ELEMENTS OF RECOVERY

How to break food, drug and alcohol addictions, bite by bite.

Drowning.

August 17, 2017 by Christina Santini in Addictions, Depression, Eating Disorders, Emotional Management, Faith

It is a funny thing in life. Oftentimes we spend so much time in the mud, that we think we are drowning. When the only thing we need to do is to stand up. The water is rarely more than an inch and yet we lie facedown, drowning in only an inch of water and dirt. It often doesn't require much to change the path we are on, if it leads to nowhere. Yet in our mind we make it out to be quicksand. How do we save each other when we can't even master the simple task of saving ourselves? How do we experience the freedom we so long for, if we constantly choose to remain in the chains that comes with addiction? Why do we make things so complicated, when fact is, we always have the option to just stand up and walk away. Walk away from what doesn't serve us anymore. And yet, how many of us ever look up to see that there is another way than how we have been living our life in denial? Imagine if breaking the chains of addiction was as simple as standing up and walking away. And maybe it is - when we want something bad enough, we will find a way - we will make a way. Faith is the only thing that separates us.

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.

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.

Please like me.

April 13, 2017 by Christina Santini in Addictions, Emotional Management, Eating Disorders, Intimacy, Transformation Keys

One of the most freeing things in life is to be able to discover other people for what they are, without worrying about whether they like us. However, few of us are willing to like someone without there being a clear indication that the other party will like us back. That's risk-avoidance behaviour and ultimately not very satisfactory - because we hold back how we feel to avoid rejection.

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.

An ayurvedic perspective on addiction

December 21, 2016 by Christina Santini in Addictions, Digestion, Eating Disorders, Superfoods In Recovery, Sleep

Ayurveda is the Eastern philosophy of holistic health that deals with body constitutions and what we should eat to thrive according to our body constitution and what imbalances we might be experiencing at the moment. When it comes to addiction, we are dealing with two core issues: too much fire aka pitta and too much vata aka air element. When these elements get out of balance, we need more grounding aka the earth element.

How do we manage anxiety?

December 07, 2016 by Christina Santini in Binge Eating, Addictions, Depression, Eating Disorders, Emotional Management, Transformation Keys

In the Noonday Demon Andrew Soloman writes, " Depression is a response to past loss, anxiety is a response to future loss". However, the two states often feel similar. This is because anxiety and depression share a single set of genes. This set of genes lies close to the genes involved in alcoholism and certain eating disorders.

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.

Where President-elect Donald Trumps stands on 6 health care issues

November 16, 2016 by Christina Santini in Addictions, Eating Disorders

Health care didn't take up the majority of the debates during the election. Let's be frank here - it was a sandbox - mainly due to an extreme unbiased media coverage. However, how Trump stands on 6 health care issues will be of utmost importance for many of us. Interestingly enough, Trump has voiced concern that he wants to deal with bettering treatment for those struggling with addiction - the lost voices in society. A number of issues have garnered media attention, including the future of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), rising prescription drug costs, and the opioid epidemic.

Who would you be without your addiction?

November 09, 2016 by Christina Santini in Addictions, Depression, Eating Disorders, Emotional Management, Transformation Keys

When we are addicted to something, our true self tends to get hidden away. Only to be seen in glimpses here and there, when the cravings are not controlling us. And usually, when we are addicted to something, most of our waking time is spent on figuring out when to get our next fix, recovering from the crash after the high has worn off or dealing with the insatiable cravings. There is little space to just be. Be okay with who we are. This is super stressful. And what do we do, when we are stressed out? We reach for our addiction of choice. And on and on it goes.

Without vision for our future, we return to our past.

October 05, 2016 by Christina Santini in Addictions, Transformation Keys, Eating Disorders, Binge Eating

It is impossible to change and keep lasting change going, if you do not have a clear vision in your head of, who you want to be and what you want you daily life to look like on there other side of breaking addiction. Without vision the people perish, so it says even in The Bible. Whenever someone is stuck and feel stagnant, like they can't move, yet they may say they want to, they often don't have a clear vision on where they are heading. How are you going to get there, if you don't even know where you are going?

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?

3 tips to get through cravings

September 14, 2016 by Christina Santini in Binge Eating, Biochemistry Balancing, Addictions, Eating Disorders, Superfoods In Recovery

How do you manage the cravings in early recovery? Do you have a strategy for when those cravings hit? Do you know some easy things you can and should plan ahead to avoid those pesky cravings? Today I am giving you 3 super simple tips on how to manage cravings. Yes it is almost too simple, but they work. Always keep it simple - the important thing is just to actually do it, and not just read about it.

4 Ways To Rebuild Relationships in Recovery

August 31, 2016 by Christina Santini in Addictions, Binge Eating, Eating Disorders, Intimacy, Transformation Keys

After getting clean many expect an almost overnight change and applaud from their nearest ones as well. The road has been long and winded and often we thought we just wouldn't make it. That this life was not for us. That we didn't have what it takes to live in this skin. Every minute felt like another stabbing pain. Yes, that is how many feel that long road to finally figuring out how to live in this paper-thin skin without relying on drugs, food and alcohol.

Being over- or underweight is a symptom.

August 17, 2016 by Christina Santini in Binge Eating, Eating Disorders, Self-Worth, Transformation Keys

And every symptom brings with it a lesson. Until we learn the lesson, the symptom remains. So instead of attacking it, we need to create space to understand what it is, that we are supposed to learn from this symptom. Many of us have this idea, that any body fat is a bad thing. Body fat has an essential role for optimal health and absolutely crucial for female mental health and hormone balance. So when we talk about weight being a symptom, we are talking about a fat percentage below 21% for females or above 30%. For men it is a health concern, if it drops below 14% or rises over 25%.

What is it that I am so afraid to feel?

June 29, 2016 by Christina Santini in Addictions, Binge Eating, Body Image, Eating Disorders, Emotional Management

All the things we do, eat and take to avoid any uncomfortable emotion. How many of us are guilty of this, even without having what can be diagnosed as a full-blown addiction?