Are you struggling with an eating disorder and/or a survivor of trauma and feeling exhausted of trying to get through each day? Healing and recovery is completely possible. I’m so excited to share that The Eating Disorder Center is now offering EMDR for trauma in addition to eating disorder therapy! We offer eating disorder and trauma therapy in Rockville, Maryland and virtually throughout Maryland. We are welcoming therapist Megan Samuels, LMSW, to our team. She is EMDR trained and specializes in working with teens and adults in Maryland with eating disorders & trauma or stand alone trauma. She previously worked at an outpatient trauma therapy practice providing EMDR therapy to survivors of trauma and folks with eating disorders. Megan has limited in person availability in Rockville starting July 1st, after school/work availability, and can work with clients virtually throughout Maryland. Make a referral or learn more about Megan: https://www.theeatingdisordercenter.com/megan-samuels-msw-lmsw.html Schedule a free 15 min consult for eating disorder therapy in MD, VA, DC, NY, FL, or recovery coaching worldwide.
Click here. The Eating Disorder Center is a premier outpatient eating disorder therapy center founded by Jennifer Rollin. We specialize in helping teens and adults struggling with anorexia, binge eating disorder, bulimia, OSFED, and body image issues. We provide eating disorder therapy in Rockville, MD, easily accessible to individuals in Potomac, North Potomac, Bethesda, Olney, Silver Spring, Germantown, and Washington D.C. We also provide eating disorder therapy in Arlington, Virginia and virtually throughout Virginia. We offer eating disorder and trauma therapy in Rockville, Maryland and virtually throughout Maryland. Additionally, we offer eating disorder therapy virtually in New York (NYC), Florida, and California. We provide eating disorder recovery coaching via Zoom to people worldwide. Connect with us through our website at www.theeatingdisordercenter.com By Megan Samuels, MSW, LMSW, Therapist & Outreach Coordinator Summer can be a challenging time for people struggling with eating disorder urges. During the summer months, people tend to wear less clothing to compensate for the increase in temperatures. Wearing less clothing and/or tight clothing can bring up icky body image thoughts. I’ve found that these thoughts often lead to eating disorder urges to restrict or use other eating disorder behaviors. For example, you may put on a pair of shorts for the first time this year and say to yourself, “I don’t like the way my legs look in these clothes, maybe I should try to lose weight.” The body image thought of not liking the way your legs look in the shorts is contributing to the urge to restrict food intake, in the hopes of losing weight to look better in the shorts. Then, you go on to limit the amount of carbs and fat that you take in during dinner. But, what if you tried something different. DBT Skill: Separating urge from action. A great skill to practice to move towards recovery can be increasing the amount of time between an urge and an action. An urge is the desire of impulse to do something and an action is actually doing that thing. In the example above, the urge is wanting to restrict food intake and the action is limiting the amount of carbs and fat during dinner. If you wanted to practice separating urge from action, you could notice that you are having the urge to restrict food, and then decide to wait 20 minutes. If you wait 20 minutes and that urge to restrict is still intense and you still want to act on the urge, then you can. For some people, during this waiting time, the urge decreases and they realize that they do not want to act on the urge anymore. Steps for this skill: 1. Notice the thought.
2. Notice the urge.
3. Notice the action.
4. Separate urge and action.
As you can see through the reflection step, there are two different responses. The first response shows when this skill works effectively and the second response shows what someone might say to themselves when the skill may not have worked as well. In both cases, the skill was practiced. In DBT therapy, the skills need to be practiced and reinforced to be effective. Meaning, each skill may not work as intended each time. Additionally, some skills may work better for some individuals than others. What I like about the second response under the reflection step is that there are aspects of self-compassion and accountability. The person is giving themselves credit for being able to try and practice the skill and they are not beating themselves up because they still chose to engage in the action. Additionally, they are choosing to reach out to their therapist so they can discuss in their next session ways to troubleshoot the skill and/or time to learn other skills that may be more effective. The bottom line: This skill can be helpful for lowering the immediate distress of an eating disorder urge. In turn, this can decrease the amount/intensity of eating disorder actions/behaviors. And this skill takes practice and patience. It can be helpful to consult with your eating disorder therapist before starting to practice this skill to make sure you have resources to support you in this process. You got this! For an introduction on what DBT is and how it can be applied to eating disorder recovery, please check out this blog. Want more? The majority of the therapists at The Eating Disorder Center have extensive training and experience in using Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) as an effective treatment modality for eating disorders. Contact us for a free 15-minute consultation today! Schedule a free 15 min consult for eating disorder therapy in MD, VA, DC, NY, FL, or recovery coaching worldwide. Click here. The Eating Disorder Center is a premier outpatient eating disorder therapy center founded by Jennifer Rollin. We specialize in helping teens and adults struggling with anorexia, binge eating disorder, bulimia, OSFED, and body image issues. We provide eating disorder therapy in Rockville, MD, easily accessible to individuals in Potomac, North Potomac, Bethesda, Olney, Silver Spring, Germantown, and Washington D.C. We also provide eating disorder therapy in Arlington, Virginia and virtually throughout Virginia. Additionally, we offer eating disorder therapy virtually in New York (NYC), Florida, and California. We provide eating disorder recovery coaching via Zoom to people worldwide. Connect with us through our website at www.theeatingdisordercenter.com
Are you a survivor of trauma who is feeling exhausted of just trying to get through each week? EMDR therapy is a powerful evidence-based therapy for helping folks to heal from trauma. Traditional talk therapy is not usually the approach of choice for trauma-and EMDR therapy can truly lead to powerful results and healing from trauma related symptoms. Healing after trauma is completely possible. I’m so excited to share that we are now offering EMDR therapy for trauma! We offer EMDR trauma therapy in Rockville, Maryland and virtually throughout Maryland. We are welcoming therapist Megan Samuels, LMSW, to our team. She is EMDR trained and specializes in working with teens and adults in Maryland who are survivors of trauma, as well as those diagnosed with PTSD, struggling with dissociation, and other trauma symptoms. She previously worked for multiple years at an outpatient trauma therapy practice providing EMDR therapy to survivors of trauma. Megan has limited in person availability in Rockville starting July 1st, after school/work availability, and can work with clients virtually throughout Maryland. Make a referral or learn more about Megan: https://www.theeatingdisordercenter.com/megan-samuels-msw-lmsw-trauma-therapist.html Schedule a free 15 min consult for EMDR trauma therapy in Rockville, Maryland or virtually throughout Maryland. Click here. The Eating Disorder Center is a premier outpatient eating disorder therapy center founded by Jennifer Rollin. We specialize in helping teens and adults struggling with anorexia, binge eating disorder, bulimia, OSFED, and body image issues. We provide eating disorder therapy in Rockville, MD, easily accessible to individuals in Potomac, North Potomac, Bethesda, Olney, Silver Spring, Germantown, and Washington D.C. We also provide eating disorder therapy in Arlington, Virginia and virtually throughout Virginia. We offer eating disorder and trauma therapy in Rockville, Maryland and virtually throughout Maryland. Additionally, we offer eating disorder therapy virtually in New York (NYC), Florida, and California. We provide eating disorder recovery coaching via Zoom to people worldwide. Connect with us through our website at www.theeatingdisordercenter.com We have created an eating disorder/body image timeline to use that includes reflection questions at the end! Download the the FREE handout below! ![]()
Schedule a free 15 min consult for eating disorder therapy in MD, VA, DC, NY, FL, or recovery coaching worldwide. Click here. The Eating Disorder Center is a premier outpatient eating disorder therapy center founded by Jennifer Rollin. We specialize in helping teens and adults struggling with anorexia, binge eating disorder, bulimia, OSFED, and body image issues. We provide eating disorder therapy in Rockville, MD, easily accessible to individuals in Potomac, North Potomac, Bethesda, Olney, Silver Spring, Germantown, and Washington D.C. We also provide eating disorder therapy in Arlington, Virginia and virtually throughout Virginia. Additionally, we offer eating disorder therapy virtually in New York (NYC), Florida, and California. We provide eating disorder recovery coaching via Zoom to people worldwide. Connect with us through our website at www.theeatingdisordercenter.com
We have created a worksheet with journal prompts for eating disorder recovery motivation! Download the the FREE worksheet below! ![]()
Schedule a free 15 min consult for eating disorder therapy in MD, VA, DC, NY, FL, or recovery coaching worldwide. Click here. The Eating Disorder Center is a premier outpatient eating disorder therapy center founded by Jennifer Rollin. We specialize in helping teens and adults struggling with anorexia, binge eating disorder, bulimia, OSFED, and body image issues. We provide eating disorder therapy in Rockville, MD, easily accessible to individuals in Potomac, North Potomac, Bethesda, Olney, Silver Spring, Germantown, and Washington D.C. We also provide eating disorder therapy in Arlington, Virginia and virtually throughout Virginia. Additionally, we offer eating disorder therapy virtually in New York (NYC), Florida, and California. We provide eating disorder recovery coaching via Zoom to people worldwide. Connect with us through our website at www.theeatingdisordercenter.com
By Jennifer Rollin, MSW, LCSW-C The Eating Disorder Center based in Rockville, Maryland has a team of therapists who specialize in working with clients with eating disorders and who struggle with compulsive exercise. As an eating disorder therapist, I've noticed that compulsive exercise isn’t talked about enough in the media. The following are just a few tips and thoughts from an eating disorder therapist who also previously struggled with an eating disorder and compulsive exercise. On a regular basis, we are inundated with unhealthy messages about exercise. From fitspo on Instagram and influencers showing off their 6-packs to messages about ‘no days off’-disordered attitudes towards exercise are everywhere. Being trapped by compulsive exercise is exhausting. I’ve been there and I remember feeling so incredibly trapped-yet unable to stop my rigid exercise routine. The following are a few tips for recovering from compulsive exercise in an exercise obsessed world. 1. Surround yourself with pro-recovery, body positive content and work to eliminate any fitspo. When I was trapped by an exercise compulsion, I remember following fitspo influencers on social media. Some talked about having a healthy relationship to movement-but their feeds were full of their chiseled muscles and healthified looking meals. I didn’t realize how much these accounts impacted me until I began recovery and unfollowed them. Step 1: is to think about the areas in your life that reinforce your unhealthy attitudes towards exercise and then cut out/set boundaries with what you can. So this means not only unfollowing social media accounts that cause you to feel guilty for not working out (yesss this includes that friend or family member constantly posting about their workouts)-but also setting boundaries or eliminating things IRL that trigger negative thoughts about your body and exercise compulsion. Then, it’s important to add in accounts that promote body diversity (i.e. people of all different shapes and sizes) and think about what you can start to surround yourself with in your life that promotes healthier messages i.e. podcasts (I’m looking at you Food Psych!), books, articles, friends, and hobbies that have nothing to do with your body or exercise. 2. Notice the stories that you are telling yourself around exercise. It’s also important to start to be mindful of the stories that you are telling yourself around exercise. The next step is to write down some of your unhealthy thoughts about exercise and then write back to them with more neutral and/or positive thoughts. Rather than trying to determine if the thought is true-identify is the thought helpful or unhelpful in terms of getting you in the direction of a life aligned with your true-life values. Unhelpful Thought: ‘I’m so lazy for not exercising today. This is a slippery slope to never moving again.’ Helpful Thought: Not exercising today is actually way harder for you. So, this is something to be proud of in terms of helping you to recover. It’s the opposite of lazy. Just because you took a day off doesn’t mean that you will never move again. That’s super black and white-and even if all you did was activities in your daily life (rather than a formal exercise routine) that would be ok too. It’s also useful to remind yourself that ‘more exercise’ isn’t always healthier (in fact it can be quite unhealthy in certain conditions) and that sometimes the healthiest choice for your body and mind is rest. Ultimately, exercise is a stressor on the body and if you are anxious about fitting in exercise etc it raises cortisol (the stress hormone)-which is also not healthy. 3. Identify the function of your compulsive exercise. One good exercise is to make a DBT pro/con list of continuing to engage in compulsive exercise. You list out all the ‘pros’ and all the ‘cons’ and then next to each one write whether it is short term or long term-and then tally them out at the end. Compulsive exercise is serving a function in your life (for example, anxiety reduction) and it’s important to identify the purposes that it is serving for you and more values-aligning ways that you can get any of the valid and adaptive needs met. For example, if compulsive exercise feels like it’s helping with your anxiety (spoiler alert, it decreases anxiety in the short term but increases it in the long-term and makes you more reliant on the behavior), think about other coping strategies that you could use for anxiety i.e. watching a distracting TV show, aromatherapy, playing with dogs, or spending time with a supportive friend. 4. Try a little ‘experiment.’ I think it’s helpful when making behavioral changes to say it’s going to be just an ‘experiment’ for that week. This helps to zoom out from the big picture (i.e. prediction of future doom and gloom) which your ED loves to jump to when you are trying to make scary changes. I remember the first rest day that I took since my eating disorder began-vividly. At the time, I felt unable to take a day off from exercise and my dietitian had challenged me to take a rest day. I felt like I was crawling out of my skin-like I wanted to escape from the situation. I also felt intense guilt around eating. But the thing is, with support from my treatment team-I was able to do it. Even though the first time felt truly awful-it got easier and easier. Then, I was able to make other changes to help myself to find freedom from compulsively exercising. Challenge yourself to shave 10 min off your routine, take a rest day, take a period off all-together (if you can)-whatever step feels like the best place to start. The Bottom Line I don’t want you to look back and regret moments and memories that slipped away or were colored by compulsive exercise. Freedom from compulsive exercise is 100 percent possible and so worth it. Schedule a free 15 min consult for eating disorder therapy in MD, VA, DC, NY, FL, or recovery coaching worldwide. Click here The Eating Disorder Center is a premier outpatient eating disorder therapy center founded by Jennifer Rollin. We specialize in helping teens and adults struggling with anorexia, binge eating disorder, bulimia, OSFED, and body image issues. We provide eating disorder therapy in Rockville, MD, easily accessible to individuals in Potomac, North Potomac, Bethesda, Olney, Silver Spring, Germantown, and Washington D.C. We also provide eating disorder therapy in Arlington, Virginia and virtually throughout Virginia. Additionally, we offer eating disorder therapy virtually in New York (NYC), Florida, and California. We provide eating disorder recovery coaching via Zoom to people worldwide. Connect with us through our website at www.theeatingdisordercenter.com
Are you exhausted from constantly thinking about food and your body? Maybe part of you is desperately wanting to be free from this, yet scared to begin recovery. Living with binge eating disorder is exhausting. Our eating disorder therapists serving clients in Bethesda, Maryland, can help. We've had great success in helping folks to recover from binge eating disorder. If you're looking to heal your relationship to food, your body and yourself-you've come to the right place. Many of us on the team are personally recovered from our own eating disorders or have supported a loved one in recovery. We offer a free 15 min consult to see if it's a good fit! The Eating Disorder Center is a premier outpatient eating disorder therapy center founded by Jennifer Rollin. We specialize in helping teens and adults struggling with anorexia, binge eating disorder, bulimia, OSFED, and body image issues. We provide eating disorder therapy in Rockville, MD, easily accessible to individuals in Potomac, North Potomac, Bethesda, Olney, Silver Spring, Germantown, and Washington D.C. We also provide eating disorder therapy in Arlington, Virginia and virtually throughout Virginia. Additionally, we offer eating disorder therapy virtually in New York (NYC), Florida, and California. We provide eating disorder and EMDR trauma therapy in Rockville, Maryland and virtually throughout Maryland. We provide eating disorder recovery coaching via Zoom to people worldwide. Connect with us through our website at www.theeatingdisordercenter.com The Eating Disorder Center provides virtual eating disorder therapy in Maryland for children, teens, and adults with anorexia, bulimia, binge eating disorder, OSFED, orthorexia, ARFID, and compulsive exercise serving clients in Rockville, Bethesda, Potomac, Gaithersburg, Olney, North Bethesda, North Potomac, Annapolis, Clarksville, Cabin John, Bel Air and virtually throughout Maryland. Are you exhausted from constantly thinking about food and your body? Maybe part of you is desperately wanting to be free from this, yet scared to begin recovery. Our eating disorder therapists serving clients in Potomac, Maryland can help. If you're looking to heal your relationship to food, your body and yourself-you've come to the right place. We offer eating disorder therapy serving teens and adults in Potomac, Maryland with anorexia, bulimia, binge eating disorder, ARFID, disordered eating, and compulsive exercise. Many of us on the team are personally recovered from our own eating disorders or have supported a loved one in recovery. We offer a free 15 min consult to see if it's a good fit! The Eating Disorder Center is a premier outpatient eating disorder therapy center founded by Jennifer Rollin. We specialize in helping teens and adults struggling with anorexia, binge eating disorder, bulimia, OSFED, and body image issues. We provide eating disorder therapy in Rockville, MD, easily accessible to individuals in Potomac, North Potomac, Bethesda, Olney, Silver Spring, Germantown, and Washington D.C. We also provide eating disorder therapy in Arlington, Virginia and virtually throughout Virginia. Additionally, we offer eating disorder therapy virtually in New York (NYC), Florida, and California. We provide eating disorder and EMDR trauma therapy in Rockville, Maryland and virtually throughout Maryland. We provide eating disorder recovery coaching via Zoom to people worldwide. Connect with us through our website at www.theeatingdisordercenter.com
Are you exhausted from constantly thinking about food and your body? Maybe part of you is desperately wanting to be free from this, yet scared to begin recovery. Our eating disorder therapists serving clients in Bethesda, Maryland, can help. If you're looking to heal your relationship to food, your body and yourself-you've come to the right place. Many of us on the team are personally recovered from our own eating disorders or have supported a loved one in recovery. We offer a free 15 min consult to see if it's a good fit! The Eating Disorder Center is a premier outpatient eating disorder therapy center founded by Jennifer Rollin. We specialize in helping teens and adults struggling with anorexia, binge eating disorder, bulimia, OSFED, and body image issues. We provide eating disorder therapy in Rockville, MD, easily accessible to individuals in Potomac, North Potomac, Bethesda, Olney, Silver Spring, Germantown, and Washington D.C. We also provide eating disorder therapy in Arlington, Virginia and virtually throughout Virginia. Additionally, we offer eating disorder therapy virtually in New York (NYC), Florida, and California. We provide eating disorder and EMDR trauma therapy in Rockville, Maryland and virtually throughout Maryland. We provide eating disorder recovery coaching via Zoom to people worldwide. Connect with us through our website at www.theeatingdisordercenter.com
The Eating Disorder Center provides virtual eating disorder therapy in Maryland for children, teens, and adults with anorexia, bulimia, binge eating disorder, OSFED, orthorexia, ARFID, and compulsive exercise serving clients in Rockville, Bethesda, Potomac, Gaithersburg, Olney, North Bethesda, North Potomac, Annapolis, Clarksville, Cabin John, Bel Air and virtually throughout Maryland. By Megan Samuels, MSW, LMSW, Outreach Coordinator *Content Warning: This blog post discusses grief and loss. If this is something that you are struggling with or have struggled with, we invite you to take care of yourself in whatever that looks like for you. What is Disenfranchised Grief? Kenneth Doka coined the term, “disenfranchised grief,” meaning grief that is not “openly acknowledged, socially validated, or publicly mourned” (Doka, 2002). Some examples of disenfranchised grief include pet loss, miscarriage, or loss of a person who is not familial/blood-related. I think that our society has come a long way with expanding compassion and tenderness to people experiencing grief and I think there is room for growth, particularly with things that people may not consider as “traditional grief.” Research suggests that post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) can develop in around one in three women following pregnancy loss (National Institute for Health and Care Research, 2021). Another study discussed that people with repeated pregnancy loss are likely to experience an increased risk of anxiety, depression, grief, guilt, and anger (Sugiura-Ogasawara et al., 2002). When these emotions are not well accepted within the constructs of society, mental health symptoms can increase or intensify following experiences of loss. Unfortunately when it comes to individuals experiencing grief they may receive invalidating comments from other people. An example of an invalidating comment that someone might say to someone experiencing pregnancy loss is “at least you know you can get pregnant!” or “you can always just try again!” It’s so important to those supporting others experiencing grief to try to educate themselves. Being the recipient of invalidating comments when you are going through grief can be hurtful and may cause individuals to feel more isolated. Being able to practice self-compassion through our experiences of grief can be helpful. And experiencing compassion and support from loved ones and professionals while grieving is also important. It’s also crucial to note that all forms of grief and loss are valid and can be highly impactful. Another thing that I find helpful is to expand our definition of grief/loss. I like to look at it as any change where you don’t have someone/something anymore and that is bringing up feelings. When we look at this expanded version of grief, we can consider a college student moving out of a dorm after graduation. Although the next step of moving into an apartment and looking for a job can be exciting, there is also an element of grief/loss of leaving behind college, the structure of an institution, and relationships and sense of community. This may not be seen as typical “grief,” however, someone may experience feelings of sadness, anger, anxiety and depression, just as one may after the loss of a loved one. How Does This Relate to Eating Disorder Recovery? If you are in recovery from an eating disorder, disenfranchised grief can be a trigger to an eating disorder relapse. You may find that eating disorder symptoms, anxiety symptoms, and other mental health symptoms increase during periods of grief. This may mean needing to re-engage in therapy or recovery coaching to learn ways to manage symptoms of grief and eating disorder behaviors. Additionally, if you have recently experienced grief, you may be at risk for disordered eating and/or eating disorder development. Grief is something that is not always controllable and some people cope with trying to control their food intake and/or what their body looks like. When we treat eating disorder behavior and symptoms, we also want to be mindful about treating any underlying conditions, which could be related to grief and/or loss. Conclusion & Resources: Mental health symptoms of disenfranchised grief can be worked through and processed in therapy. The first step is identifying that it is something that you are experiencing. As discussed in this blog post, perinatal loss and pet loss are two forms of disenfranchised grief. If you or a loved one are experiencing one of these forms of loss and are looking for support, we have provided some links below to explore. Additionally, our clinicians have experience working with grief and loss and we would be honored to support you in your healing journey. Pet Loss Resources: Perinatal Loss Resources:
References:
Schedule a free 15 min consult for eating disorder therapy in MD, VA, DC, NY, FL, or recovery coaching worldwide. Click here. The Eating Disorder Center is a premier outpatient eating disorder therapy center founded by Jennifer Rollin. We specialize in helping teens and adults struggling with anorexia, binge eating disorder, bulimia, OSFED, and body image issues. We provide eating disorder therapy in Rockville, MD, easily accessible to individuals in Potomac, North Potomac, Bethesda, Olney, Silver Spring, Germantown, and Washington D.C. We also provide eating disorder therapy in Arlington, Virginia and virtually throughout Virginia. Additionally, we offer eating disorder therapy virtually in New York (NYC), Florida, and California. We provide eating disorder recovery coaching via Zoom to people worldwide. Connect with us through our website at www.theeatingdisordercenter.com
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The Eating Disorder CenterWe are a premier outpatient eating disorder therapy center in Rockville, Maryland. Archives
July 2024
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