What does addiction look like?

July 20, 2017 by Christina Santini in Addictions, Anorexia, Anxiety, Binge Eating, Body Image, Bulimia, Depression, Eating Disorders, Emotional Management, Transformation Keys

Sometimes we think that addiction is the stereotype presented to us in movies. We see the husband that suddenly goes bankrupt and his beautiful wife leaves him. So he is left in the gutter with stubbles and a bottle of Jack. We also see the drug addict as the person with one too many tattoos, portrayed as scarily gaunt, getting their money from shady business and spending their weekends at raves. These stereotypes are not what addiction usually looks like. Many addicts are high-functioning. Addiction is incredibly common amongst CEOs and people who need to keep up the pace of a life that is based on money, power and relentless ambition. Someone who is high-functioning will still have a job, maintain relationships and have their money matters in order. The high-functioning addict will appear to have their life together.

When the fat girl gets skinny.

June 21, 2017 by Christina Santini in Binge Eating, Anorexia, Body Image, Bulimia, Eating Disorders, Self-Worth

"If you develop an eating disorder when you are skinny to begin with, you go to the hospital. If you develop an eating disorder when you are not skinny to begin with, you are a success story."How low have our standards of success gotten? So low that means of self-destruction are celebrated. It is sad that we accept this type of imprisonment, but fact is - we are the only ones who can stop allowing it to happen.

4 Surprising Celebrities That Struggled Addiction

May 24, 2017 by Christina Santini in Addictions, Anorexia, Binge Eating, Bulimia, Depression, Transformation Keys

Addiction has become epidemic - it knows no face, race or gender. And no one is too rich, too smart or too good-looking to escape its claws. Read on to find out which 4 surprising celebs struggled and overcame addiction.

Why do more women than men have eating disorders?

May 18, 2017 by Christina Santini in Binge Eating, Biochemistry Balancing, Anorexia, Eating Disorders

Well, that's actually a very simple question to answer. And no, it is not society, it's not skinny models or social pressure. And then again - those things can all be the trigger that offsets the gun aka the underlying disposition. Still, if you are not biochemically wired to be vulnerable to using and abusing food and starvation, you will never turn to food as your method of coping with life. You might instead turn to dopamine enhancing behaviors - i.e. certain drugs, smoking (both serotonin and dopamine inducing), excessive shopping, sex addiction or even kleptomania. Women actually have only 52% serotonin of that of men. This means women are super vulnerable to anything that depletes serotonin - we don't have a buffer, so to say. Serotonin is easily to influence through food and starvation.

Insatiable.

March 23, 2017 by Christina Santini in Addictions, Anorexia, Binge Eating, Bulimia, Eating Disorders, Emotional Management, Transformation Keys

"I am afraid of my own desire. That I am insatiable," she said. "There is a part of me that is always hungry. And I feel I must keep it hidden, so that it does not unleash all of a sudden". This quote is taken from a client suffering from Anorexia. I think quite a few of us can relate to being scared of showing our needs.

Changing lanes.

March 08, 2017 by Christina Santini in Addictions, Anorexia, Binge Eating, Bulimia, Body Image, Depression, Eating Disorders, Self-Worth, Transformation Keys

We tend to shape our future by constantly looking in rear mirror. This, essentially means that our past keeps running on repeat - just in different shapes and forms. When we are battling any type of addiction, we will want to understand a couple things in order to prevent dabbling between different self-destructive patterns.

Eating Disorders have the highest mortality of any mental disorder.

February 01, 2017 by Christina Santini in Anorexia, Binge Eating, Eating Disorders, Bulimia

A study by the National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders (ANAD) reported the following eating disorder statistics: 5-10% of anorexics die within 10 years after contracting the disease and 18-20% of anorexics will be dead after 20 years. 20-50% of people with anorexia will develop bulimia over time, according to a meta-analysis of studies in mortality and eating disorders.

The biology of starvation

January 11, 2017 by Christina Santini in Anorexia, Binge Eating, Biochemistry Balancing, Eating Disorders

The Minnesota experiment that was led by Ancel Keys, focused on how hunger and starvation affect humans. It is pretty interesting and worth a read to fully understand why humans tend to gain back more weight when they diet excessively. Many in the study reported eating excessively after they left Minnesota; Jasper Garner described it as a “year-long cavity” that needed to be filled.

Is it killing you or making you stronger?

November 30, 2016 by Christina Santini in Addictions, Anorexia, Binge Eating, Body Image, Depression, Eating Disorders, Emotional Management, Transformation Keys

Humans is the only specie that will engage in activities to actively self-destruct in attempt to be more lovable. The gap between who we are and who we want to be, is what motivates most of us to grow. Some of us choose methods that change us by killing us - physically, emotionally and spiritually.

Why Anorexics feel better starving themselves.

September 21, 2016 by Christina Santini in Biochemistry Balancing, Eating Disorders, Anorexia

People with anorexia nervosa (AN) enter a vicious cycle, whereby malnutrition and weight loss drive the desire for further restricted eating and emaciation. Evidence suggests that, compared with healthy individuals: individuals who are vulnerable to developing an eating disorder might have a trait [prior to eating disorder onset] for increased extracellular serotonin (5‑HT) concentrations and [a different ratio] in postsynaptic 5‑HT 1A and 5‑HT 2A receptor activity”. These two changes, together “might contribute to increased satiety and an anxious, harm‑avoidant temperament. In other words, the biological drive for anorexia is related to an elevation of serotonin. So what is the best meal program for someone disposed to elevated serotonin?