DR MARIANNE MILLER
CARING EATING DISORDER TREATMENT IN SAN DIEGO AND THROUGHOUT CALIFORNIA, TEXAS, AND WASHINGTON D.C. FOR ADULTS & TEENS
A Mini-Guide to Practicing Self-Love in Binge Eating Treatment and Recovery
My word of the year is love. Yes, yes I got this idea from Lizzo’s album Special and from Sonya Renee Taylor’s book, The Body is Not an Apology: The Power of Radical Self-Love. After listening to the album hundreds of times and reading the book over and over again as I treated eating disorders in San Diego and coached recovering from binge eating in cities like London, Chicago, Atlanta, and New York, I figured it out. I linked the power of self-love to the binge eating recovery process. In order to help yourself recover from binge eating, You have to learn to love yourself. It may sound hard. It may even feel impossible. I’m here to give you hope that self-love is not only possible, it’s inevitable when you get the right binge eating help.
Five Mindful Places to Visit in San Diego When You're Feeling Stressed During the Holidays
As Thanksgiving is coming round the corner, and other holidays are fast approaching, it’s easy to feel caught up in the holiday frenzy. Whether it’s traffic, shopping, or your full calendar, things just can seem crazy. It’s especially challenging while in eating disorder recovery, as there can be more triggers than usual this time of year. Sometimes you just need a peaceful place to go in San Diego where you can take deep breaths and soak in positive energy so you can feel grounded and renewed. I’ve asked top eating disorder therapists and dietitians in San Diego for their recommendations of mindful places to visit, and I’ve listed five of my favorites. Enjoy!
What to Do When You're Sick During Eating Disorder Recovery
I’ve recently recovered from a nasty bought of the stomach flu, and it got me thinking about how illness can affect eating disorder recovery. You’re on your recovery journey in San Diego and elsewhere, and things are progressing nicely, when WHAM!! You get the flu, get a cold, or even learn that you have a a serious condition that needs more intense medical care, like surgery. It can be incredibly overwhelming, and it can definitely affect how you eat and how you see your body.
I’ve outlined three tips on how to navigate the rough waters of illness while in eating disorder treatment in San Diego and around the world. These three tips expand beyond the typical steps, such as seeing your medical doctor and take over the counter remedies. The reason is because eating disorders are incredibly complex—physiologically, nutritionally, and psychologically. Tackling all three areas when you are feeling crappy can be a challenge—so these strategies are quick, simple, and can help you get back on the road to recovery ASAP.
Tap into Your Creativity in Eating Disorder Recovery: Meet Artist Jennifer Shiman
Looking for new ways to practice self-care in your eating disorder recovery? Feeling like you aren’t really creative, but need a new outlet to help process your emotions this summer in San Diego and elsewhere? Art and creativity can be a key component to eating disorder recovery, but often we feel as though we aren’t “talented enough” to engage in it. Well, I want to let you know that you don’t have to be super-talented to be creative (take it from me, as I draw stick figures!)—EVERYONE has a creative process!!! I’ve interviewed artist Jennifer Shiman who believes just that. She also happens to be my fantabulous sister-in-law (I’m sooooooo lucky to have her in the family!). One thing I really appreciate about Jennifer is that she really ties the creative process to being authentic and practicing self-care, which is a vital component of eating disorder recovery! I’m so happy that you’ll get to know more about her awesomeness.
Four Tips to Navigating Triggering Family Situations in Eating Disorder Recovery
Do you ever struggle with all of the focus on “family” and “togetherness” this time of year? Does it seem as though you can barely get through family events without feeling like you want to run out of the room screaming? Holidays can be such a challenge if you have an eating disorder. A lot of family-focused activities center around food, which can trigger a lot of anxiety and other uncomfortable emotions. It is hard when parents, spouses, grandparents, great-aunt Petunias, or whoever comment about your body and what you are (or aren’t) eating. Especially in San Diego, when in December you can be wearing tank tops, shorts, or a skirt as you take family trips to the beach. It can feel as though your body and how you eat is on display. It may seem that loved ones have free reign to comment on it. It really, really sucks. As an eating disorder therapist, I love helping people navigate family situations that can be tricky and triggering, so I’m here to help you get started.
Tapping into Mindfulness: Part 5 of Finding the Spiritual in Eating Disorder Treatment—A 5-Part Series
Has your soul ever ached? Is it difficult to reconcile living in such a beautiful place as San Diego and feeling such pain? Have you ever felt so far away from God that it hurt? Have you ever questioned your belief in God, or in any sort of higher power? Have you ever wondered how God can exist if there is such pain in the world? Have you felt angry with God? Have you ever felt hurt, shamed, disappointed, or discriminated by spiritual leaders? Many of these emotions and experiences can lead to spiritual pain. Spiritual pain is a soul-deep ache that is beyond depression or grief. Spiritual pain is an existential crisis in which the deepest parts of ourselves are crying out, “Is there a God or higher power out there?” “If so, how could this God or higher power let such pain and suffering happen?”
Diving Deeper into Spiritual Healing: Part 4 of Finding the Spiritual in Eating Disorder Treatment—A 5-Part Series
Sometimes when you feel overwhelmed by your spiritual pain, you can think that there is no hope. It is at these times when you need to dive deep into your pain to let yourself experience spiritual healing. If you struggle with disordered eating, you know how painful it can be . . . emotionally, psychologically, physically, and spiritually. Becoming acutely aware of all aspects of your pain as you go about your daily life in San Diego lets you open yourself to healing. It’s like when you have an infection in your arm—you need to open it up and clean out all of the gunk and then put the medicine on it so it can heal. Spirituality can be your medicine—the balm for your soul.
Starting Your Journey to Spiritual Healing: Part 3 of Finding the Spiritual in Eating Disorder Treatment—A 5-Part Series
You’ve recognized that you’ve got some spiritual pain. Congratulate yourself for the awareness—it’s a hard thing to acknowledge. You may be thinking, is spiritual healing even possible. Do I even want it? I feel so far away from God or my higher power in my life in San Diego that it just seems like too big of a gulf to bridge. I understand that it can feel overwhelming. I want to encourage you that all you have to do is take the first, small step. Sometimes you have to walk before you run, and sometimes you have to tiptoe before you walk. Let’ go ahead and stick that foot out there and start the journey.
Dealing with Spiritual Pain: Part 2 of Finding the Spiritual in Eating Disorder Treatment—A 5-Part Series
Has your soul ever ached? Is it difficult to reconcile living in such a beautiful place as San Diego and feeling such pain? Have you ever felt so far away from God that it hurt? Have you ever questioned your belief in God, or in any sort of higher power? Have you ever wondered how God can exist if there is such pain in the world? Have you felt angry with God? Have you ever felt hurt, shamed, disappointed, or discriminated by spiritual leaders? Many of these emotions and experiences can lead to spiritual pain. Spiritual pain is a soul-deep ache that is beyond depression or grief. Spiritual pain is an existential crisis in which the deepest parts of ourselves are crying out, “Is there a God or higher power out there?” “If so, how could this God or higher power let such pain and suffering happen?”