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Eating Disorder Awareness Month and Love Your Body Week 2013

The New Dawn Outreach Team was privileged to speak locally with several high schools, Sierra Community College, UC Davis and Sacramento State University. Talking about eating disorders can make people uncomfortable. Let’s face it; it’s not a fun topic! But at one time or another you might need to know what to look for. Aimed at reaching young teens, our outreach team integrates YouTube videos and games like “Have you Ever?” to normalize our everyday insecurities centered around body image and then delve into the mental health components that characterize eating disorders. A teacher from Bella Vista High School said, “This is the best presentation I’ve had in my class. It complements our curriculum so well, and gives great insight using mediums that the students already use.”

At the collegiate level, New Dawn integrated technology and put it in the hands of the students as they learn to take control of social media and spread a healthy voice for positive body image. 30 students at Sacramento State participated in text message polls, YouTube posting competitions and real-time tweets. The overwhelming positive response and participation tells us that we are meeting the needs of our local college students.

We are happy to bring this revolutionary presentation to our community and see it spark the interest of students.

 

Courtney Kent, Director of Marketing and Outreach

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Stepping Towards Life: Step One

Today as I read the big book and look back on the twelve traditions and what they have contributed to healing addictions, I feel overwhelmed by the wisdom contained within the 12 steps. Today I find myself thinking about Step One:

“We admitted we were powerless over alcohol—that our lives had become unmanageable.”

Admitting powerlessness over our drug(s) of choice is where recovery begins. Not everyone finds recovery through AA/NA or the twelve steps, but I have come to realize that any true recovery starts in admitting powerlessness over addiction.

For those of us living in recovery and those of us contemplating recovery…What separates us is that those living in recovery have GIVEN UP.

What have we given up?

Denial

The Illusion of Control

Dishonesty with ourselves and others

Old strategies to fix and change our problems

We give up our denial, control, dishonesty, and old strategies because they don’t work.

We hit bottom. That means we finally get to the place where our pain outweighs the temporary relief we get from our drinking, drugging, and compulsive behaviors.

We acknowledge we are stuck and are not moving forward in life. We admit that what we’ve been doing to survive and cope isn’t working any more.

Most of all, we admit our addictions are actually controlling us. And when we can admit that, we are ready to ask for help.

Today I encourage you to join the millions who have given up, so that they could get their lives back. If you or your loved one is caught in the grip of addiction, please call us at New Dawn. Change is scary, but you don’t have to do this alone.  We are here to help you build a recovery plan that addresses every area of your life. We are here to help you nurture and be nurtured in a recovery community. We believe recovery is about recovering you. We believe recovery is about re-connecting to your Self and to Others.

 

Abigail Lockett, MA, RAS

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Making the First Call: A letter from the Intake Coordinator

 “A journey of a thousand miles begins with one step.” Lao Tzu lived over 2000 years ago, but his quote still rings true today for anyone facing a journey ahead.  The simple and profound wisdom of this saying prompted me to add it to my email signature the first week I became an Intake Coordinator. Many of us hold back from making that first step towards our dreams, goals, or recovery. The road seems so long ahead. It is hard to think of where and how to start and we may keep hesitating until we never make that first step at all. This is not a modern phenomenon; human beings have been dealing with the difficulty of that first step towards a long and hard journey for millennia and I hear it every day since I am the person waiting at that first step to greet you.

Initiating change can be one of the most difficult points in the recovery process. It takes an unbelievable amount of courage to pick up the phone and call into a treatment center to inquire about services. Maybe you have never been in treatment before and do not know what to expect. Maybe this call will be the first time you have ever spoken to anyone about your eating disorder. It can be very scary to pick up the phone to call if you don’t know what to expect. These fears and countless other justifications can bounce around in our minds preventing us from taking that necessary and life saving first step on our journey.

As the Intake Coordinator for our San Francisco and Sausalito Eating Disorder programs, I am the person you talk to when you brave that first step toward recovery.  My role is to support you during this initial stage in your journey and help you find what services truly meet your needs so you can keep moving forward. Moving forward could mean talking about your story and history for the first time, it could mean setting up an intake assessment so you can admit into one of our programs or it could just involve obtaining referrals to a more appropriate program or service outside of New Dawn.

If I could reach out to all of you who are delaying your first call to inquire about treatment, even if you feel that you are not ready for treatment now, I would ask you to call anyway. You do not have to be set on admitting into our program, you do not need to complete an intake assessment or even give us your complete name and history if you are not ready. Our first call will always be centered on exploring what would be best for you and we always seek to give out as much guidance, support and encouragement as humanly possible so you can keep going towards getting the help that you need. The most important thing is that you made that first step.

Sometimes, it is nice to call and talk to an Intake Coordinator and just have someone listen; we also consider that as a “first step” toward recovery. We want to help in any way we can, so if you or a loved one is waiting, I say begin today, call us and give us a chance to help and support you. You never know how we can help unless you give us a chance. You do not have to go through this process alone, I will be right there with you to help you from your first call to your admission into our program.

Hope to talk to you soon,

Danielle Aubin, Intake Coordinator

 

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Self Care During the Holidays

“After eating way too much Turkey and pumpkin pie at Thanksgiving, I would really like to hibernate for a week. Instead my anxiety is kicking in, and I’m starting to worry about Christmas! Only a month away, I still have meal planning to think about, gifts to purchase, and parties to attend. And my recovery hangs in the balance.”

“Christmas and New Years aren’t the same since I quit drinking. Alcohol helped me numb social anxiety and painful family memories and interactions. Not to mention how drinking helped numb the stress of hostessing and cooking for large numbers of people. And then there were the after holiday shots for the self loathing and anxiety about gaining weight from out-of-control eating.”

Does this sound familiar? While the holidays are meant to be a time of celebration, connection, and relaxation, for many of us the holidays can be a huge trigger for substance abuse addictions, eating disorders, and other compulsive behaviors.

How can we keep our addictions from pulling us under during the holiday season?

Take Charge of Your Holiday Experience

We must remember that our rules for living in recovery still apply during the whirlwind of the holiday season. Just because lots of people you know are running to and fro, and feel compelled to cook, buy lots of stuff, and attend parties doesn’t mean you must be pulled along with them. Instead you can follow some basic self-care principles that will protect your recovery.

Five Rules for Holiday Self Care:

1.    Acknowledge Your Feelings

2.    Acknowledge Your Needs

3.    Don’t attend parties where there will be drinking and drugging (There is a way to compromise when family members drink, but KNOW where your boundaries are!!!)

4.    Give yourself permission to create new rituals around the holidays that support your recovery

5.    Slow down, breathe, and create space for peace and relaxation

For me, this means I don’t host family dinners any more. The stress was a huge trigger for me. When I know there will be drinking at a Christmas Dinner, I stay home with my husband and cook a delicious meal for the two of us, watch Christmas movies, and then show up for a couple of hours at the end of the family party. This minimizes my stress and exposure to drinking and tempting foods.  Not only that, but I have been able to create beautiful and meaningful rituals of my own.

Do something different this year.

Give yourself the most satisfying gift of all:—Permission to Meet Your Needs.

Abigail Lockett, MA, RAS

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