B2

Overcoming Bulimia Treatment for Eating Disorders By Laurie Pawlik-Kienlen

Overcoming bulimia may be one of the hardest things you'll ever do; it's as difficult as overcoming any addiction. Counseling is the safest, healthiest treatment for eating disorders - or any psychological condition. To help you overcome bulimia, here is a list of bad things about this eating disorder and a list of reasons to treat this eating disorder. Plus, here are several cognitive-behavioral tips that could be extremely helpful. Overcoming bulimia gets easier every day, but some days are worse than others. Learning to resist the compulsion is one part of overcoming bulimia. Overcoming Bulimia: A List of Bad Things About This Eating Disorder 1. Bad for stomach, heart, teeth, and brain. 2. Changes your view of food from delicious fuel to something that has to be purged. 3. Gives you a bulimia hangover. 4. Lowers your self-image. 5. Gives you a bad, unhealthy secret. 6. Disguises who you really are. 7. Feelings of guilt, regret, or shame after. 8. Waste of food. 9. Waste of money. 10. Feelings of sadness, self-hatred, self-pity. 11. Lowers self-esteem. 12. Indicates you're out of control. 13. Feelings of powerlessness and addiction. 14. Waste of time, energy, and creativity. 15. Add your own bad things about binging and purging! This will help in overcoming bulimia. When you're overcoming bulimia, review this list of bad things about bulimia every morning or before the urge to binge and purge hits. This can be a simple, effective treatment for this eating disorder. And, finding a counselor who specializes in eating disorders will help you overcome bulimia. Overcoming Bulimia: A List of Good Things About Treating This Eating Disorder 1. Healthier mind. 2. Happier body! 3. Feelings of peace, achievement, and pride. 4. Higher self-esteem. 5. Higher self-image. 6. No more wasting food and money. 7. Sense of accomplishment. 8. Feelings of self-love.

9. No secrets to hide. 10. No more lies to tell 11. Stronger heart. 12. More authenticity. The real you can shine through! 13. More time to be productive at home or work. 14. No more obsessing over food. 15. Positive feelings of strength and power. 16. No feelings of being out of control. 17. More self-awareness. 18. More time to do things you love. 19. Add your own good things about overcoming bulimia! When you're overcoming bulimia, it helps to review this list of good things about stopping the binge and purge cycle every morning. Or, read this list when the compulsion to binge and purge hits. Overcoming Bulimia: Finding a Distraction When you're struggling with the temptation or know it'll hit at a certain time, one key to overcoming bulimia is being prepared. Plan a walk, exercise class, or bubble bath. Call a friend, work in the yard, email your relatives. Effectively treating this eating disorder often involves distraction. Overcoming Bulimia: Eliminating "Purge-y" Food "Purge-y" foods are those that are easy to binge and purge. When you're overcoming bulimia, make sure you don't have those easy-to-purge foods in the house. If it's someone else's food, picture yourself confessing that you ate all their food (binged) and threw it up (purged). This may help you overcome this eating disorder.

-http://behavioural-psychology.suite101.com/article.cfm/overcoming_bulimia

Trauma How the Symptoms of Trauma Can Affect Daily Life By Kathy Schlossmacher

Traumatic experiences can run the gambit from car accidents to invasive medical procedures to the more serious natural disasters or sexual assault. Trauma occurs when some life event happens that is out of the ordinary experience of the person to whom it is happening. These experiences can result in actions on the part of the traumatized person that are totally out of character for them. These symptoms can often begin to interfere with daily functioning to a serious and debilitating rate. Symptoms of Trauma Often those who experience a traumatic event will show specific symptoms in their daily life. These symptoms can include hypoarousal, constriction which narrows perception, denial and more seriously disassociation. The symptoms can also include feelings of helplessness, nightmares, mood swings, exaggerated startle response and even unexplained moments of panic. If left untreated these symptoms can lead to depression and suicidal ideation and even action. Hope for those Who Suffer from Trauma Those who suffer from these symptoms are not destined to a life of dread and depression. There are ways to heal from trauma and lead normal fulfilling lives despite the seriousness of the trauma endured. The key lies in integrating the experience. This requires that at some point the sufferer is able to look back at the experience and accept its existence in his or her life as part of that life. This involves being able to see the difference between when it happened and the fact that it is not happening over and over in flashbacks and nightmares. The person needs to integrate the memory into their store of memories as something that happened to them, but does not determine the future of their lives. How to Relieve the Symptoms of Trauma First and foremost the person must be willing to discuss and explore the actual event and the meaning they attach to it. Sometimes this requires that the person relate the experience over and over in order to come to terms with it. Healing also requires that one make some meaning out of the traumatic experience, even if that meaning is as simple as acknowledging that the sufferer had no control over the event and why it happened to that person. Coping While Healing The process of healing can take quite a bit of time and sometimes require professional help. Medications prescribed by a psychiatrist and talk therapy can help take the edge off the processing of the event. Other activities can also help the traumatized person to cope with the symptoms in daily life. Daily meditation practice can help clear the mind of disturbing images and offer relief to the person in the coping stages. Body work and massage can also allow the person to become more in touch with their bodies if the trauma seriously impacted

bodily function. Such work can also help negate the serious aversion to their own bodies that trauma sufferers often feel. Relaxation and self soothing techniques can be taught that allow the person to distract themselves from the often disturbing memories and images they may still feel. While these activities may not lead to the healing of the symptoms, they can help the person cope with the often painful process of healing that can involve living and re-living the event while it is processed into the image of self that the person possesses. While no one is suggesting that the memory is going to go away, it can be changed into an acceptable memory that is part of the person's storehouse of memory and thus relieving the symptoms that make daily functioning difficult. The Experience is Not the End Many who suffer from trauma feel that they will never be the same. They fear that they will be defined by that experience as their whole persona. While sufferers may not be the same, while they may feel different about themselves and the world around them, different does not have to be bad. The difference can be merely new feelings of meaning and process that can open new doors to self awareness and mental health.

-http://psychology.suite101.com/article.cfm/trauma

Is Death a Choice or Fate Who Determines Your Time to Die By Stephen Richardson

Everything in between may have a lot to do with fate, chance, luck, choice and how you live your life. To consider whether death is a choice, or in fact fate playing its part, will very much depend on you as a human being, and your intentions. Some may even consider that the outcome has a spiritual or religious element to it. The safe bet to make on whether people die due to choice or fate is to say that there is an element of both choice and fate in the ultimate outcome. No one can deny the fact that some people die because they choose to, and others die unexpectedly through no choice of their own. If death doesn’t occur through individual choice, fate may not be the only other alternative (e.g. a death may include an act on someone else’s behalf that has caused death). Choice Old age comes to everyone if they are fortunate enough to live that long. However, it would be naïve to assume that everyone will live to be an old age, and then die peacefully in the comfort of their own homes, after having lived a fulfilled life. The fact of the matter is that old age brings various changes with it. Some people, who get to the point where they can no longer continue to live in their own homes, find themselves either through choice or necessity, having to move to residential or nursing homes within the care sector. Learned Helplessness Theory, specifically the work of Martin E.P. Seligman (1995, Oxford University Press) suggests that when an individual believes that outcomes are independent of their actions, they eventually give up (which is a basis for the fact that many people in such institutions inwardly and externally change). It may even be appropriate to consider the fact that when older people have experienced life in residential type units, they may feel that they are on the verge of losing their individuality and capacity for self-direction. No matter what people do or however they act, their lives may still be determined by the routines and demands of the institution. Although not only limited to older people, this supports the fact that in certain circumstances people may choose that life is no longer worth living based on the fact they hold no control. Finally, if the act of suicide is considered, and it is more common in certain groups (including young men, Asian women and older people), it would appear that those who commit suicide are very much in control of the circumstances of their death (National Strategy for Suicide Prevention). Fate Religious/spiritual people may well believe that there is something/someone outside of their control that determines when it is their time to die. This standpoint has been considered for a number of years, and the basis on it is that ‘when it’s your time, it’s your time’.

When considering fate, however, how reasonable is it to consider for instance that the murder of another human being was meant to happen? Some may even consider the fact that this act is taken out of the hands of fate. The answer however is quite unclear, as by a life being taken, no one will ever know how long that person would have actually lived. Maybe it was their time, maybe it wasn’t. Although there is no way of proving or disproving whether death occurs through choice or fate, it does seem that there are other possibilities that have been overlooked. These would include luck, lifestyle, and, as discussed above, the actions of others. Ultimately, however, with there being no real way of proving or disproving this notion, the question seems to remain unanswered.

-http://psychology.suite101.com/article.cfm/is_death_a_choice_or_fate

How Religion Increases Depression in Teens Going to Church Affects an Adolescent’s Mood and Behaviors By Laurie Pawlik-Kienlen

Though religion often offers a source of social support and a sense of belonging, new research from Ohio State University (OSU) shows that certain adolescents and females struggle with increased rates of depression if they attend frequent religious services. How Religion Increases Depression in Teens “Most research has shown that religious participation, for the most part, is good and can be very helpful for battling depression,” said study co-author and assistant professor of sociology at Ball State University Richard Petts (a doctoral student at OSU at the time of the study). “But our research has shown that this relationship does not hold true in all instances.” White and African-American teens had fewer symptoms of depression if they attend frequent religious services. In contrast, Latino and Asian-American adolescents reported a negative mood if they were highly active in their church (which is an unusual finding in adolescent psychology). Through personal interviews, adolescents in grades 7 through 12 discussed their positive and negative feelings, such as depression, loneliness, isolation, happiness, and excitement. They also reported their race, religious preferences, and religious attendance. One year later, the same students were interviewed on the same topics; parents were also interviewed about their children’s moods and behaviors. Asian-American adolescents who never attended religious services and Latinos who attended semi-regularly were the least likely to be depressed. Latinos and AsianAmericans who attended church at the same level as whites and African-Americans were 6 to 27% more likely to report symptoms of depression. In this study of adolescent psychology, females were more likely to report symptoms of depression than males. Why Does Religion Increase Teen Depression? “Asian and Latino youth who are highly involved in a culturally distinct church may have a more difficult time balancing the beliefs of their family and their traditional culture with mainstream society,” says Petts. “Their religious institution is telling them what should be important in their lives and how to behave, and mainstream society is saying something else.” Latino teens who don’t attend religious services also report higher levels of depression, possibly because religion is an important part of social support in their culture. They feel disconnected. Sexually active females who are involved in religious activities report more depression and more emotional distress than sexually active males who are equally involved in religion. After completing this study of adolescent psychology, Petts suggested that moderate church attendance may provide the benefits of social support, without the added stress of balancing religious values with the mores of mainstream culture. -http://behaviouralpsychology.suite101.com/article.cfm/how_religion_increases_depression_in_teens