DR MARIANNE MILLER
CARING EATING DISORDER TREATMENT IN SAN DIEGO AND THROUGHOUT CALIFORNIA, TEXAS, AND WASHINGTON D.C. FOR ADULTS & TEENS
Five Tips for Managing Overwhelming Emotions in Eating Disorder Recovery
Have you ever felt so filled with emotion that it was almost unbearable? Do your mind and body feel flooded with feelings such as fear, anger, disgust, frustration, irritability, anxiety, or sadness—to the point at which you feel almost paralyzed? Having an eating disorder in San Diego and elsewhere is so hard. Sometimes the overwhelming emotions can be triggered by things such as discomfort with food and with your body, negative interactions with others, and work and family stress. At such times, it seems like the emotions take over both your brain and your body, and you would do anything thing in the world to make them stop. It is so so hard. Thankfully, there are a few coping strategies that can help you navigate such situations. These coping skills come from dialectical behavior therapy (DBT), which is an approach I integrate in my work with people struggling with eating disorders in San Diego.
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.
Interview with UCSD Eating Disorder Center's Christin Conkle, LMFT
Hi everyone! I interviewed one of my former marriage and family therapy (MFT) graduate students from Alliant International University. Her name is Christin Conkle, and she is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist in San Diego. She graduated years ago, so she knew me when I was a new professor at Alliant! She now works at the University of California San Diego (UCSD) Eating Disorder Center. She is the lead therapist in the adolescent programs, which provides a partial hospitalization program (PHP) and intensive outpatient program (IOP) for teens with anorexia, bulimia, avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder (ARFID), and other specified feeding or eating disorder (OSFED), which is a category that includes subclinical and atypical eating disorders. She is a lovely person who really has a heart for teens and families struggling with eating disorders.
Meet San Diego Sports Medicine and Family Physician Dr. Alexandra Myers, D.O., Specializing in Eating Disorders in Athletes
Hi all! This week’s interview is with Dr. Alexandra Myers, D.O., who works with athletes with eating disorders in San Diego. I think there is a misconception that in order for athletes to recover from eating disorders, they have to give up their sport completely. That is simply not the case. Dr. Myers is THE medical professional in San Diego who can help people heal their disordered eating and return to the sport they love. She is especially gifted in treating high-level athletes. Dr. Myers specializes in sports medicine, and she is the Director of Women’s Athletic Medicine at San Diego State University (SDSU). She also works with US Olympic athletes, other college and high school athletes, people who are active only on the weekends, and even non-athletes! She is incredibly supportive, compassionate, and non-judgmental. Plus, she’s an all-around nice person to know!!!
Meet Eating Disorder and Addiction Expert and Online Binge Eating Coach Dr. Carolyn Ross, M.D.
Hello everyone! I want to introduce you to eating disorder and addiction expert Dr. Carolyn Ross, a wonderful person who has practiced in San Diego and Denver. She has served for several years as the medical liaison for the San Diego chapter of the International Association for Eating Disorder Professionals foundation (IAEDP). Dr. Ross has also launched an amazing online coaching program for binge eating, emotional eating, and compulsive overeating. PLUS, she has written several books on eating disorders, binge eating, and emotional eating! A very accomplished woman who really knows her stuff!!!
Meet San Diego Psychologist Dr. Leslie Anderson of UCSD's Eating Disorders Center
San Diego psychologist Leslie Anderson, PhD, is a brilliant woman who is the director of training and a clinical associate professor at University of California San Diego’s (UCSD) Eating Disorder Center. I’ve gotten to know her through the Tuesday seminars at the center, which provide cutting-edge training for eating disorder professionals in the San Diego eating disorder community. I have attended other trainings by Dr. Anderson on using Dialectical Behavior Therapy for eating disorder treatment, which I’ve found incredibly helpful in my own practice. Dr. Anderson really knows her stuff!!! I deeply respect the work she is doing, both in her research and in her clinical work. She is very much advancing the field of eating disorder treatment.
Interview with San Diego Eating Disorder Dietitian Theresa Carmichael, RD
Hi everyone! This week I’d like you to meet San Diego eating disorder dietitian Theresa Carmichael, RD. Theresa is a dietitian at Center For Discovery’s partial hospitalization program and intensive outpatient program in Del Mar. She also treats clients in her private practice in Mira Mesa in San Diego. She is a lovely person who really advocates the Health at Every Size (HAES®) and Intuitive Eating approaches, which I also uphold. She also does amazing work with her clients!
Interview with San Diego Eating Disorder Dietitian, Dr. Megan Holt Hellner, RD
Hi everyone! I’m starting a blog series interviewing various eating disorder professionals in the San Diego area. I’m beginning with one of my favorite eating disorder dietitians to work with in San Diego—Dr. Megan Holt Hellner, RD. She and I have collaborated on many client cases, and she is conscientious, caring, compassionate, and thorough. One thing I love about Megan is that she has two advanced degrees in public health, and so she is especially good at working with people with challenging physical aliments. She also specializes in working with athletes.
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?”