This past weekend I was blessed with the opportunity to represent TK at the first New England University Eating Disorders Awareness walk at Boston University. And to boot, I had the gift of bringing my step son along. Some of you have seen him with me at the Chicago NEDA walks…never too early to get … Read More
May is an extraordinary month. We celebrate Mother’s Day and in many parts of our country, April showers bring May flowers. For the past 65 years, May has also been National Mental Health Awareness Month. The intent of this awareness month is to increase understanding of mental health issues and how profoundly they affect those … Read More
International No Diet Day is celebrated each year by those who recognize the absurdity, futility and dangers of diets. At Timberline Knolls, we applaud those who created this day. Diets exist for one reason and one reason only: to make money. This is a multi-billion dollar industry. Although diets are supposedly equal opportunity in nature, … Read More
One important characteristic of alcohol is its sheer liquid volume. An individual could not walk into a concert with a bottle of vodka; a flask maybe, but not an enormous bottle. Further, given the volume, there are physical limits to how much a person can consume in any given time frame. Therefore, the level of … Read More
“It will kill people as soon as it’s released.” This statement was made last fall by Dr. Andrew Kolodny, president of the advocacy group Physicians for Responsible Opioid Prescribing. It appeared in a letter to the Food and Drug Administration written by a coalition of more than 40 health care, consumer and addiction treatment groups. … Read More
Many years ago, bipolar disorder was a condition that was misunderstood and undoubtedly went undiagnosed. Those who suffered with this illness were probably thought to be insane, or even worse, possessed by demons. Fortunately, science and medicine have come a long way and today we not only understand it, but are able to treat it … Read More
The CDC reported that 38,000 people died in the U.S. by suicide. It now surpasses motor vehicle accidents as a cause of death and is listed as 10th most common cause of all deaths in our country. It probably ranks 1st for the most stigmatized and least talked about form of death in our country. As a … Read More
People who struggle with addictions, eating disorders, or mood disorders have finely-tuned methods of dealing with emotions by using substances, eating disorder behaviors, or engaging in self harm or other ineffective coping skills; each of these methods keep emotions stuffed inside. And, unfortunately, when not used as intended, Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) Distress Tolerance skills … Read More
“I Had No Idea” was the theme of this year’s National Eating Disorders Awareness Week. We had a whole program of events on campus in honor of the week and all of the brave women suffering from, recovering from, and thriving beyond their eating disorders, as well as those who love and support them. The … Read More
Growing up, my family life was wrought with negative experiences common to many other children of alcoholics. Despite the difficult times and life traumas, I have very fond memories of watching the Olympics as a family. I’m grateful to have carried that tradition to my current family, as an adult woman in recovery. One of … Read More
