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You’re hungry, so you eat. You eat until you are full and then you stop. Sometimes, you might eat a little more than you really should. Feeling full, you might lament about the mistake you made eating so much food, wonder what you were thinking (or what you weren’t thinking) and vow not to do that again. It’s possible that you compensate. Maybe you take a pill, you change your diet the next day, or you spend extra time at the gym. This is all relatively normal. Now, take it to the extreme. You’re hungry and you start to feel paralyzed by anxiety that grows every time you get hungry. You get anxious when you’re hungry because you know there is a very real possibility that once you start eating you won’t be able to stop. You eat. Then you eat some more. You don’t stop eating until you feel so full you’re actually in pain. You don’t feel a little bit bad you ate so much. Intrusive and obsessive thoughts about what you’ve done, how horrible you are for doing it, and how you should punish yourself for it start to cloud your mind along with the euphoria of feeling so full. However, the euphoria is short lived because you are quickly consumed with overwhelming guilt which drives you to compulsive behavior. Instead of compensating in healthy ways like eating a bit healthier or going to the gym you purge. You purge because you have bulimia nervosa and this is it’s vicious cycle. Purging in bulimia nervosa can take many forms. Some people compulsively exercise, some people abuse laxatives, others induce vomiting. Researchers have tried for years to understand what compels someone with bulimia to participate in the behaviors they do. Recently, two studies in Journal of Abnormal Psychology gave some insight. A brain which has developed bulimia responds differently to triggers of stress with alterations in appetite and a disconnect in satiation. Meaning, people with bulimia have a hard time controlling their hunger and knowing when they’re full. Using MRI, one study found that the brains of people with bulimia have more reward circuitry when it comes to taste. Similar to the way an alcoholics is prone to a binge on alcohol after tasting their first drink, someone with bulimia is prone to a binge on food after their brain responds to the taste of it. As a result, people with bulimia eat beyond their capacity. Then compensate through controlling mechanisms because they feel they have been taken so out of control of their bodies.

The 12 steps of Alcoholics Anonymous were written in 1935 far ahead of our Western obsession with Eastern practices. The eleventh step of the twelve steps states “Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God as we understood Him praying only for knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry that out.” The “12&12” literature describes meditation as a “step out into the sun” where “debate has no place”. “It helps to envision our spiritual objective before we try to move toward it,” the book explains, “And let’s always remember that meditation is in reality intensely practical.”

“That’s not good,” remarks main character Ellen in the highly controversial Netflix film To The Bone, as she steps off the scale in a morning weighing session at her residential treatment program. Ellen is portrayed by Lily Collins, an actress who has been open about her own struggles with eating disorders. The “not good” she is referring to is her very low weight, which is made obvious by her skin and bone structure. Ellen’s diagnosis is anorexia nervosa. Among all mental health disorders, anorexia nervosa has the highest rate of mortality. Heavy restriction and starvation deprives the body of the nutrients it needs, causing the body to take extreme measures for survival. Eating away at fat until the body eats away at muscle and bone, it will do whatever it has to do to gain its energy back and survive. The main character develops “furring”, a condition of anorexia in which the body starts growing extra hair in order to keep itself warm. Ellen is troublingly skinny. Her anorexia nervosa has gotten extreme and at one point in the movie she is on the brink of having a feeding tube. She also passes out and turns down food when it is offered to her after. Unfortunately, to movie viewers, Ellen is the stereotype of anorexia. She is caucasian, pretty, a female, and comes from a middle to upper class family. In her treatment, there are representations of other bodies and genders with different types of eating disorders. However, as many different articles criticizing the film points out, Ellen’s character represents a small percentage of the way people with eating disorders look. They aren’t always that severe but because that level of severity is what the media chooses to portray, that’s what millions of people believe they have to look like in order to be considered “sick”. One of the most dangerous statements people unknowingly make to someone who opens up about having an eating disorder is, “You don’t look like you have an eating disorder.” If you ask  said person just what an eating disorder is supposed to look like, you would probably get a description of someone like Ellen- emaciated and “to the bone”. Not all eating disorders cause severe weight loss. Bulimia nervosa doesn’t typically contribute to weight loss. Binge eating disorder causes weight gain. Orthorexia is focused on maintaining a “healthy” body. Mild to moderate cases of anorexia might not include severe weight loss either. Part of the problem with this stigma is that the non-severe eating disorders can be hard to find treatment for, despite the chronic stress one experiences mentally as well as physically.

Why bother remembering something when the world wide web of instant information is at our fingertips? We don’t need to pay attention to minute details that don’t matter to us individually because out in the communications collective of the online people have made that information available. Anytime we need to learn something, remember something, or look something up, we no longer have to access the filing cabinets of our stored memory, but the memory files of pages on the internet. It’s called the Google Effect, the cognitive digital amnesia taking place in our minds as we become more dependent on technology to supply our knowledge and brainpower for us. Some people claim that our dependence on technology gives us the ability to be more efficient and productive. In the material world of work, productivity and efficiency are key to being able to operate at an optimized level of our humanity. Others, however, argue that our cognitive reliance on technology is hurting our human abilities by making our brains lazier and less capable. Mindful writes on the subject, explaining that the more reliant we become on technology for our cognitive functions the weaker they become- specifically the memory. Our memory is affected because we aren’t using it as often. “That’s because memories’ physical embodiment in the brain is essentially a long daisy chain of neurons,” the article explains. “The very act of retrieving a memory therefore makes it easier to recall next time around. If we succumb to LMGTFY (let me Google that for you) bait, which has become ridiculously easy with smartphones, that doesn’t happen.” As a result, we lose our sense of creativity, we find it difficult to participate in activities which might be boring or lack in stimulation, and our distractibility worsens. Overall, our mental health declines because we aren’t using our brain in the right way. For people recovering from mental illness, the smartphone is a challenging task. On the one hand, a smartphone can provide access to many apps which provide support, guidance, and connection for recovery. On the other hand, smart phones give us access to the wrong people, social media where we can waste ample amounts of time, and a new form of distraction, dopamine production, and an unproductive coping mechanism to deter us from authentically processing our emotions.

No two diagnoses of mental illness are exactly alike because no two people experiencing mental illness are exactly alike. Everyone has a different history, different genealogy, different life experiences, different brain chemistry, which contribute to their mental illness. Anxiety isn’t the same in everyone who has anxiety. While each person will have their own experience of anxiety, they will also have many similarities with others. Likewise, people with anxiety can learn similar techniques to manage their anxiety, though the specifics will be different for each person. All of the unique differences in one case of anxiety to the next is what makes it essential for each individual to learn as much as they can about their personal experience of anxiety. First, it is important to learn about anxiety as a mental illness- the way it functions in the brain, the way it affects the body, and the reason anxiety exists. Next, it is important to learn about your personal experience with anxiety. If you are seeking treatment for your anxiety disorder, you will do an extensive amount of introspection and reflection while working with your personal therapist and using therapeutic techniques for healing, like cognitive behavioral therapy. You’ll be able to identify what triggers your anxiety the most, recognize how your anxiety feels in your body, what anxiety sounds like in your head, and most importantly, you’ll discover what helps you effectively reduce your anxiety. Mindfulness based stress reduction techniques are proven to help with reducing the symptoms of anxiety. MBSR is a practice of its own. Mindfulness has also spread to other areas of therapy, like a newly created mindfulness-based cognitive behavioral therapy. The practice of mindfulness is neither new nor novel. Mindfulness has been practiced for a very long time by ancient cultures and religions. However, the core of mindfulness practice is non theistic, meaning mindfulness itself is a practice without a higher power. The power of mindfulness lies in the power of noticing. Most people are unaware of how little they notice during the day. Mindfulness is rooted in developing awareness in order to pay attention and notice more about the world. Becoming present with immediate surroundings and realistic thoughts helps disengage the intrusive, future thinking thoughts of anxiety, thereby reducing the stress.

To be mindful is to be “conscious or aware of something”. How often are you totally conscious- aware of and responding to your environment- of what you’re eating? Do you really taste your food when you eat it? Take time to appreciate it? Know how much you’re eating? Really discern whether you are full or not, eating for hunger or not? Too often we tell ourselves we’ll only have one slice of pizza and eat half the pie. We go beyond our self-set limits because we go unconscious when we eat. We stop being aware of what we are eating, how we are eating it, and the effect it has on our body. We eat only to feed ourselves, sometimes we eat to feed our emotions. Essentially, we become mindless about our eating. For all forms of mental health recovery, eating, diet, and nutrition are essential parts of a recovery program. Mindfulness is a practice that can be applied to all areas of recovery because mindfulness is applied to all areas of life. As a form of but separate from meditation, mindfulness helps focus the mind. Practicing mindfulness is as easy as paying more attention, becoming more aware, noticing more, and bringing an element of non-judgment. When you’re reaching for that next mindless snack, you’ll suddenly find yourself thinking- why am I eating? Should I be eating? Do I want to be eating this if I am hungry? According to the Center for Mindful Eating, mindful eating is defined as being aware of how healing and nurturing food can be. Using food preparation as an opportunity to connect with your food and respecting your “inner wisdom” about food are mindfulness practices as well. When you choose mindfully, you are “choosing to eat food that is both pleasing to you and nourishing to your body by using all your senses to explore, savor and taste.” You recognize your autonomy in responding to food authentically. Mindfulness allows you to eat what you like and what you don’t like without judging yourself. Lastly, mindful eating helps you to become aware of your physical hunger to know when you’re truly hungry and when you’re not as well as when you’re still hungry as opposed to when you’re eating for other reasons. Mindfulness is studied for its beneficial effects in reducing stress and symptoms of mental health stressors like anxiety and depression. Research has found that mindfulness reduces stress and improves mental clarity, improving habits and behaviors. When you bring mindfulness into your eating, you make eating a conscious, connected experience which provides benefits to your mind as well as your body.

Trauma has many different meanings when it comes to emotions. One of the broader ways we are understanding more and more of people’s experiences is through their emotional upbringing. There is a movement in treatment and therapy to view most adverse childhood experiences as forms of trauma. Trauma is “a deeply distressing or disturbing experience”. Though trauma used to be associated only with physical violence, today we understand trauma to have a wide spectrum of circumstances and causes, many of which are emotionally related. Abandonment, neglect, emotional unavailability, emotional abuse- all of these emotional experiences create lessons and rules in the brain about emotions. Leaving permanent imprints on the brain causes difficulty in emotional development and growth for people who experience emotional trauma. Unfortunately, emotional challenges in childhood are normal. When most other needs are met like being provided for in house and home, food, school, etc, emotional abuse is not considered problematic. For a developing child who needs a supply of unconditional love, support, healthy boundaries and communication, emotional trauma is problematic. It is problematic for children to grow up without the love and support they need to know who they are, how they should relate to people, and what they deserve in life. As children grow into adolescents, teens, and adults, they develop more emotionally and their emotional trauma, in whatever form, manifests in different ways. For example, people might feel emotionally empty or void, like they’re missing something in their lives because of the love they didn’t receive from their childhood. People who had to completely fend for themselves in their childhood will be fiercely independent in their adult lives, and develop an avoidant personality to keep them from depending on anyone. It is common for there to be a strong inability to recognize one’s own strengths, have compassion for the self, and be able to forgive the self. Parents who don’t fully love their children emotionally teach that child there is something wrong with them, that there is something which inherently makes them unlovable. Sadly, many adults try to cope with this emotional void in their life through unhealthy ways. Without the awareness that they are missing out emotionally and that what happened in their childhood in terms of emotions isn’t actually normal, the struggle to create what they think is normalcy, looking for love in the wrong places. Drugs, alcohol, abusive relationships, and circumstances which mimic their childhoods become their normal, causing a lifetime of distress.

Women have certain rituals, dietary trends, exercise habits and more which they become accustomed to before they get pregnant. Once they find out they are pregnant their dietary and exercise habits can no longer be self-serving. They have another person’s needs to consider. Most women gain weight during pregnancy. For women who might have underlying eating disorder issues they never realized before, the out of control weight gain is very triggering. They feel out of control of their bodies, uncomfortable with themselves, and feeling anxious that they cannot change it. An obsession about their body, size, and appearance is striking to them. Before their body, whatever they did to maintain control over how they looked and how they felt they looked might have not been a conscious issue because there was not shift in their body. Now, pregnant with their child, and with a changing body, they are forced to reckon with  the deep psychological as well as physical discomfort that experience creates.

Thus far in the recorded history of marijuana consumption, there has not been an overdose to date. Despite emergency police calls of paranoia due to THC edibles consumption, and concern that someone unconscious from smoking too much marijuana might be dead, the natural herb has never caused an overdose death. Marijuana consumption can, however, cause a chemical dependency, which led professionals to create the marijuana use disorder diagnosis.

Borderline personality disorder is often misdiagnosed for other issues because of the complex ways that it manifests through the emotions.

Alcohol presents three kinds of dangers. First, alcohol is a danger to yourself. Second, alcohol is a danger to others. Lastly, alcohol is a danger to your community.

The brain has things happen within it and the brain has things happen to it. Every second of every day the brain is working tirelessly to perform thousands of functions. Synapses are firing and refiring, behaviors are being ingrained into our system, thousands of stimuli are coming in and being processed- the brain is absolutely remarkable. However, the brain is also incredibly vulnerable. Vulnerable to both physical and emotional impact, the brain can be injured. When we experience trauma, abuse, or mental illness, it changes our brain. We have memories that cannot be erased, we learn lessons that could take years to unlearn and learn differently. New studies show that mental illnesses like depression structurally change the brain on the inside. Published in Scientific Reports, the study used a new form of imaging to map white matter in the brain. Talking about brain matter, we often talk about grey matter in the brain. For example, mindfulness and meditation are common practices proven to reduce the symptoms of depression and even help some people achieve remission from depression. Both mindfulness and meditation have been proven to increase grey matter in the brain, which is raw brain tissue upon which knowledge and information can be imprinted. White matter, on the other hand, is what connects one area of grey matter to the next area. Wiring together clusters of synapses and everything that lives in the grey matter of the brain, white matter is critical to brain function. Compromises in white matter can mean compromises in emotions, thinking, and other human functions. The study found that patients with depression had “alterations” in their white matter. Additionally, white matter in the brain of patients with depression did not have as high a quality compared to patients who did not have depression. Brain imaging studies are essential for gaining a deeper understanding of complicated mental illness like depression. Mental illnesses are not just feelings. They are complex systems of brain reactions which take on a physical form. Ongoing research enlightens the treatment process while also validating many of the treatments already in place.