Eliminating Eating Disorders...IS Possible!

Diet Pills Still Risky

2009-05-06T14:35:00.002-04:00

http://health.msn.com/blogs/healthy-diet-fit-body-blog.aspx?blog=1588&feat=1090174>1=31036

another death to "ED" --

2009-05-05T21:23:00.001-04:00

following is an excerpt from an article in the Washington Post...the entire article can be found at:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/05/01/AR2009050103262_pf.html

Sarah's Death at 19 Left Her Family Struggling to Understand the Power of an Eating Disorder.
By Caitlin Gibson
Special to The Washington Post
Tuesday, May 5, 2009

"Leah's voice was calm on the phone.

I'm on my way home, she said. Sarah died this morning.

In the steady tone my best friend would use to say she had a flat tire or was late for class, Leah explained that she was about to board a flight to join her family as they prepared for her little sister's funeral.

Leah had known on some level that this might happen. She'd read the books, done the research and understood that girls with eating disorders got better, or they didn't. She saw Sarah as what she was: the everygirl of her illness, not immune because she was smart and beautiful, popular and athletic. But the knowledge that it might happen did nothing to prepare Leah.

Her false serenity lasted until the funeral, where she sat beside her parents in the synagogue and greeted a seemingly endless line of mourners. I took my place behind her, next to her aunt. Person after person shuffled forward to offer tearful embraces, and Leah's cocoon suddenly collapsed. The piercing cry that tore from her throat silenced the room.

Leah's aunt and I lunged forward in the instinctive way that one body answers another: our palms pressed against her back, fingers wrapped around her shoulders. Leah's scream subsided into a whimper, then quiet. The day shuddered on.

A growing consensus suggests that for young people with eating disorders, the sooner the problem is identified and aggressively treated, the better the chance of recovery. It is a truth that haunts Sarah's family; the tragedy of a teenager's funeral is all the more poignant when there is an underlying question of whether the loss could have been prevented; when those left behind cry not just for the person who is gone, but for the missed moments and lost opportunities that might have saved a life."

* * *

a good reminder from DailyOM --patience

2009-05-05T16:29:00.000-04:00

May 5, 2009
Progressing With Patience
Doing The Best You Can
It isn’t always easy to meet the expectations we hold ourselves to. We may find ourselves in a situation such as just finishing a relaxing yoga class or meditation retreat, a serene session of deep breathing, or listening to some calming, soul-stirring music, yet we have difficulty retaining our sense of peace. A long line at the store, slow-moving traffic, or another stressful situation can unnerve you and leave you wondering why the tranquility and spiritual equilibrium you cultivate is so quick to dissipate in the face of certain stressors. You may feel guilty and angry at yourself or even feel like a hypocrite for not being able to maintain control after practicing being centered. However, being patient with yourself will help you more in your soul’s journey than frustration at your perceived lack of progress. Doing the best you can in your quest for spiritual growth is vastly more important than striving for perfection.

Just because you are devoted to following a spiritual path, attaining inner peace, or living a specific ideology doesn’t mean you should expect to achieve perfection. When you approach your personal evolution mindfully, you can experience intense emotions such as anger without feeling that you have somehow failed. Simply by being aware of what you are experiencing and recognizing that your feelings are temporary, you have begun taking the necessary steps to regaining your internal balance. Accepting that difficult situations will arise from time to time and treating your reaction to them as if they are passing events rather than a part of who you are can help you move past them. Practicing this form of acceptance and paying attention to your reactions in order to learn from them will make it easier for you to return to your center more quickly in the future.

Since your experiences won’t be similar to others’ and your behavior will be shaped by those experiences, you may never stop reacting strongly to the challenging situations you encounter. Even if you are able to do nothing more than acknowledge what you are feeling and that there is little you can do to affect your current circumstances, in time you’ll alter your reaction to such circumstances. You can learn gradually to let negative thoughts come into your mind, recognize them, and then let them go. You may never reach a place of perfect peace, but you’ll find serenity in having done your best.

Thank You, Patrick Kennedy

2009-04-29T10:41:00.002-04:00

For the entire article, please follow the link to:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/04/28/AR2009042800059.html

Here is just a SMALL portion of the article...

Personal Low, Career Peak
After Drug-Fueled Crash, Patrick Kennedy Turned Focus to Mental Health-Care Reform
By Vincent Bzdek
Washington Post Staff Writer

Political aides counseled Rep. Patrick Kennedy not to mention the incident when he was campaigning for reelection in 2006. "Don't bring it up," they insisted, as Kennedy recounts their reaction. "Everybody already knows about it." Talking about it only reminded Rhode Island voters of other Kennedy family misdeeds and misfortunes, they said.

The incident was the pre-dawn drive the congressman took straight into a security barrier outside of the Capitol on May 4, 2006. At about 2:45 a.m., the bleary-eyed scion of America's royal family staggered out of his green 1997 Ford Mustang convertible and informed police he was late for a vote.

....

Fighting for Parity

After holding a nationwide series of field hearings on mental health coverage, Ramstad and Kennedy fashioned a new bill and presented it to the House.

And then they called in the secret weapon: Dad.

In the Senate, Ted Kennedy took up his son's cause, teaming with Domenici and Sen. Mike Enzi (R-Wyo.) to quietly forge a broad bipartisan coalition after gathering input from mental-health advocates, health-insurance industry representatives and private businesses. With Ted Kennedy pulling the levers, the parity bill cleared the Senate with no dissent in September 2007.

"There aren't any coincidences when it comes to the Senate with my dad around," Patrick Kennedy said. The House's more expansive bill passed six months later.

House and Senate negotiators were hammering out compromises between the two versions when the legislation stalled over differences on unrelated budget procedures. Kennedy began to worry that the bill wouldn't get finished in time for his father to see it happen. The 77-year-old veteran lawmaker is battling a cancerous brain tumor that required surgery last summer.

In Hyannis Port, Mass., recovering from his chemotherapy and radiation treatments, Ted got on the phone. According to Patrick, his father talked nonstop to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), Sen. Chris Dodd (D-Conn.) and others, wheedling and cajoling his way toward passage, asking them to find a way to bring it up for a vote on the floor during a crowded schedule.

As Congress rushed to adjourn last fall, the bill was attached to the first emergency bailout of the financial industry steaming its way toward passage in late September -- and passed both the House and Senate. The only senator who wasn't there to vote was Patrick's father, who has made only a handful of visits to the Hill since his tumor was diagnosed.

Federal officials say the law, which President Bush signed Oct. 3, will improve coverage for 113 million people, including 82 million in employer-sponsored plans. Beginning in 2010, insurance companies will be required to charge the same co-pays, deductibles and out-of-pocket expenses for addiction and mental health treatments as those for all other illnesses. The legislation is expected to raise health-care premiums 0.2 percent to 0.4 percent on average and cost taxpayers about $3.4 billion over 10 years.

Ted Kennedy counts the bill among his greatest achievements as a senator. "I am enormously proud of Patrick's unwavering commitment to fairness and justice for all Americans struggling with mental illness," he said in an e-mail. "He is a true champion for the cause and a voice for the voiceless."

Patrick sent a note to his father the night after the bill became law. He wanted his thanks to be written down, something his father could forever hold and keep.

"Because in a sense," he explained, "in his fighting for it, he was fighting for something that was not only important to me, personally, as a son, but he was fighting against the stigma and shame that I've always felt at being 'lesser than' because I've had this illness. And that meant the world to me."

Vincent Bzdek is the author of "The Kennedy Legacy: Jack, Bobby and Ted and a Family Dream Fulfilled" (Palgrave Macmillan 2009), which is published today.

good media coverage of ED... warning: numbers/pictures...

2009-04-24T15:12:00.000-04:00

http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/26184891/vp/30384936#30384936

Thank you!! GOOD COVERAGE to these deadly disorders...
LOVE that you spoke about Beauty and Health --redefining those labels. THANK YOU!

UPDATED POST! Miss Universe contestant "malnourished"??? How about ANOREXIC?!

2009-04-23T22:27:00.006-04:00

***edit to this...The Today Show had another show on this topic today (Friday, April 24th) and did a really good job of highlighting the dangers of "too thin"... Thanks, Today, for not letting this fade into the background... Peace! ~K

I am not surprised, I suppose...but really, really disappointed in the comments regarding Miss Universe's contestant from Australia. Folks, at 5'11" and 108 pounds we're WONDERING IF SHE IS TOO SKINNY?? And doctors are calling her "malnourished"??? When I was 5'7" (and 1/2 if we're going to be talking about numbers here) and DYING from my eating disorders, I WEIGHED MORE THAN 108!!!! My doctor, my friends, my family ---EVERYONE thought I looked grossly thin (except for people like the one woman who I worked with who said, "I don't think you're too thin; you're model-like thin...it looks good." ...and for the random men and women whose image of "hot" was as mixed up as they were.) What in the world is this QUESTION of "too thin??"

Anyone interested in a (polite) letter-writing campaign to The Today Show? What I wouldn't give to go on air to educate them and their audience (especially Deborah Miller, pageant director) about the DEADLY SERIOUSNESS of "malnourishment"! If it's not OK for babies to be malnourished, then why in the world would ANYONE in their mind (Ms. Miller!!) think that it is OK to be malnourished as an adult woman (ok, teenage 'woman' --19)?? Who in the world ever thought that a woman who is emaciated is SEXY or HOT!?! Side note: Has anyone who thought that (super thin = sexy) ever been in a long-term relationship with a woman who starves herself to be this "hot"?? ---if they have, I'm guessing after a few romps they ran as fast as they could to find someone who was healthy...because starvation is ugly --mentally, physically, emotionally, and especially relationally.

Let's get active!! Letter-writing campaign here I come!

peace all...and make no mistake: Miss Australia is an anorexic weight --not simply 'malnourished'!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Seriously.

Miss Universe Australia model too skinny?

At 5 feet 11 inches tall and 108 pounds, model is malnourished, doctors say

Reuters

updated 8:59 a.m. ET, Thurs., April 23, 2009

Australia's Miss Universe contest was thrown into controversy on Thursday with doctors and dieticians complaining a leading finalist was "skin and bones" and dangerously malnourished.

Sydney model Stephanie Naumoska, 19, was one of 32 contestants from more than 7,000 hopefuls to make the glittering final at an event promoting "healthy, proportioned, bodies."

"Bony or beautiful?" newspaper headlines said over photographs of a gaunt Naumoska posing in a red string bikini.

Health professionals said Naumoska, who is 1.8 m (5 ft 11 in) tall and weighs just 49 kg (108 lbs), had a body mass index of just 15.1, well under the official 18 benchmark for malnutrition.

"She would be categorized as underweight and I would certainly want to be doing an assessment of her diet to make sure she doesn't have some type of eating disorder," dietician Melanie McGrice told local newspapers.

"She needs blood tests, diet analysis and an overall assessment."

Pageant director Deborah Miller said brunette Naumoska, who was defeated in the final by 20-year-old television presenter and model Rachael Finch, had Macedonian heritage, which accounted for her extreme thinness.

"They have long, lithe bodies and small bones. It is their body type, just like Asian girls tend to be small," Miller said.

But Australian Medical Association president Rosanna Capolingua, whose organization represents Australian doctors, said the contest should impose a minimum BMI cut-off of 20.

"The most unhealthy part about it, though, is the image it is showing other young women who may view this as normal, when clearly it s not," Capolingua said.

While Naumoska refused to speak to media, nutritionist Susie Burrell told the Herald Sun newspaper there was no such thing as a Macedonian body type.

Eventual winner Finch will compete in the Miss Universe world finals in the Bahamas in August.

URL: http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/30364743/?GT1=43001

MSN Privacy . Legal

Horizon to Cover Eating Disorder Patients!!

2009-04-23T15:25:00.001-04:00

Horizon to cover eating-disorder patients

New Jersey's largest health insurer forced to pay $1.2M settlement

Thursday, April 23, 2009

BY JOE RYAN

Star-Ledger Staff

A federal judge has approved a class-action settlement requiring New Jersey's largest health-insurance provider to cover claims for treatment of eating disorders.

The settlement calls for Horizon Blue Cross/Blue Shield of New Jersey to pay $1.2 million to about 500 patients whose payments for anorexia and bulimia treatments were denied, said Bruce Nagel, an attorney for the plaintiffs.

The agreement was approved Tuesday by U.S. District Court Judge Faith Hochberg. It requires Horizon Blue Cross to classify eating disorders as a biologically based mental illness, compelling the company to cover eating disorders in the same way it covers physical illnesses.

"It's huge," said Harriet Brown, a member of the Academy for Eating Disorders and an assistant professor at Syracuse University. "This is closing one of the loopholes that prevent people from getting treatment."

A spokesman for Horizon Blue Cross declined to comment.

The suit was filed in 2006 by parents of children with eating disorders. Ronald Drazin, of Fair Haven, was among the original plaintiffs and heralded the settlement yesterday.

"For parents, it means their kids can get treated and not be thrown out of hospitals or resident treatment facilities," said Drazin, whose daughter, now 18, was denied converge for treatment of anorexia.

Horizon also agreed to pay $2.45 million in legal fees, Nagel said.

In 2006, a woman from Wayne sued Horizon after her daughter was denied coverage for anorexia, drawing widespread support from eating disorder experts. The women, Dawn Beye, has since joined the class-action suit settled this week.

Last year, Hochberg approved a settlement in a similar case against Aetna.

Joe Ryan may be reached at jryan@starledger.com or (973) 622-3405.

Katherine Sebelius --HHS nomination

2009-04-22T13:59:00.002-04:00

The F.R.E.E.D. Foundation is thrilled at President Obama's nomination and of the Senate's recent confirmation of Katherine Sebelius for Secretary of Health and Human Services. Despite some of the controversies discussed during her nomination period and confimation hearings, her history of serving well the public in many areas, but especially health, make her a wonderful choice for the job.

Here's a link to some articles at CNN...

http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/03/31/sebelius.hearing/

...waiting to blog

2009-04-07T13:21:00.002-04:00

Hello everyone --I've been waiting to breathe/waiting to blog. This year has been full of so many beautiful opportunities and challenges...including my blog being "locked" :)
I will be traveling in the next week for a little down time to visit a dear friend...a fellow writer...so I hope my days will be calm enough so that I find time enough to write here.
Looking forward to keeping the blog more consistent in 2009! ~ Peace be with you, Kathleen

STUDY ON Bulimia --participants needed

2009-04-07T13:20:00.000-04:00

Hi all,

Researchers at Columbia Medical Center in NYC are looking for girls (13-19 years) with BN symptoms to participate in a very important study. We are trying to figure out what causes this disorder in order to prevent it from developing - so please help!! Compensation for participation is $100, and we also have options for treatment (free of charge). Please call Laura at 212-543-5316.

FINALLY!!!!!!!!

2009-01-16T13:44:00.002-05:00

I FINALLY got my blog to work again!!! Looking forward to updating asap and hope that people come back to read what we've been up to here at The F.R.E.E.D. Foundation!

much peace, Kathleen

Patrick Kennedy on CNN -mental health parity

2008-08-26T12:05:00.003-04:00

http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/politics/2008/08/26/intv.patrick.kennedy.cnn?iref=videosearch

My hero, Patrick Kennedy, speaking about his father's appearance at the DNC... I love how impassioned he is when he speaks...and how he manages to mention Mental Health Parity every place he goes. He is so wonderful.
The people of the State of Rhode Island are so lucky to have him as their Rep. ...and the EDC is so lucky to have him on our side. Thanks, Congressman. peace, K.

Parity Passes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2008-07-22T13:31:00.002-04:00

Hello everyone ---I am so excited to share this news with you ---Parity passes!!! (overriding a veto by President Bush, nonetheless)

EDC News Alert: Medicare Bill with Mental Health Parity Becomes Law! HR.6331, The Medicare Improvements for Patients and Providers Act, passed last week after Congress had enough votes to override president Bush’s veto.

The Senate voted to override the President 70-26 and the House vote was 383-41. This
important bill includes a provision to provide for mental health parity for outpatient services in Medicare.

The bill makes long overdue improvements to Medicare by providing improved access to preventive services and parity in coverage for mental health services. It will also help more people with Medicare living below or just above the poverty level ($867 per month for an individual) get help with their drug costs and medical bills.

Also this bill will give doctors a modest pay raise instead of the drastic 10 percent Medicare pay cut that will take effect if Congress does not act. A pay cut could make more doctors reluctant to take on new Medicare patients and make it harder for older adults and people with disabilities to get the care they need. Additionally, HR.6331 will restrict the ability of insurance companies to use hard sell tactics for Medicare private health plans or to market plans without ensuring plan enrollees will have adequate access to doctors, specialists, local hospitals and other providers. It is these provisions—the ones that help people with Medicare and force insurance companies to change their practices—that prompted a veto threat from the Bush administration.

Mental health parity has been a public policy priority for the EDC for years. We are thrilled that our advocacy is paying off and that there will be parity in Medicare. America's senior citizens and those with disabilities should not have to pay more out of pocket for mental health services than for physical health services.

disappointment

2008-07-15T22:35:00.000-04:00

more wisdom from DailyOM

July 4, 2008A Bridge To AcceptanceDealing With Disappointment

Whenever we do something in life with an expectation of how we’d like it to turn out, we risk experiencing disappointment. When things don’t go the way we had envisioned, we may feel a range of emotions from slightly let down to depressed or even angry. We might direct our feelings inward toward ourselves, or outward toward other people or the universe in general. Whether we feel disappointed by ourselves, a friend, or life in general, disappointment is always a tough feeling to experience. Still, it is a natural part of life, and there are many ways of dealing with it when we find ourselves in its presence. As with any feeling, disappointment has come to us for a reason, and we don’t need to fear acknowledging it or feeling it. The more we are able to accept how we are feeling and process it, the sooner we will move into new emotional territory. As we sit down to allow ourselves to feel our disappointment, we might want to write about the experience of being disappointed—the situation that preceded it, what we were hoping would happen, and what did happen. The gift of disappointment is its ability to bring us into alignment with reality so that we don’t get stuck for too long in the realm of how things might have been. As we consider other disappointments in our life and how we have moved past them, we may even see that in some cases what happened was actually better in the long run than what we had wanted to happen. Disappointment often leaves us feeling deflated with its message that things don’t always turn out the way we want. The beauty of disappointment, though, is that it provides us a bridge to its other side where the acceptance of reality, wisdom, and the energy to begin again can be found.

in the right mind...

2008-07-03T12:00:00.001-04:00

http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/jill_bolte_taylor_s_powerful_stroke_of_insight.html

I highly encourage you to watch this video ...'til the VERY end :)

Thanks to my dear friend Eva for sending it my way! ~ Peace and good health, Kathleen

mindful eating

2008-06-26T13:33:00.001-04:00

my friend Abby sent me a link to this article...check it out :)

http://www.yogajournal.com/lifestyle/2022

the skinny on Spanx and the like...

2008-06-24T14:34:00.002-04:00

Joe Kelly of DadsandDaughters (http://www.dadsanddaughters.org/) brought this article to my attention today...
(my thoughts follow the article)

Macy's Bikini Breakthrough: Undies With Anti-Cellulite Cream
by Sarah Mahoney, Tuesday, Jun 24, 2008 5:00 AM ET

In a launch sure to get the attention of the 85% of women who struggle with cellulite, Macy's is introducing a novel product: Skineez Skincarewear, a combination of cosmetics and textiles. The new line of women's body shapers is embedded with microcapsules that "continuously moisturize and smooth the skin while helping to reduce the appearance of cellulite."

Available exclusively at Macy's and macys.com, the new line of body shaper products also comes with a bottle of Skintex skincare spray, to replenish the fabric after every six to 10 trips through the wash. The line includes both a Thigh Slimmer and Waist Slimmer in nude and black that sell for $68 each; replacement bottles of Skintex cost $20.

Skineez are made by Clothes for a Cause, a women's apparel company that raises funds for such initiatives as mammograms for women in need. "Women will be able to give their body a slimmer, more contoured look, while helping to smooth the appearance of cellulite and moisturize their skin, all at the same time and with one garment," the company says. (The company also markets the Heroes Collection, which raises funds for children's causes; the Pink Ribbon Collection, which raises funds for breast health and education, and the Red Dress Collection, which raises funds for heart health.)

"Smart" fabrics are becoming increasingly common, and a growing number of apparel companies are injecting clothes with something extra, from sunscreen to fragrance to antimicrobial agents. But the anti-cellulite angle is sure to generate attention, especially in the middle of bathing suit season.

Skineez fall into a category that fashion mavens refers to as shapewear--lingerie that smush women into shape, led by such brand names as Spanx and Maidenform's Flexees. NPD Group, a market research company based in Port Washington, N.Y., reports that in the period from April 2006 to April 2008, sales of shapewear have soared, with unit sales climbing 21.9% and dollar sales jumping 36.1%. For the most recent 12-month period, sales have reached $718 million.

MY THOUGHTS:

This past year at a Christmas party I had a young woman ask me if I was wearing "Spanx". My response, "NO, why would I wear something that changes my shape, let alone makes it hard for people to breathe?!" She thought that since I was wearing a "form-fitting" (her words) dress that I would have them on ---she was wearing them under her dress. I told her that my clothes fit "MY" form, not what Spanx thinks my form ought to be and that I feel truly sorry for anyone who thinks they "need" to be reshaped by a modernized (sic) corset. (I'm a great deal of fun at parties) (fyi: There are also nylons, made by Hanes, that have "cellulite-reducing" creams built in. My response: boycott nylons altogether, though I do take a pair with me when I speak --along with cellulite creams and diet pills, etc...to show some examples.

The article really disgusted me with this line: "Lingerie that smush women into shape" ----Where is the self-esteem of our gender and world when women believe they are designed to be "smushed" into a shape other than their own natural shape? Reading that line, my body cringed as I imagined the loss of control and the disempowerment women inflict on themselves when buying these products. What a messed up way to embody the privilege of being a woman in our culture. (Of course I also have great empathy for the people who do buy into these products, as I know I spent a LARGE portion of my savings on the very same things when I was in my ED.)
Perhaps most poignantly I read the article that Joe sent along and thought: I do not think the women in say, Darfur, would see this as the "breakthrough" that Macy's does. And I'm quite sure they would use the $718 million dollars in a much more sane way.

Thank God for each of you who works to make our world a healthier and more sane place to be a woman. ~ Peace, Kathleen

doing your best

2008-06-15T12:55:00.001-04:00

sharing this from DailyOM

June 10, 2008
Personal Satisfaction
Doing Our Best

We often come into contact with the idea that our best isn’t good enough, as if this were actually possible. If you examine this notion, you will begin to see that it doesn’t make much sense. Your best is always good enough, because it comes from you, and you are always good enough. You may not be able to deliver someone else’s idea of the best, but the good news is that’s not your burden. You only need to fulfill your own potential, and as long as you remain true to that calling, and always do your best to fulfill your purpose, you don’t need to expect anything more from yourself.

It’s easy to get tangled up with the idea of trying to be the best—the best parent, the best employee, the best child, or best friend. If we try to be the best, we run the risk of short-circuiting our originality because we are striving to fit into someone else’s vision of success. In addition, if everyone is striving for the same outcome, we lose out on creativity, diversity, and visionary alternatives to the way things are done.

On another note, there is nothing wrong with wanting to improve, but examining where this feeling comes from is important because wanting to be better than others is our ego coming into play. Letting go of the tendency to hold ourselves up to other people’s standards, and letting go of the belief that we need to compete and win, doesn’t mean we don’t believe in doing the best job we can.

We always strive to do our best, because when we do we create a life free of regret, knowing we have performed to the best of our ability. This allows us to feel great personal satisfaction in all of our efforts, regardless of how others perceive the outcome.

Using Your Voice to make a difference

2008-06-02T07:08:00.002-04:00

Margaret Mead's best known quote goes something like this, "Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it's the only thing that ever has."
...and these Rabbis prove it! (see link below)
I encourage you to believe in Your voice --and stand up for what is noble and right.
Peace, ~Kathleen

Rabbis reject bawdy billboardsMay 30: New York rabbis object to fashion billboards near an orthodox neighborhood.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/24896385#24896385

URGENT action alert!!

2008-05-20T15:20:00.003-04:00

(republished from Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law email/action alert)

Negotiations on Parity Near Conclusion

The following urgent action alert comes from the Health Policy Committee of theMental Health Liaison Group, co-chaired by Laurel Stine of the Bazelon Centerand Peter Newbould of the American Psychological Association

Targets: All Members of the House of Representatives and Senate.Action: Use the toll-free Parity Hotline, 1-866-parity4 (1-866-727-4894), tocall your U.S. Representative and Senators. (The Parity Hotline reaches theCapitol switchboard, which can connect callers to their members of Congress).

Message: "I am calling to ask that the Representative/Senator urge theLeadership to help conclude negotiations on a mental health parity bill thatcan pass in both houses and become law this year. Relief from health benefitdiscrimination against mental and substance use disorders must wait no longer.

"Background: With suicide claiming some 30,000 lives each year in this country,health-benefit barriers still block millions of Americans from getting neededmental health and substance-use treatment. Given the critical need forCongress to lift those discriminatory barriers and a limited number oflegislative days to do so, there is profound urgency to forging a compromise onmental health parity legislation that will not only yield strong protectionsbut can pass both chambers. We applaud initial steps to reach that compromise,and call on Senate and House leaders to move quickly to ensure enactment of astrong mental health parity law this year. We have been pushing hard since 2001 to enact full mental health parity, andvictory is finally within reach.

Following the Senate's historic passage of S. 558 by unanimous consent in September and House passage of H.R. 1424 on March5, informal negotiations commenced.

Parity supporters across America should contact their Representative and Senators NOW to urge support for successfullyconcluding this process. Senate and House leaders should continue to worktogether to reconcile differences between the versions and produce a bill that can pass in both chambers.

Failure to pass a parity bill in 2008 would further delay relief for millionsof American families who now face discrimination. It would also place the issue directly in the path of a health care policy tornado in 2009 -- healthcare reform - with no assurance that our issue would receive the attention itneeds.

The Legislation: Both S. 558 and H.R. 1424 expand the Mental Health Parity Actof 1996 by prohibiting group health plans from imposing treatment or financiallimitations on mental health benefits that are different from those applied tomedical/surgical services. The legislation applies only to group health plansalready providing mental health benefits and exempts plans sponsored by smallbusinesses of 50 and under employees.

Resources: Fact sheets on parity and rosters of organizations supporting theHouse and Senate bills may be found at http://www.mhlg.org/page18.html

Good Thoughts on life transitions

2008-05-20T12:43:00.002-04:00

Hi everyone,

I just read this short note from DailyOM and thought it might be an inspiration worthy of sharing.

May you be well today.

Peace,

Kathleen

May 20, 2008
Temporarily Out Of Balance: Going Through A Phase

We are all almost always in the process of learning something new, developing an underused ability or talent, or toning down an overused one. Some of us are involved in learning how to speak up for ourselves, while others are learning how to be more considerate.

In the process of becoming, we are always developing and fine tuning one or the other of our many qualities, and it is a natural part of this process that things tend to get out of balance. This may be upsetting to us, or the people around us, but we can trust that it’s a normal part of the work of self-development.

For example, we may go through a phase of needing to learn how to say no, as part of learning to set boundaries and take care of ourselves. During this time, we might say no to just about everything, as a way of practicing and exploring this ability. Like a child who learns a new word, we want to try out this new avenue of expression and empowerment as much as we can because it is new and exciting for us and we want to explore it fully. In this way, we are mastering a new skill, and eventually, as we integrate it into our overall identity, it will resume its position as one part of our balanced life.

In this process, we are overcompensating for a quality that was suppressed in our life, and the swinging of the pendulum from under-use to overuse serves to bring that quality into balance. Understanding what’s happening is a useful tool that helps us to be patient with the process.

In the end, the pendulum settles comfortably in the center, restoring balance inside and out.

FREED website and Blog! We're up and running!

2008-04-16T22:13:00.009-04:00

Hi everyone!

Thanks so much to Louis for helping us with the FREED website!! We are very, very grateful!!

To all, this is where my blog will be happening...and I'm looking forward to sharing with you all what FREED has been up to in the course of last year. It has been busy, eventful, sorrowful, joyful, and as always, filled with gratitude to all those we meet along the way in this journey to Eliminate Eating Disorders.

Among the new "look" of our site, you will find new features that we were previously unable to provide. I'll be updating my blog on a regular basis, as well as issuing advice on the "Assistance" page to help insurance issues, treatment funding, fund-raiser ideas, as well as how to contact your Senators and Representatives if necessary.

In addition, the F.R.E.E.D. store will be up and full of products very soon!

Right now, you can make a donation via Paypal, or simply buy a "Polly Bracelet" to show your support!

I leave for presentations in Chicago tomorrow, so I need to end this here and get a few more things done before hitting the road... ~ Then I head off to Florida for the solitude of a writer's retreat graciously donated for me to finish a book I'm writing on "finding complete recovery".

While I'm there I hope to have time to reflect and share here in my blog about last year's speaking tour, Lobby Day, and unfortunately, the deaths of a couple friends as a result of their eating disorders.

Until then --I encourage you to be well in your mind, soul, and especially to your body! ~ Peace, Kathleen