Celebrating Hanukkah with Sufganiyot

By Helen Pak, Director of Nutrition Services
At Remuda Ranch at The Meadows, one of the ways we help our eating disorder patients improve their relationships with food is through a series of fun and educational culinary challenges.

This week, in honor of Hanukkah, patients in our residential treatment program made Sufganiyot. A Sufganiyah is a deep-fried donut that is filled with jelly or custard and topped with powdered sugar.
During Hanukkah, it is customary to eat Sufganiyot and other foods that are fried in oil. They symbolize the Biblical miracle of a small amount of sacred lamp oil burning in the Temple for eight nights rather than the expected one.

This challenge helped patients to face some of their fears about fried foods and desserts. It also helped to reinforce the idea that all foods, in moderation, can fit into a healthy meal plan.

Holiday celebrations are often centered around food, which can make them especially tough for eating disorder patients. With this activity, we wanted to help all patients, from a multitude of religious traditions and belief systems, enjoy a holiday tradition, as one of the many small steps they’re taking toward finding the joy, peace, and hope that they deserve.

 

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Adderall Abuse and Eating Disorders

Adderall is an amphetamine stimulant prescribed for ADHD, ADD, and narcolepsy. The effects of this drug include a heightening of attention, energy and awareness. Additionally, the drug can create the compulsion to achieve a task or goal the person taking it might not otherwise think possible. On top of all that, Adderall is an appetite suppressant. These qualities make the drug extremely attractive for college-aged women who are susceptible to disordered eating habits.

According to a study from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, full-time college students between ages 18 and 22 are twice as likely as their non full-time college student counterparts to have used Adderall for non-medical purposes. Prescription drug abuse has become an epidemic on college campuses, with more than 4 out of 10 saying they have abused prescription stimulants.

The Study Drug for Weight Loss

Young women entering college are experiencing an inordinate amount of stress and pressure for many reasons. Most college freshmen are worried about gaining the “freshman fifteen” – weight gain that is experienced by many new female students. The need to achieve academic and social success is paramount. And the more competitive the school environment is, the more pressure the student feels to succeed. This is where Adderall comes in: a drug that promises the ability to stay focused while studying and suppresses the desire to stress eat so you can avoid weight gain.

While Adderall will suppress appetite and increase the metabolism of almost anyone who takes it, those who have the potential to abuse it are typically biologically predisposed toward disordered eating. Adderall can bring out disordered eating behavior in someone who hasn’t dealt with that behavior before.

Adderall abuse for weight loss in itself isn’t exactly an eating disorder, but it’s a symptom of other eating disorders like anorexia and binge eating disorder. Women who already have a malnourished brain due to restricting food may even convince themselves they suffer from ADD or ADHD and are in need of Adderall, when really they need to increase their food consumption. Those suffering from anorexia will use Adderall as a way to restrict weight even more, and people engaging in binge episodes can use Adderall for alternative episodes of restricting food for long periods of time.

The Dangers of Adderall Abuse

Adderall produces dopamine in the brain, which is a neurotransmitter that suppresses appetite. It keeps the dopamine from being recycled and metabolized away. This means we connect taking Adderall with a feeling of pleasure, and this undoubtedly leads to a high potential for abuse and addiction for those who are not prescribed the drug. When you take a stimulant medication, or any abusive medication, after three or four months of taking it the brain restructures itself. You become tolerant so you have to take more of the drug to get the same effects.

Adderall can even be deadly. Without having a doctor go over your medical history and health problems, the drug could react with an underlying health problem for serious side effects that include:

• Abnormal heartbeat and cardiac risks
• Increased blood pressure
• Increased risk of stroke and heart attack
• Seizures
• Hair loss
• Sudden death

Used in excess, Adderall has the potential to bring out OCD, psychosis, paranoid personalities, and delusions.

When taking Adderall for weight loss you are dealing with the negative side effects along with the issues that come with an eating disorder. Anorexia and bulimia cause thinning hair, low blood pressure, heart palpitations and heart failure, weak muscles, dizziness, insomnia and can make it difficult or impossible to get pregnant.

While at first Adderall may seem like the miracle study and weight loss drug, the reliance on the drug is not sustainable. Suffering the physical, mental and emotional consequences of addiction is an inevitable fate for the abuser. It’s not unlikely that the user could eventually turn to cocaine or methamphetamines.

Remuda Ranch Can Help

Amphetamines and stimulants are dangerous enough without the added risk of an eating disorder. At Remuda Ranch, we have treated eating disorders for more than 25 years. We know recovery from addiction and eating disorders is possible. For more information about our treatment program, please call to speak to one of our Intake Coordinators at 866-329-7713 and we will contact you with the information you need.

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Why is January the Peak Month for Depression?

The third Monday of every January has been declared “the most depressing day of the year.” Even though there’s little scientific evidence that depressed moods peak at this time, many people do start to feel blue this time of year for one reason or another. In many parts of the country, the weather is cold and dreary, the holidays are over and the credit card bills from said holidays need to be paid.

 

It’s important to note, that there’s a significant difference between feeling a little blue and suffering from clinical depression. If you’re not sure whether what you’re feeling is a temporary “funk” or something serious, please reach out to a healthcare professional.

But, for those suffering from clinical depression, January as a whole can be an extremely troubling period of time.

Family dysfunction or unresolved childhood trauma can play a big role in depression after the holidays. The holidays tend to be a time where we have an abundance of expectations and needs. Unfortunately for most of us, these expectations and needs do not get met in exactly the way we hoped or imagined. In a dysfunctional family, the results can be even worse with unmet needs leading to the feeling of “I don’t matter.”
“Since human nature is to resolve conflict and trauma, we often tend to replay our trauma with our family this time of year, looking for resolution. When we do not get the resolution we hoped for, we can end up feeling emotionally exhausted, distraught or sometimes completely numb, “ says Scott Davis, Clinical Director at The Meadows. “Depression becomes a way to cope with the anxiety and lack of fulfillment we feel throughout the holidays and immediately after.”
There’s also difference between a “winter funk” and the more severe condition, seasonal affective disorder, a form of clinical depression that takes place during the winter months. Most people do not get enough Vitamin D or Vitamin K during the winter, which can lead to a lack of energy and motivation, and eventually depression.
It’s important to recognize and treat depression because it limits people’s ability to live their lives to the fullest and function well on a daily basis.

Treatment for Depression

Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) is an important and effective approach in treating depression at The Meadows Inpatient and Outpatient programs, where relief can be found through a change in negative thought patterns. Our clinicians and therapists specialize in treating the underlying causes of depression as well as the symptoms that have surfaced from the depression. 

 

Depression is overwhelming, but there is hope. Even the most severe and complicated cases of depression are treatable, and here at The Meadows, we offer individualized treatment so each of our patients can enjoy a more fulfilling life.


To learn more about our innovative treatment programs for depression, contact us here or call us at 866-332-2919.

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Your Eating Disorder Lies to You

By Margo, Remuda Ranch Alumna
Note: This is a letter I wrote to myself when I was still at Remuda Ranch, and I've revised it a bit. I still struggle quite a bit in my eating disorder, but every day, I strive to win those small goals. And if I don't, I try again.

Dear Margo,

You deserve to be loved. And yes, that does include loving yourself. In fact, apart from loving God, loving yourself is probably the most important person to love.
So each day you face, get your boots on and go get your horse because recovery is the longest and bravest ride of your life.

First, you need to remind yourself that you've used ED to love yourself, but the truth is he's only destroyed you. He's distorted your thoughts and feelings to use harmful behavior to cover up pain that you've covered up. He's told you lies, such as not eating, running, purging, and numbing out are the safest ways to go.
But he's a lie.

Remember, before going to Remuda Ranch? Your friends had trickled down to toothbrushes, toilets, pavement,and errands because ED said there's no time for the people whose love you ignored.
But he's a lie.

Look back to your time at Remuda Ranch. Remember those who loved you, and pushed you? Remember the day everything looked brighter and clearer? Remember Casper, who showed you every day that he wanted to be with you, despite what you believed?

Now look at yourself. You have made more friends, you've faced fears, you've had fun, and you've let others love you. You have a job that you love, and are good at, and you are capable to do way more than what ED tells you you can.
Because he's a lie.

Remember that when you feel you're too fat, too ugly, not worth it, and that some days the world would be better without you, are all lies from ED. All he wants to do is crush you down. But don't listen to him.

Because he's a lie.

Despite of what's been done to you, or what others may say about you, you have good qualities. You're kind, gentle, genuine, funny, beautiful, you have good hair, and you deserve to be loved.
That's the truth.

Love,
The Part of You that Can See Light outside of ED’s Lies. P.S. Read this every day.

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Approach ‘13 Reasons Why’ with Curiosity Instead of Fear

By Lindsay Merrell, Therapist, Remuda Ranch at The Meadows

Since the years of my internship, working with patients facing suicidal thoughts has been concerning, challenging, and inspiring. Individuals struggling with such hopelessness come to professionals in desperate need of relief from what is starting to feel like an inevitable outcome. Our responsibility as professionals is to be persistently and empathically interested in the individual’s struggle. Our curiosity gives them the courage to look at the very pain they fear.

Netflix’s hit TV Show 13 Reasons Why provides the audience with a window into the multitude of opportunities a community often has to intervene when an individual is living in fear of their pain.

In 13 Reasons Why, the main character, Hannah, struggles with suicidal thoughts. She risks reaching out to her guidance counselor—the very person tasked with being a support to adolescence in the educational environment-- for help; but, as a result, we as an audience witness the harm that occurs when helping professionals lack curiosity.

The guidance counselor dismisses Hannah’s pain and a disconnection from help occurred. The show portrays very well how the disconnection from compassionate support leads to an increase in isolation and stigma for the individual and for the community as it experiences a traumatic event.
Adolescents are already at an anatomical disadvantage when it comes to seeking support. They are experiencing normal, but tumultuous hormonal changes within a neurological system that hasn’t yet developed insight into cognitive distortions or the ability to restructure distorted thoughts. As professionals, we have the opportunity to assist and educate individuals and families on how to navigate the ups and downs of the adolescent years; however, this opportunity often only comes after worrisome symptoms appear.

13 Reasons Why has given teenagers, schools, and families a framework from which to process situations which may already be occurring right under their noses, and will hopefully give them the chance to intervene before the individual’s desperation takes over.

Recently, the media has reported that many parents, teachers, and counselors are concerned that 13 Reasons Why “glorifies” suicide. But, it seems to me that 13 Reasons Why could bring about more awareness on how to support an individual struggling with suicidal thoughts or how those who are struggling with suicidal thoughts can seek support.

As friends, therapists, and parents, aren't we better equipped to help when we are more culturally aware and curious about the nuances individuals’ struggles? It seems unreasonable to make a judgment about the “dangers” of the show simply based on the fact that the characters in the storyline do not handle the situations in the one size fits all manner we deem best.

Before her tragic death, Hannah records a series of tapes to illustrate how ignorance, fear, and judgment disconnected her, and disconnects others, from necessary interventions and support within the community. Through the lens of fear, Hannah's tapes may appear to assign blame to everyone involved; however, when fear is replaced with curiosity and empathy, can’t the tapes be viewed as an educational opportunity for the viewer? The tapes teach us that asking questions, paying attention, and speaking up can provide hope for recovery from what feels like insurmountable pain.

Fear of judgment from peers and adults coupled with the stigma around asking for support unnecessarily leads adolescents to suppress their perceived realities to struggle through it alone more than they have to. This often leads to the manifestation of eating disorders, substance abuse, self-harm, and suicidal ideation. The challenge for the individual and the community portrayed in the show is the suppression of the struggling individual’s perceived reality and the ultimate lack of awareness of the real pain of that struggle.

Compassion’s enemy is fear. It paralyzes people and prevents them from helping those who struggle with suicidal ideation. Let’s not allow ourselves to be paralyzed by the fear of what 13 Reasons Why could teach young people; instead, let use it to teach ourselves how to be more compassionate, how to best offer the support that is needed, and how to stay curious and ask questions that can help lead those suffering to peace.

13 Reasons Why is a show that illuminates the difficulties adolescents face. As adults, when we put our fear aside and become curious, we open the door to protecting a vulnerable individual from a life-altering decision and breathe hope back into those we care about.

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