my tasks normally. So, how could I be sick enough to need hospitalization? I was doing some research today, and I learned that after a period of starvation, the body can no longer adapt and death occurs. This usually occurs around a BMI of 11 for females or 13 for males, although it can be different (ex. some may die even at a higher BMI). The day my parents took me to the hospital, I was XXX pounds. At my height, this gave me a BMI of around 11.1. When I learned this the other day, I was shocked. Simply put, I was at the BMI that death occurs. Who knows what would have happened if I did not get to the hospital that day? I could have died any second. Why did I NOT die? Why was I saved, ...

First, I need to thank each and every person who reads this blog and shows me support. I would have never imagined that this blog would become as famous and well-known as it has become. Please continue to read, comment, and don't forget to SHARE this website with others! Now, let's get down to the point of this post...I have recently recorded another radio interview! This one is with a healthcare facility in Ontario called Bayshore. They provide services to members in the community, and I was able to sit down with them and speak about my own experiences, mental health, how to take care of yourself, and dealing with some emotions. Please take the time to listen to it and let me know what you think! http://www.bayshore.ca/caringathomeblog/index.php/heres-to-your-health-podcast/  (My part starts at around 33:20) of the podcast titled 'a listener sharers story and future plans to help others). And finally, I need to thank everyone again! I would not be here if it weren...

We've talked about this over and over again - recovery in ED is very hard. The patient must eat, despite being scared of doing so and of gaining weight. We know that this is part of the disorder, which makes eating and being healthy a nearly impossible task. But what happens - on a biological level - when eating actually occurs? How does the patient's brain respond to food? Why are patients so angry, tearful, and scared when eating their meals in recovery? A study showed that patients with ED who eat shown abnormally high cortisol levels when they eat.( http://europepmc.org/abstract/MED/23759466/reload=0;jsessionid=FcDxHPdkZvLZH71huW6N.10 ). Let's talk about cortisol for a bit. First, you may remember that cortisol is a 'stress hormone', which our adrenal glands release when we are in a stressful situation. On a short-term basis, this is actually a good thing because coritisol prepares our bodues to 'fight or flight' (ex. increased heart rate, more blood t...