Self Diagnosis Checklist for Eating Disorder
Adopted from The Eating Disorders Collaborative.
- Do you feel guilt and remorse about your eating/ not eating?
- Are you terrified about being overweight?
- Has anyone ever told you that you have a problem with food/ weight/ body-image?
- Does the scale tell you how you feel about yourself?
- Do you feel that food or thinking about food/ body size controls your life?
- Do you have a history of dieting?
- Do you avoid eating when you are hungry or continue to eat when you are full?
If you answer yes to 4 or more there is a strong possibility that you suffer from an eating disorder. If you or someone you know has disordered eating or body image please call for an assessment: Ondina Nandine Hatvany, MFT (415) 381-1065
Freedom
It is possible to...
- Be free from your obsession with food and weight.
- Put an end to body hatred and dieting.
- Break out of "the shame trap" and have an identity/self esteem that is not based on your weight.
- Think and talk about your problems rather than eat/starve yourself about them.
- Reclaim your body and appetite for life!
"When women begin to internalize permission to feed themselves as an act of affirmative self love, they rarely experience themselves as out-of-control or in thrall to their food." - Marion Woodman
Food / Body Image Concerns
Do you obsess that if you only had the perfect weight, your life would work out?
So many people through dieting and body hatred have become blocked in their connection to themselves. The body instead of being our 'home' becomes the battleground. What we don't realize is that in trying to control the body and suppress her appetites we also numb our capacity to feel pleasure and savor life's abundance and flow. We count the calories, hate ourselves for slipping up and resolve to try harder. But what we are really doing is boxing in our life force through self denial and self denigration. Then we wonder why we feel so stuck and unhappy.
I am a licensed psychotherapist and the Director of the Eating Disorders Program at the Community Institute of Psychotherapy in San Rafael with extensive experience in working with eating disorders and body image struggles. I offer a non-diet approach to untangle the physical, emotional, and spiritual components of your struggle with food and weight.
What does your obsession with food and weight do for you? Every problem serves a purpose; otherwise it would not persist. Maybe being obsessed with food or your weight numbs you from other more painful feelings or maybe it provides a predictable routine or anchor in an otherwise unstable world. We can explore more life-affirming ways to accomplish these same things for yourself.
I assist people to come home to their bodies and reconnect to their appetite for life. Change does not happen by force, deprivation, guilt or punishment. Change happens with understanding and compassion. Healing a food and weight obsession can be a potential doorway to self-empowerment and a more fulfilling life.
I offer confidential individual and couples therapy at reasonable rates (sliding scale available,) in Mill Valley and San Francisco.
I also run groups for women struggling with body image and/or eating disorders in Mill Valley.
- EMDR Trained
- Evening appointments available
- Blue Cross and most insurance companies accepted
- GLBTQ (Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer) friendly
- Couple (traditional, alternative and queer) therapy offered
Call for more information, or to schedule an initial session: (415) 381-1065 or email at ondinah@gmail.com
Recommended Books
Dr. Judith Rodin. Body Traps: Breaking the binds that keep you from feeling good about your body. 1992. William Morrow & Co., Inc., New York.
This book has useful self-help excercises for dealing with limiting "Body Traps". Some of
the exercises include "The Shame Trap", "The Success Trap" and "The Competition Trap".
The focus is on feeling attractive whatever size you are.
Anita Johnston, PhD. Eating in the Light of the Moon. 1996
How women can transform their relationship with food through myths, metaphors and storytelling.
Geneen Roth. When Food is Love. 1991. Penguin Books, New York.
A very readable and engaging book about a compulsive eater's struggle with intimacy and food. She describes her healing journey through the childhood hurts and her issues around food and weight to true intimacy.
Marion Woodman. Addiction to Perfection. The Still Unravished Bride.
1982. Inner City Books, Toronto, Canada
A Jungian approach that looks at the mother/daughter relationship and the repressed feminine. Marion explores how the addiction to perfection alienates women from their ability to nurture themselves. Finally, she explores the body/spirit connection and how food rituals replace the authentic need for spiritual ritual.
Fat?So! by Marilyn Wann 1998. Ten Speed Press.
Because you don't have to apologize for your size! This is a wonderful fresh approach to reclaim your body and live healthy at any size. Check out her website too: www.Fat?So!.com.
Useful Websites
www.SpiralWomensHealth.com
Ondina is a member of this network of female health and wellness practitioners in Marin. Spiral provides a skilled and compassionate team approach to help women achieve optimum health and well being through a combination of traditional and alternative treatments.
www.bodypositive.com
This body image site is for women of all sizes and encourages a 'Health At Every Size Approach'. Monthly articles, forums, body image exercises, fitness ideas for large women and activism ideas.
www.phcd.org
Eating Disorders Outreach has created an informative video about teens and eating disorders called 'It's not about food.' It can be viewed online at this site.
www.anad.org
A helpful, general information site for Anorexia and all the eating disorders. Includes a free hotline, and information on support groups and how to start one.
www.bulimia.com
A useful general information site for Bulimia and other eating disorders. Includes an excellent list of books, articles, and treatment center information.
www.overcomingovereating.com
An anti-diet approach to dealing with "bad body thoughts" and compulsive eating by Jane R. Hirschman and Carol Munter; authors of 'When Women Stop Hating Their Bodies'.
www.geneenroth.com
An anti-diet approach for compulsive eaters and bulimics. Geneen Roth, (Author of 'When Food is Love') encourages a body-mind-heart approach that is about getting people back in their bodies, developing mindfulness and experiencing pleasure.
www.poppink.com
Support, inspiration, education, (including recovery issue articles and online self-help)
and treatment opportunities for people with eating disorders and those who love them.