Archive for May, 2011

Hungry for Hope: A Family Affair [CONFERENCE]

Thursday, May 26th, 2011

If you or a loved one have been affected by an eating disorder, you know it’s a family affair, sucking the life and love out of the most significant people and relationships in your life. Thus, this year’s theme for the premiere Christian conference for eating disorders and body image issues.

Hungry for Hope: A Family Affair is June 15-18, 2011, at the Glen Eyrie Castle in Colorado Springs. I’ll be speaking there, as will two dozen other presenters on the topics of bulimia, anorexia and compulsive overeating, with particular focus on familial attitudes about:

  • Food
  • Genetics
  • Culture
  • Shame
  • Boundaries

As I write in Hope, Help & Healing for Eating Disorders:

“The key to an eating disorder or to disordered eating often lies in relationships. For most people, those relationships lie within the family. The behaviors surrounding a dysfunctional relationship with food are often the result of another relationship – perhaps several relationships – tilting off the mark.”

Hungry for Hope: A Family Affair aims to address some of these issues, empowering you and your family to learn the healthy way to love one another during treatment and recovery.

The conference is limited to the first 135 registrants, so if you would like to attend, please sign up today. Attendance is just $198, which covers the cost of all sessions, materials and meals. Lodging at Glen Eyrie Castle is additional with room rates starting at just $70. For more details – including help finding a roommate if you like – visit FindingBalance.com.

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Fund the Film: Documentary On Bi-Polar Disorder Needs Our Support

Friday, May 20th, 2011

“In the early morning of February 6th, 1995, after a decades-long struggle with bipolar disorder, my mother, Nina Leichter, committed suicide by jumping out of a window. I was twenty-eight. This event shattered my world. Suddenly, the magnetic, alluring, brilliant, emotionally volatile person whom I had been trying to hold on to all of my life was gone forever. And this time there would be no getting her back….”

This is Kathy Leichter’s story – one she poignantly explores in the documentary film, Here One Day. Yet for all the personal details that set Kathy’s story apart from anyone else’s, it is hauntingly familiar. In fact, 90 percent of suicides stem from mental illness.

In recognition of Mental Health Awareness Month, I would like to take this opportunity to ask for your support of Kathy’s film.

No words I share here can so powerfully express the beauty of Here One Day as can the film itself. Please take just a few moments of your time to watch the trailer at Kickstarter.com where you can help fund this important project. Whether you can pledge $5 or $500, it will move the movie one step closer to its $25,000 goal.

As of this writing, Here One Day has raised more $21,264. There’s just one catch. Per Kickstarter rules, the project only receives funding if the entire goal is met by the deadline date. In other words, Here One Day needs to raise another $3,736 by May 31st.

As Kathy states, the funding goes toward editing, music, sound design, sound mixing, video finishing, film fest entries and screenings. Time is of the essence, as Here One Day has already been invited for its first major screening at the American Psychiatric Association’s 63rd Institute of Psychiatric Services (IPS) in October.

Will you help?

Though helping with the completion of this film is reward enough, each pledge level comes with thank you gifts that include on-screen credit for your support, tickets to the premiere and more.

Click here to back this inspiring, deserving project through Kickstarter.com.

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May is Mental Health Month [RESOURCES]

Friday, May 13th, 2011

One in 4 adults in the U.S. have been diagnosed with a mental health condition. Note the emphasis on “diagnosed.” If we take into account every man and woman who is suffering in silence, alone, Americans living with mental health conditions is far greater than 25 percent. Unfortunately, the stigma still attached to mental illness discourages people from seeking help. It’s for this reason this month is so important.

May is Mental Health Month, sponsored by Mental Health America, the country’s leading non-profit dedicated to helping people lead mentally healthier lives.

If you would like to help raise awareness about mental health, support one or both of this year’s campaigns:

  1. Do More for 1 in 4, a call to action to help the 1 in 4 American adults who live with a diagnosable, treatable mental health condition and the fact that they can go on to live full and productive lives.
  2. Live Well: It’s Essential for Your Potential, focusing on 10 science-based tools for managing stress and helping you relax, grow and flourish.

For details on how you can help – including suggested posts for Twitter and Facebook – check out the official website of Mental Health America.

And if you or someone you know is living with a mental health condition, refer to the following resources on:

I’ve also written a number of books on mental health issues, all of which you can browse and buy in the Hope Store.

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How Do You Hear God?

Friday, May 6th, 2011

On May 15, EatingDisorderHope.com is giving away 10 copies of my book Happy for the Rest of Your Life. (To enter the drawing, click here.)  For a preview of what to expect, here’s an excerpt from Chapter 9….

Sometimes it takes work and effort on my part to put myself in a position where I can hear God. Some people call this effort “spiritual disciplines.” Some of the ways you can look for God to speak to you are through:

  1. Prayer
  2. Meditation
  3. Reading
  4. Journaling
  5. Studying
  6. Seeking counsel
  7. Listening

If you’re already doing some of these, congratulations! Rededicate yourself to the task. If one or more of them have become stale or rote, switch it up:

  • Choose a different place or time to pray or meditate.
  • Try using a journal to record your prayers or meditations.
  • Read a different translation of the Bible. Try one that you’ve never considered before.
  • Switch it up. Be more structured with your study if you haven’t been studying the Bible much, or, if you’ve been very diligent, change your study topics for the next six months; be more spontaneous. Start opening up the Bible at random, and study from there.
  • Find a wise, godly person who you can be open and transparent with, seeking accountability and a sounding board for spiritual matters.
  • Spend some time each day just calming your mind, opening it up, and listening to what God might want to say that day. Whenever possible, go outside and walk in order to get out of your environment and into His.
  • Pay attention to what God is saying to you. Write it down as soon as you hear it. Use your journal or keep a small spiral notebook or pocketbook with you or available so you can make sure not to lose what you hear. Make sure to put it by your bedside, as God often has used the time of either going to sleep or upon waking to capture your undivided attention.

This is by no means the definitive list of ways you can hear God. What others would you add to the list?

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