Hello friends,
I want to note a few things in this post. It may be a little lengthy, but I have a lot to say, so please bear with me. First and foremost, I want to give a little back story for the title above ("Building my Following").
A week and a half ago, I went to Centre's GOLD Rush networking event, an event where current Centre students can engage in "speed networking" with Centre alums. There were 4 or 5 English major alums there, and while you'd think they would have given me the most valuable insight on what I can do when I graduate, the most encouraging alum I talked to was actually a Psychology and Drama major. Our conversation went something like this:
Me: Well, I'm an English major, so there's not really a specific career related question I have for you, but I guess I could ask this -- did you know you wanted to have the job you now have while you were still at Centre?? Because I have no idea what I'm going to do.
Alum: Let me ask you this -- if money were no object, what would you like to do??
Me: If money were no object?? I'd be a professional blogger.
Alum: Really?? What do you blog about??
Me: I blog mostly about recovery-related issues. I'm in recovery from an eating disorder, and I like to write about it because I think there are a lot of people that can relate.
Alum: Wow, my sister is in recovery, too!!
Me: How cool!!
(I then go on to elaborate about my LONG TERM life goal of opening a residential treatment facility in my hometown)
Alum: What's stopping you??
Me: Well, I'm not sure exactly what the next step would be.
Alum: Have you ever had a contact who worked in one?? (not his exact words, but that was the gist of it)
Me: No, but I was a patient in one.
Alum: Which one, if you don't mind my asking??
Me: Remuda Ranch, out in Arizona.
Alum: No way -- That's where my sister went.
(The three minutes were up)
Alum: I definitely want to talk to you more when you've finished making your rounds....this is an awesome dream and I want to hear more!!
That was generally what out conversation was like, although I'm sure I'm not quoting it exactly. Point being, I had someone ENCOURAGE me about my dream for my life. We talked for like 15 minutes after the event was officially over, and then I was on such a high that I emailed my mentor, explaining how inspiring the event was.
Among the many things my mentor said, one of the things that really struck a chord to me is that perhaps the most immediately accessible place to start achieving my dream is to focus on the smaller-scale dream of professional blogging, which FINALLY brings me to the title of this post: I am doing everything I can to build my following.
It's common knowledge that in order to be respected in a field, you almost assuredly have to take a great amount of time and effort into making yourself known in that particular field. I have so many contacts in the eating disorders recovery world, and I want people to be able to hear my name and say, "Becca Jackson?? Yeah, I know her!! She (blogs/tweets/gives public speaking presentations/has authored a recovery book/mentors/any number of things). I love her work!!" I realize I have a LONG WAY to go before that can come to fruition, but hey, everybody has to start somewhere, right??
As far as steps I've already taken to try to get my name out there in the Ed recovery world, I have started this blog, I do public speaking presentations to raise awareness about eating disorders at local high schools, and just last night I started my "professional" Twitter account (@RecoveryColors , if you want to follow!! This username is actually based on what I want my treatment facility to be named -- "Shades of Life"). Also, I have an awesome friend, Marc Bentley, who just gave me an excellent PR blog post promoting this blog (Marc's blog is The Appalachian Scholar -- I recommend it to everyone, although this one sentence does not do his blog the justice it deserves....it really is great!!).
In any case, if any of you have a moment on here, or on Twitter, or on Facebook, or by word of mouth, to spread the word that this blog exists, and that the @RecoveryColors Twitter account exists (even though I've only posted a few tweets on there so far), that would be GREATLY appreciated!!
And as always, remember: RECOVERY ROCKS!!
God bless
Thursday, April 21, 2011
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
Set Point. What do YOU think??
So I was reading this article today, which I found via a tweet from a Registered Dietitian I follow, and which I posted on facebook. The article is all about finding, and accepting, your “set point” – that is, the weight at which your body is supposed to stay when you are practicing healthy eating and exercise habits.
I think it’s an interesting article, for sure. Here is the link, in case you want to read (I recommend it!!): http://bit.ly/hisglA
Anyway, the writer of the article is to be admired. She has been able to accept her body at its “set point,” after years of dieting, excessive exercise, and practicing unhealthy eating habits in order to achieve her “ideal weight,” or the weight she wanted to be.
One thing that caught my attention was her reaffirmation that diets do NOT work. She points out that if you go on a diet, sure, you may lose a lot of weight, but you can’t keep up the diet forever because your body will rebel against you and strive to get back to its “set point.”
I will be honest….accepting your “set point” is one of the most difficult aspects of recovery from an eating disorder. I have technically been “in recovery” for a while, but I still have not fully accepted my “set point.” That said, I do think that one day I WILL be able to accept my “set point,” and I can’t wait for that day to come. I have confidence that everyone who suffers with an eating disorder has the ability to, one day, accept their bodies at their “set point.”
Really, I think this article should be a mandated read for anyone in recovery from an eating disorder.
Thoughts?? Do you think the “set point” is something everyone should strive to accept?? (Reading the article will help explain it a little better than I have here.)
God bless,
Thursday, April 7, 2011
"Hey Problem, I have a big God!!"
So I was on facebook today and saw a quote on one of my facebook friend's statuses that I then copped and set as my status. The quote is this:
“Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers him out of them all. He guards all of his bones; not one of them is broken.” (Psalm 34:19)
Not only does God fight for us, but He promises to DELIVER us from what ails us. We just have to be mindful that He will do it on HIS time, not OUR time, and DEFINITELY NOT Ed's (or any other affliction's) time, because if He did it on the schedule of the latter, it would never be accomplished, and if He did it on OUR time, it would never teach us patience (one of the hardest, but most rewarding, fruits of the Spirit, to embody).
So....to wrap up....instead of telling God, "God, I have this really big problem and I don't think I can beat it," we should say, "Problem, I have an insurmountably big GOD, and He will take care of you!!"
So take THAT, Ed!! MY GOD FIGHTS ON MY BEHALF, which means He will help me defeat YOU!!
Friday, April 1, 2011
Recovery -- Lessons I've Learned at Centre
Okay, so it's after midnight on Friday, April 1st, which means it's technically Saturday, April 2nd for those of us here in the EST zone. Which means........yes, only a mere 50 days till graduation!!
I've been reflecting for a while on the various parts of my Centre experience, the good, the not so good, and the downright bad. Overall, though, I will say that my career as a Centre College student has been a success. While there are some things I have done that you couldn't pay me to do again (namely, taking Econ 110, Calculus, and Psychology ALL in my first semester here), I will say that as far as my recovery has been over the past almost 4 years, I wouldn't change one thing. Now, some of you reading this might think, "Are you serious, Becca?! I KNOW you have struggled with your eating disorder, sometimes severely, during your time at Centre. Are you saying you would do all that over again if you had the option to change it?!"
In answer to that question, I would say, "Yes, that's what I'm saying. I wouldn't change a single thing....not even the steps backward. I realize that not everyone can resonate with that statement, so I will explicate it further. The reason I wouldn't change even the worst struggles I've had here is because I am a firm believer that EVERY SINGLE STEP on your recovery journey counts, EVEN STEPS BACKWARD, as long as you LEARN from them. That's not to say I would ENJOY reliving the moments where I have really struggled, but I DO look at them as learning experiences, and as long as I view them as such, as learning experiences, and as long as I don't view them as "regrets," they have helped shape me into the capable, able-minded, persevering, and STRONG young woman I am becoming more and more every day. (Wow, I really didn't mean to praise myself there, but those are qualities I feel I have been developing for countless years, particularly the past 4 years, and I am going to be PROUD of them, daggone it!!)
In any case, I feel an urgent need to write this post before I forget what has been on my mind tonight. Without further ado, here are the Recovery lessons I've learned while at Centre. And if I'm being honest, some of them don't necessarily ONLY apply to Ed recovery....it's just that that's the vein they have taken on for me.
(Not in any particular order....not chronological, not from lesser to more important significance....just writing them as they come to me).
Lesson 1: Recovery, much like grades at Centre, cannot be perfect.
Before I came to Centre, I had never received anything less than an "A" on a report card. Also, before I came to Centre, I put tremendous pressure on myself to have the "perfect" recovery, even though I logically KNEW there was no such thing and I was only setting myself up for failure. I will never forget that Monday we got our Econ 110 midterms back after Fall Break freshman year (it was a 9:10 class, in case you're wondering, and the midterm was 35% of our final grade, in case you're doubting my ability to remember). I got a 19. No, that's not a 19/20....I got a 19%. You can imagine how big of a shock it was to me (this had been my first Centre test) when I saw that midterm!! I had been so sure I had known what I was doing....there was no way, I, Rebecca Jackson, was going to fail that test. I don't get failing grades. Riiiight. That midterm was what I like to call my "wake-up call." That was the first time I realized, "Okay, Bec, you're not in high school anymore....you obviously can't get straight A's in college." Did that mean I was okay with the grade?? Of course not. Who would be?? But did it mean that I quit trying, gave up on the class, and dropped out of school?? Heck no. I worked my butt off in that class (and in Calculus and Psychology, both classes in which I also received not great test grades, but at least passed the tests) and ended up passing. Sure, maybe it was a marginal passing grade, but it was still a passing grade. I picked myself up, got my Gen. Ed. credit, and moved on. I wish I could say I learned this lesson about not being able to have a "perfect" recovery as early as I learned it was okay to have non-perfect grades, but to be honest, I'm not sure I realized this fully until this past Fall semester (senior year) or maybe even this Spring semester. And really, I'm not sure if I completely believe it with every part of my being, but I logically KNOW it's true. There have been too many instances where I have (for lack of a better phrase) screwed up....yet I'm still alive, still fighting, and am starting to accept that there is no such thing as a "perfect" recovery, and I need to be okay with that. I AM starting to be okay with that. It has taken several years, and I still have a ways to go, but I am becoming increasingly more okay with that every day. Well, almost every day. If it were really every day, that would be perfection, right??
Lesson 2: Second chances DO exist.
Second chances....as well as third....and fourth....and more chances....are realities in almost any recovery situation, to some degree. If I kept track of the multiple number of chances I have been given by various members of the Centre community to "do the next right thing" (not necessarily in those terms, but that is a phrase that resonates with me, so I'm using it), and if I wrote in this post about the graciousness of several faculty and staff members (some of whom may not come as readily to your mind as others, including the wonderful cafeteria greeter who let me bring my own meals to Cowan sophomore year without argument when I knew she wasn't supposed to let me do it........thank you, Sue!!), you would be reading for hours. Thankfully, many of them know who they are (if for no other reason than I send spontaneous "thank you" notes throughout the school year for everything they have done for me), and I hope they know I am eternally grateful for the second (and third....and fourth....you get the picture) chances I have been afforded to get myself together recovery-wise (my words, not theirs) while still remaining at Centre, working toward my degree, and graduating on time!!
Lesson 3: There will always be at least one person who believes in you and your ability to recover....and there is usually more than one. And even when you can't feel that there is a PERSON there for you, you can ALWAYS know that GOD NEVER LEAVES YOU.
Dear heavens, I know if it weren't for the people who have been put in my path to help nudge me along the way, encourage me, and say, "Yes, you CAN do this, I KNOW you can, Becca!!", goodness knows I wouldn't be half as well-off as I am today, in any facet of life. Whether it's any of the Centre faculty/staff that I mentioned above, or my fiance, or my family, or one of my select true friends, or our Baptist Campus Ministries advisor, or even the puppies I got to play with as part of a psych study freshman year, I can honestly say that there has always been someone I could count on when I needed someone to offer advice, to lend a shoulder to cry on, to just listen to me talk, or just to have a downright FUN NIGHT to distract me from overwhelming feelings I'm experiencing. I honestly don't know where I'd be without each and every one of them. Having people who believe in you is invaluable. And while I wouldn't trade my relationships with these people for the world, I also realize and recognize that I wouldn't be anywhere without my faith in GOD, and His perfect support and guidance on my journey.
Lesson 4: Going to the cafeteria can be fun.
Now, that is a sentence I honestly thought I would never be able to say. Or at least, I never thought I would say it and MEAN it. Don't get me wrong, I still hate going to the cafeteria, for the most part. But just this semester alone I have been able to, on a few occasions, ENJOY my time there with my friends. Sure, the food sucks (Oh, Sodexo....how I will not miss you), but if you can get past the horrible food, and for me, if I can get past my fear of eating in front of other people, and if you can focus on the conversations you have with your friends while you're there, going to Cowan doesn't suck quite as bad. On the contrary, when you can get really wrapped up in the conversation and are able to be PRESENT at the breakfast/lunch/dinner table, mealtimes can be quite fun, indeed!! While I know I still have a long ways to go before I can enjoy the actual eating part of the meals, I have made tremendous strides in just being able to not have an anxiety attack when I walk through the cafeteria doors.
Lesson 5: One of the most important words you will ever learn is: BALANCE. Learn it. Live it.
College is perhaps the era of life where this lesson is the most important to learn, especially for someone with an eating disorder. You absolutely HAVE to find a balance between everything you need to do, everything you want to do....and sleep. :) I have learned that I can't focus all of my time and energy solely on schoolwork. Every time I have focused on schoolwork and schoolwork alone, my recovery has really suffered a blow. Conversely, I can't focus 100% of my time, energy, and effort on solely recovery-related things. If I did that, my schoolwork would surely suffer. If I focused every waking moment on what I want to focus it on, God, and neglected everything else, then I certainly wouldn't still be at this wonderful institution of higher learning. Learning to balance God, recovery, classes, homework, clubs/extracurriculars, meals with friends, and sleep is a hard thing to do. Especially if you want to leave any time left for FUN and RELAXATION (Facebook, Youtube, and Twitter come to mind for me). But it is what it is....time management is a necessary part of college life, and with time management comes balance. It's something on which I am still finding I have to constantly work, but it is doable, and my skills of balancing things well are improving.
Lesson 6: Never give up on yourself.
This one is pretty self-explanatory. If I gave up on myself every time I felt as if I wanted to, I have no idea if I would even be alive today. But by the grace of God, and with the help of others, I have been able to claim my identity in Christ and know that that is where TRUTH is found, and that only be seeking God can I fully learn to trust that I am NOT destined to be a failure. Recovery IS possible. While I'm not 100% there yet, I know it's possible, and I have faith I will be there some day.
Thank you for reading this far, if you did.
God bless,
-Becca
I've been reflecting for a while on the various parts of my Centre experience, the good, the not so good, and the downright bad. Overall, though, I will say that my career as a Centre College student has been a success. While there are some things I have done that you couldn't pay me to do again (namely, taking Econ 110, Calculus, and Psychology ALL in my first semester here), I will say that as far as my recovery has been over the past almost 4 years, I wouldn't change one thing. Now, some of you reading this might think, "Are you serious, Becca?! I KNOW you have struggled with your eating disorder, sometimes severely, during your time at Centre. Are you saying you would do all that over again if you had the option to change it?!"
In answer to that question, I would say, "Yes, that's what I'm saying. I wouldn't change a single thing....not even the steps backward. I realize that not everyone can resonate with that statement, so I will explicate it further. The reason I wouldn't change even the worst struggles I've had here is because I am a firm believer that EVERY SINGLE STEP on your recovery journey counts, EVEN STEPS BACKWARD, as long as you LEARN from them. That's not to say I would ENJOY reliving the moments where I have really struggled, but I DO look at them as learning experiences, and as long as I view them as such, as learning experiences, and as long as I don't view them as "regrets," they have helped shape me into the capable, able-minded, persevering, and STRONG young woman I am becoming more and more every day. (Wow, I really didn't mean to praise myself there, but those are qualities I feel I have been developing for countless years, particularly the past 4 years, and I am going to be PROUD of them, daggone it!!)
In any case, I feel an urgent need to write this post before I forget what has been on my mind tonight. Without further ado, here are the Recovery lessons I've learned while at Centre. And if I'm being honest, some of them don't necessarily ONLY apply to Ed recovery....it's just that that's the vein they have taken on for me.
(Not in any particular order....not chronological, not from lesser to more important significance....just writing them as they come to me).
Lesson 1: Recovery, much like grades at Centre, cannot be perfect.
Before I came to Centre, I had never received anything less than an "A" on a report card. Also, before I came to Centre, I put tremendous pressure on myself to have the "perfect" recovery, even though I logically KNEW there was no such thing and I was only setting myself up for failure. I will never forget that Monday we got our Econ 110 midterms back after Fall Break freshman year (it was a 9:10 class, in case you're wondering, and the midterm was 35% of our final grade, in case you're doubting my ability to remember). I got a 19. No, that's not a 19/20....I got a 19%. You can imagine how big of a shock it was to me (this had been my first Centre test) when I saw that midterm!! I had been so sure I had known what I was doing....there was no way, I, Rebecca Jackson, was going to fail that test. I don't get failing grades. Riiiight. That midterm was what I like to call my "wake-up call." That was the first time I realized, "Okay, Bec, you're not in high school anymore....you obviously can't get straight A's in college." Did that mean I was okay with the grade?? Of course not. Who would be?? But did it mean that I quit trying, gave up on the class, and dropped out of school?? Heck no. I worked my butt off in that class (and in Calculus and Psychology, both classes in which I also received not great test grades, but at least passed the tests) and ended up passing. Sure, maybe it was a marginal passing grade, but it was still a passing grade. I picked myself up, got my Gen. Ed. credit, and moved on. I wish I could say I learned this lesson about not being able to have a "perfect" recovery as early as I learned it was okay to have non-perfect grades, but to be honest, I'm not sure I realized this fully until this past Fall semester (senior year) or maybe even this Spring semester. And really, I'm not sure if I completely believe it with every part of my being, but I logically KNOW it's true. There have been too many instances where I have (for lack of a better phrase) screwed up....yet I'm still alive, still fighting, and am starting to accept that there is no such thing as a "perfect" recovery, and I need to be okay with that. I AM starting to be okay with that. It has taken several years, and I still have a ways to go, but I am becoming increasingly more okay with that every day. Well, almost every day. If it were really every day, that would be perfection, right??
Lesson 2: Second chances DO exist.
Second chances....as well as third....and fourth....and more chances....are realities in almost any recovery situation, to some degree. If I kept track of the multiple number of chances I have been given by various members of the Centre community to "do the next right thing" (not necessarily in those terms, but that is a phrase that resonates with me, so I'm using it), and if I wrote in this post about the graciousness of several faculty and staff members (some of whom may not come as readily to your mind as others, including the wonderful cafeteria greeter who let me bring my own meals to Cowan sophomore year without argument when I knew she wasn't supposed to let me do it........thank you, Sue!!), you would be reading for hours. Thankfully, many of them know who they are (if for no other reason than I send spontaneous "thank you" notes throughout the school year for everything they have done for me), and I hope they know I am eternally grateful for the second (and third....and fourth....you get the picture) chances I have been afforded to get myself together recovery-wise (my words, not theirs) while still remaining at Centre, working toward my degree, and graduating on time!!
Lesson 3: There will always be at least one person who believes in you and your ability to recover....and there is usually more than one. And even when you can't feel that there is a PERSON there for you, you can ALWAYS know that GOD NEVER LEAVES YOU.
Dear heavens, I know if it weren't for the people who have been put in my path to help nudge me along the way, encourage me, and say, "Yes, you CAN do this, I KNOW you can, Becca!!", goodness knows I wouldn't be half as well-off as I am today, in any facet of life. Whether it's any of the Centre faculty/staff that I mentioned above, or my fiance, or my family, or one of my select true friends, or our Baptist Campus Ministries advisor, or even the puppies I got to play with as part of a psych study freshman year, I can honestly say that there has always been someone I could count on when I needed someone to offer advice, to lend a shoulder to cry on, to just listen to me talk, or just to have a downright FUN NIGHT to distract me from overwhelming feelings I'm experiencing. I honestly don't know where I'd be without each and every one of them. Having people who believe in you is invaluable. And while I wouldn't trade my relationships with these people for the world, I also realize and recognize that I wouldn't be anywhere without my faith in GOD, and His perfect support and guidance on my journey.
Lesson 4: Going to the cafeteria can be fun.
Now, that is a sentence I honestly thought I would never be able to say. Or at least, I never thought I would say it and MEAN it. Don't get me wrong, I still hate going to the cafeteria, for the most part. But just this semester alone I have been able to, on a few occasions, ENJOY my time there with my friends. Sure, the food sucks (Oh, Sodexo....how I will not miss you), but if you can get past the horrible food, and for me, if I can get past my fear of eating in front of other people, and if you can focus on the conversations you have with your friends while you're there, going to Cowan doesn't suck quite as bad. On the contrary, when you can get really wrapped up in the conversation and are able to be PRESENT at the breakfast/lunch/dinner table, mealtimes can be quite fun, indeed!! While I know I still have a long ways to go before I can enjoy the actual eating part of the meals, I have made tremendous strides in just being able to not have an anxiety attack when I walk through the cafeteria doors.
Lesson 5: One of the most important words you will ever learn is: BALANCE. Learn it. Live it.
College is perhaps the era of life where this lesson is the most important to learn, especially for someone with an eating disorder. You absolutely HAVE to find a balance between everything you need to do, everything you want to do....and sleep. :) I have learned that I can't focus all of my time and energy solely on schoolwork. Every time I have focused on schoolwork and schoolwork alone, my recovery has really suffered a blow. Conversely, I can't focus 100% of my time, energy, and effort on solely recovery-related things. If I did that, my schoolwork would surely suffer. If I focused every waking moment on what I want to focus it on, God, and neglected everything else, then I certainly wouldn't still be at this wonderful institution of higher learning. Learning to balance God, recovery, classes, homework, clubs/extracurriculars, meals with friends, and sleep is a hard thing to do. Especially if you want to leave any time left for FUN and RELAXATION (Facebook, Youtube, and Twitter come to mind for me). But it is what it is....time management is a necessary part of college life, and with time management comes balance. It's something on which I am still finding I have to constantly work, but it is doable, and my skills of balancing things well are improving.
Lesson 6: Never give up on yourself.
This one is pretty self-explanatory. If I gave up on myself every time I felt as if I wanted to, I have no idea if I would even be alive today. But by the grace of God, and with the help of others, I have been able to claim my identity in Christ and know that that is where TRUTH is found, and that only be seeking God can I fully learn to trust that I am NOT destined to be a failure. Recovery IS possible. While I'm not 100% there yet, I know it's possible, and I have faith I will be there some day.
Thank you for reading this far, if you did.
God bless,
-Becca
Monday, March 28, 2011
Remuda East closing -- Insanity continues!!
Okay, I don't post in over a month, and now I'm posting twice in one day. This really merits a post, though. I am infuriated!!
The Eating Disorders Coalition (EDC) blogged today about how Remuda East (the Virginia branch of the Remuda Ranch Residential Treatment Center) will be closing its doors due to....yep, you guessed it....LACK OF COVERAGE BY INSURANCE COMPANIES.
*steps on soapbox*
I don't know why I'm surprised. I mean, when I was a patient at Remuda Ranch in Arizona, Anthem BC/BS (who was a leading contributor to RR East closing its doors) didn't cover a single penny of my stay!! Since that was the case, RR was willing to work out a payment plan which put my family paying quite a bit every month for five years. I know for a FACT that I am not the only person denied treatment access by an insurance company. And I know that there are probably millions of individuals out there who cannot receive treatment at all because they are not as fortunate as I was....their families wouldn't be able to do what mine did, simply because of life circumstances. I was lucky. I am blessed.
BUT THAT DOESN'T CHANGE THE FACT THAT THIS IS WRONG!!!!
How many individuals are going to have to pay the ultimate price (death) before these insurance companies get the picture?! How many individuals will have to go untreated because their insurance companies ARE NOT working FOR them, but instead are OPPOSING them?! In an age where more and more treatment facilities should be OPENING (do to growing demand in recent years), we instead have wonderful facilities like Remuda East CLOSING because the insurance companies won't PAY UP.
Did you know Anorexia Nervosa has the highest mortality rate of ANY mental illness?? Get that?? That means MORE PEOPLE DIE EACH YEAR FROM ANOREXIA NERVOSA THAN FROM ANY OTHER MENTAL ILLNESS. And did you know that individuals who suffer with Anorexia Nervosa receive the least amount of insurance coverage compared to, say, Schizophrenia?? Why on EARTH would insurance companies deny coverage to those who suffer?!
I realize this post is being written out of pure emotionality on my part, but seriously....what is it going to TAKE for insurance companies to get it through their heads that they need to offer coverage to clients suffering with eating disorders?!
I would LIKE to be able to say that I don't think every insurance provider sits around and is happy with the way they treat their clients who suffer with these disorders, but I can't help but think that only cold, callous people could stand to work for companies who CLEARLY DO NOT have their PAYING clients' best interests in mind.
Reasons like the closing of Remuda East are why things like the FREED Act (Federal Response to Eliminate Eating Disorders) are so important.
It is absolutely sickening to think of the amount of insurance coverage (or lack of coverage, rather) eating disorders receive.
*steps off soapbox*
The Eating Disorders Coalition (EDC) blogged today about how Remuda East (the Virginia branch of the Remuda Ranch Residential Treatment Center) will be closing its doors due to....yep, you guessed it....LACK OF COVERAGE BY INSURANCE COMPANIES.
*steps on soapbox*
I don't know why I'm surprised. I mean, when I was a patient at Remuda Ranch in Arizona, Anthem BC/BS (who was a leading contributor to RR East closing its doors) didn't cover a single penny of my stay!! Since that was the case, RR was willing to work out a payment plan which put my family paying quite a bit every month for five years. I know for a FACT that I am not the only person denied treatment access by an insurance company. And I know that there are probably millions of individuals out there who cannot receive treatment at all because they are not as fortunate as I was....their families wouldn't be able to do what mine did, simply because of life circumstances. I was lucky. I am blessed.
BUT THAT DOESN'T CHANGE THE FACT THAT THIS IS WRONG!!!!
How many individuals are going to have to pay the ultimate price (death) before these insurance companies get the picture?! How many individuals will have to go untreated because their insurance companies ARE NOT working FOR them, but instead are OPPOSING them?! In an age where more and more treatment facilities should be OPENING (do to growing demand in recent years), we instead have wonderful facilities like Remuda East CLOSING because the insurance companies won't PAY UP.
Did you know Anorexia Nervosa has the highest mortality rate of ANY mental illness?? Get that?? That means MORE PEOPLE DIE EACH YEAR FROM ANOREXIA NERVOSA THAN FROM ANY OTHER MENTAL ILLNESS. And did you know that individuals who suffer with Anorexia Nervosa receive the least amount of insurance coverage compared to, say, Schizophrenia?? Why on EARTH would insurance companies deny coverage to those who suffer?!
I realize this post is being written out of pure emotionality on my part, but seriously....what is it going to TAKE for insurance companies to get it through their heads that they need to offer coverage to clients suffering with eating disorders?!
I would LIKE to be able to say that I don't think every insurance provider sits around and is happy with the way they treat their clients who suffer with these disorders, but I can't help but think that only cold, callous people could stand to work for companies who CLEARLY DO NOT have their PAYING clients' best interests in mind.
Reasons like the closing of Remuda East are why things like the FREED Act (Federal Response to Eliminate Eating Disorders) are so important.
It is absolutely sickening to think of the amount of insurance coverage (or lack of coverage, rather) eating disorders receive.
*steps off soapbox*
A&F mistake. BIG mistake.
Wow, okay, so it's been a long time since I've blogged (over a month.....yikes!!), but I finally have something for inspiration....the newest "trend" from Abercrombie and Fitch....padded, push-up bikinis for girls as young as 7 years old!!
First, here's the article link:
http://www1.whdh.com/news/articles/local/12003880493293/abercrombie-fitch-sells-padded-bikini-tops-to-young-girls/
There are so many things wrong with this article...where to start??
I think I'll start by saying A&F is in the wrong because they are objectifying SEVEN YEAR OLDS. They are sending the message to LITTLE GIRLS that they need to be sexualized in order to be accepted. They are telling SEVEN YEAR OLD GIRLS that their bodies are not good as they are. Also, no seven year olds I know need a bra, which would mean the "push-up" part of this bikini would serve no purpose. Even if these were designed for teens, though, I would still find fault in them because they would still be spreading the MYTH that a girl's/woman's body is only acceptable when she alters it with an outside force.
But we're NOT talking about teenagers or women. Padded, push-up bathing suits have been sold to teenagers for decades. Trying to change that would be little more than a futile effort. But listen to me....we HAVE to change the sexualized image A&F is promoting to these young girls.
How can we expect young girls to refrain from dieting if they are told they are not "good enough" by any standard?? How can we expect young girls (maybe this applies more starting in the teens) to not "sell" their body by trying to make it look like what society deems appealing (which objectifies them to the extreme).
I don't know what Abercrombie and Fitch is smoking to think that this would be a good idea. They obviously know seven year old girls don't buy their own clothes, and that causes me to wonder....what kind of parents would buy such a thing for their little girl?? Obviously there are some who would, but that doesn't make it right. Not at all.
Sorry this was more of a rant than anything....I just needed to make my opinion known.
-Becca
First, here's the article link:
http://www1.whdh.com/news/articles/local/12003880493293/abercrombie-fitch-sells-padded-bikini-tops-to-young-girls/
There are so many things wrong with this article...where to start??
I think I'll start by saying A&F is in the wrong because they are objectifying SEVEN YEAR OLDS. They are sending the message to LITTLE GIRLS that they need to be sexualized in order to be accepted. They are telling SEVEN YEAR OLD GIRLS that their bodies are not good as they are. Also, no seven year olds I know need a bra, which would mean the "push-up" part of this bikini would serve no purpose. Even if these were designed for teens, though, I would still find fault in them because they would still be spreading the MYTH that a girl's/woman's body is only acceptable when she alters it with an outside force.
But we're NOT talking about teenagers or women. Padded, push-up bathing suits have been sold to teenagers for decades. Trying to change that would be little more than a futile effort. But listen to me....we HAVE to change the sexualized image A&F is promoting to these young girls.
How can we expect young girls to refrain from dieting if they are told they are not "good enough" by any standard?? How can we expect young girls (maybe this applies more starting in the teens) to not "sell" their body by trying to make it look like what society deems appealing (which objectifies them to the extreme).
I don't know what Abercrombie and Fitch is smoking to think that this would be a good idea. They obviously know seven year old girls don't buy their own clothes, and that causes me to wonder....what kind of parents would buy such a thing for their little girl?? Obviously there are some who would, but that doesn't make it right. Not at all.
Sorry this was more of a rant than anything....I just needed to make my opinion known.
-Becca
Thursday, February 24, 2011
NEDAW 2011
So, today is the Thursday of National Eating Disorders Awareness Week 2011, and if I may say so, my last NEDAW as a Centre College student has been tremendously successful!! I anticipate the rest of the week to be successful, too....we only have one more day of our info table at lunch, but in lieu of the 5K we had for a couple of years (not last year, but one and two years before that), our speaker (Cary Kemp Larson, who is actually a Centre grad) is leading a resilience workshop for two hours on Saturday morning. I anticipate it to be very informational and, well, fun....because she's a fun person. I can tell that from just today. :)
Anyway, if you would have asked me this time LAST week what my feelings were about the upcoming NEDAW (well, upcoming if it were last week, but current since it's THIS week), I would have told you, "I honestly don't feel as if I am in any state of mind where I should be in this position of leadership I am in as president of Centre BALANCE, the sponsoring campus organization for NEDAW." Reason being, last week was not the best week I've had, recovery-wise. I have EXCELLENT news, though.
I am rocking some serious RECOVERY SWAGGER right now. Last weekend, I had an incredible amount of support/encouragement given to me by the person I love the most (Rog), and that support is what jump started me back on the right path. Honestly, I can say that I FEEL more in control of my recovery now....something that, a week ago, I would have said was impossible. Above ALL, though, I want to make sure that THE ONE who deserves ALL the credit receives it. See below.
I have told more than one person this over the course of the past few days, but I honestly would not be in recovery at all right now if it weren't for GOD. Seriously, while it's excellent to have Rog support me (and don't get me wrong, I'm definitely NOT discounting the support and understanding Rog gives me....I feel so incredibly blessed to have him in my life....and it IS largely due to his support/insistence that I was able to get back on the right track), it's even cooler to know that I have THE ONE AND ONLY TRUE GOD fighting for me. At times when I feel weak, not strong enough to fight my battles by myself, it's like I hear God whispering to me, "You don't have to do it alone. I am here. I am holding you. You are my precious child, and I will not let you fall." That is so AWESOME!!
I am also a firm believer that it is God who brought Rog into my life in the first place, and God who is the reason Rog and I are getting married in June. Consequently, I think God works THROUGH Rog to help empower me, and to help Rog know what to say to me to keep my focus where it needs to be (on Recovery, and on God) and not on the negative things (on Ed or on worldly things).
I feel like I'm rambling, plus I need to go to bed since I have an 8am class tomorrow and will be going to breakfast at 7 or 7:30, so I'll wrap this up.
So to close, I will just say one thing, as affirmation both to myself and to anyone else who may read this. To quote a favorite VeggieTales song: GOD IS BIGGER THAN THE BOOGEYMAN. Your personal boogeyman may not be Ed....it may be academic pressure, work stress, drug or alcohol addiction, or any number of personal demons....but I am writing so that you may REST ASSURED that GOD is bigger than ANY problems or trials you will EVER face. EVER. Period.
And I will close with a very uplifting, encouraging verse we should all meditate on daily:
He gives power to the weak, and to those who have no might He increases strength.” (Isaiah 40:29)
God bless
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