Great comments yesterday. One comment I wanted to specifically call attention to because, whether I agree or not, she makes a very valid point that we should all make sure consider as we continue along on our healthiness journey:
Lisa said…
So let me get this straight…..you (ladies) are pre-occupied with food and when to eat. Obsessed, in fact. Your men (for the most part) are not, and the fact that they don’t struggle with this makes you “sick”? I think that this whole group needs to see a therapist for EDs! When you find something worthwhile to do with your life, the timing of your meals won’t matter. So go find “it” for you and leave your food in the kitchen where it belongs.
May 4, 2010 7:44 PM
Very valid point Lisa! In fact, I don’t know if you saw this post, but I am definitely aware of the fact that I need to work on my relationship with food. My post yesterday was a lame attempt to inject some humor into the subject but your comment reminds me, while it might be fun to poke humor at it, it is a very serious issue that we all need to be aware of.
Back on February 19th, I mentioned I was gonna make a mental health appointment, that I was finally to reach out for help, and I did. At a local place that has become known as the place to go for issues revolving eating. I was pretty excited that I got an appointment within the week. And I went – it was great. I spent two hours with an intake counselor. I left feeling confident about being there and looking forward to coming back.
I waited as long as I could. Really. I did. But finally 3 weeks ago, I got frustrated that my turn never came so I called and told me to take them off the waiting list. I intended to call and make an appointment at a not-so-popular place. In between moving and getting settled, I didn’t get a chance to call right away. I finally called Allina (a network of hospitals & clinics, where I normally go for all medical appointments) on Friday and when they hadn’t called me back by today, I called again.
Apparently, they have no one taking new clients right now in my area and tried to put me on a 3-5 month waiting list. Are you flippin’ kidding me? I was not about to wait that long, so I decided to go another route. I pulled up Health Partners, my insurance company, and searched for people in the field I want and someone who is taking new clients. I found a doctor who specifically said his “interests are in disordered eating.” (Okay, I totally remixed that, he said “eating disorders.”) I grabbed the phone and called the clinic and apparently…
I have to have a general practitioner at their clinic in order to have access to any doctor practicing a medical specialty (something about wanting to make sure I was under general care first). So I made an appointment with a general practitioner for tomorrow. On Friday, I can call back in and ask to meet with this doctor I found who’s interest matches my needs.
Good Lord, I swear I’m jumping through hoops just to get help. I know I’m pretty assertive in reaching out for help, but there are so many who have a hard time reaching out for help. And when they do, I fear all this hoop jumping might thwart their efforts (yep, for those who like the word “thwart.”)
I won’t give up…I am doing this for myself because I know, the relationship I have with food right now is not how I want my relationship with food to be forever. And although I am at a healthy size now, I still need to fight for my healthiness journey.
reaching out for help?
