Following Jewish Dietary Law in Recovery
This week, during Shabbat morning worship, Jews around the world will read the foundational laws of kashrut (Jewish dietary law) from the Torah. These laws are extensive and specific because they describe the species of land, air, and sea animals that are kosher. In the thousands of years since this first iteration of kashrut, Jewish […]
A Letter to My Teenage Self: What I Wish I Knew About Loving My Body
Dear Teenage Jessica, Look in the mirror. No, really look. Now, say “I love you.” You don’t necessarily have to mean it, but say it out loud. Do you see that curl in your hair? Run your hand through it. You won’t always have that funky, curly hair. Love it when people comment on how […]
How Weight Lifting Helped Me Recover
Once upon a time… Well, this is no fairytale. I want to start at the end and work my way back, like one of those flashback episodes of a TV crime drama. So here goes, my name is Kymberly. Currently, I live in NYC and am working on building a career out of my everything […]
Top 5 Myths about Atypical Anorexia
1. People with atypical anorexia are a normal body size, or juuuuust over the weight limit for an anorexia diagnosis. To tackle this myth, we have to start with an understanding of fat phobia and thin privilege. The eating disorder treatment and recovery field exists in a world riddled with weight discrimination. A significant amount […]
Equine-Assisted Therapy and Implications for Treatment of Eating Disorders
Equine-assisted therapy has been an emerging form of psychotherapy in recent decades. While research has demonstrated its efficacy in treating mental health diagnoses such as PTSD, autism, and mood disorders, research regarding equine-assisted therapy and eating disorders is lacking. As a therapist using the Equine-Assisted Growth and Learning Association (EAGALA) model of equine-assisted psychotherapy (EAP), […]
Bringing NEDAwareness Week 2019 to a Close
As National Eating Disorders Awareness Week (NEDAwareness Week) comes to a close, I reflect on how the 2019 theme, Come as You Are, highlights NEDA’s movement towards inclusivity in the greater eating disorders (ED) community, and the goal of unifying the ED field. In particular, Come as You Are sends a message to individuals at […]
Recovering Abundantly in a One-Size-Fits-All World
When I began my recovery journey from an eating disorder 13 years ago, I had a certain set of expectations about how the recovery process would go. Healthcare professionals told me to expect several things. They reassured me that as I learned to eat a broader variety of foods that my anxiety around eating would […]
How I Show Up for Myself on Social Media
What does it mean to “Come as You Are?” It means to show up regardless of where you’re at in life or how you’re doing. It means to be authentic and to share your true self with the world. This is sometimes super scary. Or it’s vulnerable. It takes work to share our true selves […]
Is Weight Loss Ever the Right Prescription for BED?
Recovery from binge eating disorder (BED) is a long haul. The ride is bumpy, frightening, rewarding, and ultimately incomplete, just like all human healing. As a psychotherapist, I have treated BED for over 30 years. I have worked with literally thousands of people who have tried to understand their binge behaviors, and to find some […]
ED Recovery in a System Not Designed by Fat, Queer, Transgender People
This week, during National Eating Disorders Awareness Week, I have contemplated a lot about my eating disorder and recovery. I had the honor and pleasure of speaking to more than 450 people over three days and at three public Iowa universities. Many discussions about access to treatment and recovery from eating disorders occurred during this […]
