This week, February 26 through March 3, is National Eating Disorders Awareness Week. It's about bringing public attention to eating disorders and the prominent impact they have in our society. Because eating disorders are often accompanied by isolation and shame, the seriousness of these life-threatening illnesses regularly goes unnoticed. This year’s theme for NEDAwareness Week is "Everybody Knows Somebody." With up to 70 million people affected worldwide by eating disorders, the theme is very relevant to the prevalence of eating disorders in our society.

On Saturday, March 3rd, along with others from the TWLOHA team, I will be taking part in a NEDA Walk, coordinated by the Eating Disorders Network of Central Florida. Everyone who attends will be walking for a different reason, and for me, my reason hits extremely close to home.

I will be walking for myself. For all of my friends I have met in treatment. For everyone who has struggled, is struggling, or will struggle with an eating disorder.

Life with an eating disorder has not been easy. It has been a long and winding road full of obstacles, speed bumps, and brief times of clear sailing. I have spent countless hours sitting across from dozens of counselors and doctors, discussing life as it is in the moment. I have lived under the abusive control of my eating disorder. I have known the sweet taste of recovery. More often than not, I have experienced the bittersweet reality of living on the fence of ambivalence.

Sometimes I think I should be farther along in my progress. But these unrealistic expectations and “shoulds” often set me back more than help me move forward. All that is to say that I am right where I am supposed to be; right here, right now. While even this is often easier said than done, the important thing to remember is that it can be done. And with constant persistence and support, it will be done.

So I will continue to fight.

I will eat my next meal. I will turn to my list of healthy coping skills to get through the challenging times and difficult thoughts. And I will lean on my friends and family for love and support. Whether I believe it or not in the moment, I will at least acknowledge and hear them when they remind me that I am Nichole. I am not my eating disorder. I am important, and I have a story worth living and sharing.

And so do you. You are the sum of your successes, failures, pain, joy, past, present, and future -- not just one of these things, but all of them added together. They are what make you special and unique. They are what make you you.

Whether or not you can relate to what it is like to struggle with an eating disorder, I encourage you to treat yourself with at least one form of self-care today. Set aside twenty minutes to journal. Go for a walk to clear your mind. Listen to music. Play a video game with a friend. Learn something new. Self-care is vital, yet it is often pushed aside. But making time for it is worth it. This battle is worth fighting. Your life is worth living.

Being part of the NEDA Walk this Saturday is my way of continuing to take steps forward in my recovery and living life one moment at a time.

What steps will you choose to take?

With Hope,
Nichole

Comments (61) | Posted in General by Nichole Engel

Before we update you on our MOVE Conferences, I thought it would be good to give you a bit of information about what they are first, for long-time supporters who may need a refresher and new supporters who've never heard of them.  

MOVE Community Conference is a two-day, in-depth, engaging workshop that exists to begin a conversation about issues often left in the dark.  It is our way of equipping and educating communities about the topics we address at TWLOHA:  depression, addiction, self-injury, and suicide, and also the role a trusted community plays on the path of recovery.  

Our aim is to battle stigma and shame with honesty and compassion.  MOVE is for people who are looking for a way to engage others in conversations about topics we believe matter very much.  MOVE is for students, mentors, parents, friends, pastors, professionals, and for everyone in-between.  This conferences stems from the idea that uniting our resources helps take people from places of pain to places of hope and healing.  In a discussion led by professional counselors, we explore what is behind these struggles, what drives them, what recovery looks like, and how we can make a difference.

We hope to meet you at a MOVE Conference and are excited to share two conference dates to finish out 2011.  Whether you want to attend a conference to become more knowledgeable about the issues we talk about there, to use this info to help a friend or a loved one, or to meet the necessary requirement to start a UChapter on your campus, we're grateful you're considering MOVE this December.  Our conference dates and locations are:

- MOVE St. Augustine - December 2-3, 2011 in St. Augustine, FL
- MOVE Chicago - December 9-10, 2011 in Chicago, IL

We understand that attending a MOVE Conference is a requirement in creating a TWLOHA UChapter on a college or university campus. We are still determining the best way for this training to take place, but regardless of whether this training is offered at the conference itself or held at a later date in a different format, such as online, attendance at a MOVE Conference by the prospective UChapter leader is still necessary in order to apply to become an official UChapter on your campus.

Finally, we have one last important piece of information for you to consider. Several changes have taken place on our MOVE team over the last few months and will continue to take place into next year. Because of this, MOVE St. Augustine and MOVE Chicago will be the only conferences held until next summer at the earliest, if not the fall of 2012. We know that there is a large interest in MOVE, as well as UChapters, so if any of you are weighing the options of attending one of the conferences in December, please know that these are your only options to do so for the next several months.

Deadlines to apply are:

- MOVE St. Augustine - November 21, 2011
- MOVE Chicago - November 28, 2011

For more information about MOVE Community Conferences, please visit our webpage here. Further inquiries, as well as requests for applications to attend MOVE, can be sent to move@twloha.com.

As always, we truly appreciate your continued interest in joining us in conversation at MOVE. We hope this update answers some of your questions, and we look forward to seeing you in St. Augustine and Chicago in December!

With Hope,
Nichole

Comments (0) | Posted in General by Nichole Engel