Friday, December 25, 2009

Bulimia Support Groups

Los Gatos, CA: Free Support Group – Body Image & Eating Disorders. Are you unhappy with your body? Do you compulsively exercise? Do you think about food day & night? Do you eat when you’re not hungry? What is binge eating & binge fasting? Come join the South Bay’s first support group and get control of your body image and fear about eating. You are not alone and this confidential support group will help make a difference. Partners, spouses and family members are also welcome. You are welcome to attend either or both monthly meetings. Meetings: 1st Wednesday 6 – 7:30pm & 3rd Sunday 5 – 6:30pm of every month. Mission Oaks Campus - PlaneTree Health Library. 15891 Los Gatos-Almaden Blvd., Los Gatos 95032 For information contact us atJanice@edrcsv.org or (408) 559-5593, or visit our website at http://www.edrcsv.org/. Hosted by Eating Disorders Resource Center in association with ANAD – National Association of Anorexia Nervosa & Associated Disorders.


Los Altos, CA: This women's support group meets Mondays at 12:30pm. Location: Immanuel Lutheran Church, 1715 Grant Road, in Fireside Room. Call Barbara at 650-964-5252 for directions and information.

Mountain View, CA: Free support group and information session for family members and loved ones of individuals suffering from eating disorders. Please feel free to join us throughout the healing process and to forward this along to anyone who you feel may benefit. Where: El Camino Hospital. Meeting Room “DE” (on ground floor), 2500 Grant Road, Mountain View, CA 94040. When: Every 4th Saturday of the month. 9:30am – 11:00am. For further information on this support group or any other EDRC services, call 408-559-5593 or katie@edrcsv.org.

San Jose, CA Mondays @6:00PM (D, co-ed) at Dr. Liza Schiff's office: 2101 Forest Ave, Suite 116, San Jose, CA 95128. (A two-story building next toO'Connor Hospital) Call 408-971-8080 for directions.


San Mateo
Support Group Name: Bowling for Bulimia
Contact Name: Matt Keck
Phone: 650-455-9242
Email: matt@adaptpsych.com
Website: http://www.bowlingforbulimia.com/
Meeting Location: San Mateo, CA
1941 o' Farrell St.
San Mateo, CA 94403


Group Information
* Group meets Tuesday evening from 6-7:30 PM in San Mateo
* The group requires an RSVP
* The group requires a 4 session initial commitment
* Group is limited to 8 participants
* Group is open to anyone struggling with an Eating Disorder of any kind

Wednesday, December 23, 2009

Motivation and Morita Therapy

  • Morita Therapy by Shoma Morita, a Japanese psychiatrist: Zen Buddhism - Feelings are natural responses to life circumstances. One should accept one's internal experiences without question. The attention to one's internal experiences is what actually causes suffering.
  • Instead of trying to change thoughts and feelings or get rid of them, one should learn to accept them and learn to coexist with them.
  • Accept your automatic thoughts and feelings are not within your controls, then act for a purpose. And the purpose (of DBT) is to create a life worth being present in.
  • You don't need to act on those competing thoughts because you are acting for your purpose.

The Pros and Cons of Bulimia


  • People with Bulimia - swinging painfully back and forth between extremes: a serious problem in one moment, and later conclude things are perfectly fine.
  • Pros of using bulimic behaviors - short terms: escape feelings, avoidance, numbness, disconnect from feelings, stop thinking about your problems and stressors temporarily.
  • Bulimia often is used as a method of checking out or disconnecting from emotional dysregulation.
  • Pros of NOT using bulimic behavior - long terms: be more present in life and relationship, healthy body and mind, guilt free
  • DBT is to create a life worth being present in.

Monday, December 21, 2009

Binge Eating


  • Bingeing functioned to help managing painful feelings --- anxious, depressed, stressed out, lonely. The binge itself leads to more emotional pains.
  • When one starts binges, one immediately get distracted from one's emotions and felt relief. Not too long afterward, the binge leads one to feel embarrassed and angry again.
  • Bingeing does not help to solve the original problem that leads one to feel bad in the first place.
  • Bingeing only solves problem in short runs, tending to make things worse in long run.

Tuesday, December 15, 2009

"I" and "You" Language

"I"Language
  • Accepting responsibility - take responsibility of the complaint by describing the speaker's reaction to the listener's behavior without making judgement.
  • Responsibility is not self-blame
  • 4 components: Feeling, Behavior, interpretation, consequence
  • You own the feeling as yours ("You bet I'm mad at you!") instead of distorting in into an attack ("That was a stupid thing to do!").
  • Improve chances for success - Even with "I" Language, the other person might be so defensive or uncooperative that nothing you say will make matters better.
  • "I" Language sounds artificial - it's just part of the 4 stages of learning (Awareness, Awkward, Consciously Skilled, Integrated). Start small: use it in writing, with receptive people, on relatively minor issue.
"You" Language
  • Judgmental - speaker is qualified to judge the target. Most of the listeners are not willing to accept.
  • Arouse defensiveness
Skill Builder
  1. "You are not telling me the truth!"
  2. "You think only of yourself!"
  3. "Don't be so touchy!"
  4. "Quit fooling around!"
  5. "You don't understand a word I'm saying!"
  6. "You do not keep your promise again."
  7. "You are a chicken!"