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Showing posts from June, 2008

Starving for Help

-Understanding the warning signs of an eating disorder By: Dwight Bain, Nationally Certified Counselor & Certified Life Coach Starving to death is common in third world countries because they don’t have enough food to eat. Starving for help is a different yet equally serious problem because it isn’t about getting enough food to feed the physical body, rather, it’s about restricting food for the purposes of controlling body image. Starving for help is fueled by the struggle over 80% of American women experience daily, because that’s how many women are dissatisfied with their appearance or have deep insecurities their weight; which often can lead to developing an eating disorder like anorexia or bulimia. In the United States eating disorders have become serious health problems impacting almost 10 million women and over a million men according to research from the National Eating Disorders Association, yet the overwhelming majority of people struggling in this area feel too ashamed t

Trashed Opportunities

By Deedra Hunter, LMHC As a mental health counselor for over 30 years I have watched clients let go of their childhood traumas and achieve great success. I was reminded of this recently as I heard someone talk about feeling fearful about something they heard on the national news which caused them to throw their tomatoes away. Let me explain. I was at a luncheon last week when the topic of tomatoes came up due to the recent salmonella scare. A woman at my table said she had just thrown away all the new, beautiful, juicy, red, ripe tomatoes she had just bought at our local farmers market.. When I asked why she looked at me as if I had been off the planet for awhile and said "haven't you heard about all the tomatoes being poisoned? It's so scary". "I know that Florida grown tomatoes are safe for us to eat" I responded. "No they're not" she insisted. "Yes they are" I insisted back. After many minutes spent reassuring her I had researc

The Crazy Roller Coaster of Conflict

-How to break out of circle arguments to find peaceful connection By Dwight Bain, Nationally Certified Counselor & Certified Life Coach “It’s your fault!” “No it’s yours!” “Oh yea, well you’re a bigger one!” And on, and on the conflict goes. It’s what I call a circle argument because it goes around and around and never really gets anywhere and everyone ends up feeling bad. Sort of like a seriously dysfunctional merry-go-round except a lot more dangerous- it’s what I call the “Crazy Roller Coaster of Conflict.” Are you a roller coaster fan or do they just make you fearful? I’ve found that most people are clearly on one side or the other, so let me ask it again. Do you really love the twists and turns of giant thrill rides or does it seem completely crazy to you? If you absolutely can’t get enough of coasters you are not alone. Almost 300 million people visit theme parks every year and many of them are roller coaster enthusiasts. They love the excitement of a controlled setting that