Eating Disorders

Many people are not certain if they have an eating disorder. This is likely because they do not know a lot About Eating Disorders. Eating disorders can be many things but they are always extreme. They are obvious disturbances in eating behaviors that are marked by extreme overeating (Binging and purging) also known as Bulimia or an extreme lack of food intake to the point of starvation which is known as Anorexia. There is usually always an extreme concern surrounding the body, how much you weight and what shape you are. It is a compulsion that is thought about constantly. Does this sound like you? Do you starve yourself because when you look in the mirror you see a horrible fat person? Does the thought of eating something make you panic to where you get physically ill? Do you binge excessively and are you out of control? Do you eat everything in sight until you can not eat any more only to vomit afterwards? Do you ever chew the food just so you can taste it but never ever swallow it? Do you hide any of these things from friends and family? These are some of the indicators that you likely have an eating disorder.

The understanding of this disease remains elusive and scientific research finds this disease very complex, at the least. Besides anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa, a third type of eating disorder has been specified, EDNOS, which stands for “eating disorders not otherwise specified. These are often combination eating disorders or can include variations. If any of this sounds like you please seek help immediately. Call Cliffside Malibu at 1-800-501-1988

Poetry is the soul speaking

When writing poetry you allow your soul to speak, it doesn't always rhyme, it doesn't always make sense but when you are done, you feel restored, relieved, as if a weight has been lifted off your shoulders, as if you can breathe deeply again.

If you aren't artistically inclined this may be an excellent method to relieve your self of unknown emotional issues and aide in your growth and healing along the way.

Rapid Detox- Just say 'NO'

I wanted to take the time to teach you a little about rapid opiate detox plans, I for one will never condone using one. But I will let the facts stack up for you to make your own decision.

"Procedures, like Rapid Detox, that require anesthesia and intubation should only be performed in an intensive care unit of an acute hospital, never in a clinic. Accredited hospitals take every possible precaution to ensure patient safety and access to urgent medical resources if needed." (Opiates.com)- Good to know that if things don't go right, you're at least in the right place to be saved....hopefully.

"Studies have also shown however, that the procedure can lead to risk of death, psychosis, increased stress, delirium, attempted suicide, abnormal heart rhythm and acute renal failure." (Addiction Research)

"Rapid detox only treats the physical aspect of addiction, not the psychological side, which is a major component of addiction. After rapid detox, you need extended psychological counseling to treat the mental aspect of addiction, otherwise there is a great risk of relapse." (Rapid Detox Las Vegas)- So much for your quick fix to addiction.

"...Rapid detox comes with a litany of risks. Treatment is considered experimental, so no insurance carrier will pay for the procedure...Contrary to popular belief, an addict doesn't just nap eight hours, dress and head home...The single biggest risk to a patient during rapid detox is absorbing and tolerating the general anesthesia that allows the body to sleep during the infusion. To give you an idea of how high this risk can be, compare one death for every 250,000 people receiving general anesthesia for surgery to one death in every 10,000 as a result of rapid detox... In addition to alarming fatality numbers, rapid detox patients regularly suffer serious thyroid problems following treatment." (eHow.com) - where do I sign up? Not.

These are only a few things to consider, for me they are enough. While the traditional method isn't the easiest, it is the safest and the goal is to have a life after not worry about medical issues or worse death. Cliffside Malibu "will also do everything that they can to make sure that your experience is as comfortable as possible".

Self Help Inspired Words from the Famous

1. "If you think you can or you think you can't either way you are right." ~ Henry Ford

2. "The best way to predict the future is to create it." ~ Peter F. Drucker

3. "Success is something you attract by the person you become." ~ Jim Rohn

4. "What the mind of man can conceive and believe, It can achieve." ~ Napoleon Hill

5. "Believe in Yourself and there will come a day when others will have no choice but to believe with you." ~ Cynthia Kersey

6. "Be the change you wish to see in the world." ~ Gandhi

7. "If you can dream it, you can do it." ~ Walt Disney

8. "The greatest glory in living lies not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall." ~ Nelson Mandela

9. "Our attitude toward life determines life's attitude toward us." ~ Earl Nightingale

10. "It is never too late to be who you might have been." ~ George Elliot

11. "What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us." ~ Walt Emerson

12. "If you want it badly enough, there are no limits on what you can achieve." ~ Brian Tracy

13. "All our dreams can come true - if we have the courage to pursue them." ~ Walt Disney

14. "Time can't be managed. I merely manage activities. Each night, I write down on a sheet of paper a list of the things I have to accomplish the next day. And when I wake up ... I do them." ~ Earl Nightingale

15. "Obstacles are those frightful things you see when you take your eyes off your goal." ~ Henry Ford

16. "The world cares very little about what a man or woman knows; it is what the man or woman is able to do that counts." ~ Booker T Washington

17. "Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover." ~ Mark Twain

18. "You will be amazed at how much free time you actually have when you never have to think about or worry about money." ~ Bob Proctor

19. "If you don't design your own life plan, chances are you'll fall into someone else's plan. And guess what they have planned for you? Not much." ~ Jim Rohn

20. "We cannot live only for ourselves. A thousand fibers connect us with our fellow men; and among those fibers, as sympathetic threads, our actions run as causes, and they come back to us as effects." ~ Herman Melville

21. "Tough Times Never Last, Tough People Do" ~ Robert Schuller

22. "Pain is temporary. It may last a minute, or an hour, or a day, or a year, but eventually it will subside and something else will take its place. If I quit, however, it lasts forever." ~ Lance Armstrong

23. "Yesterday does not equal tomorrow. Forget the past and move towards your goals." ~ Tony Robbins

24. "There are two primary choices in life: to accept conditions as they exist, or accept the responsibility for changing them." ~ Denis Waitley

25. "Just Do It" ~Nike

(EDITOR'S NOTE: I found these and several more at Self Help Quotes, I wanted to share some words that might help give you a boost while on your road to recovery, or to help someone you know. Enjoy!)

Musical Assistance

I found a list of 21 songs about drug addictions and/or overcoming the addiction. Some of these artists have been known for going in and out of rehab. Some of them sung about a loved one that suffered. I am sure you have heard at least 1 if not several of these tunes, some of them you can relate to, others you can think of someone who would think its their story. Sometimes hearing the right song helps a person understand their situation or circumstance.
(List Courtesy of Random mode @ TheCheers)

1. Wasting Away In Margaritaville: Jimmy Buffet

"Blew out my flipflop, stepped on a poptop
Cut my heel, had to cruise on back home,
But there's booze in the blender,
And soon it will render,
That frozen concoction that helps me hang on.
Yes, some people claim that there's a woman to blame,
And I know it's my own damn fault."

2. Every Breath You Take: The Police

"Oh, cant you see
You belong to me
How my poor heart aches
With every breath you take

Every move you make
Every vow you break
Every smile you fake
Every claim you stake
I'll be watching you"

3.White Lines: Grandmaster Flash

"Ticket to ride, white line highway
Tell all your friends, they can go my way
Pay your toll, sell your soul
Pound for pound costs more than gold
The longer you stay, the more you pay
My white lines go a long way
Either up your nose or through your vein
With nothin to gain except killin' your brain"

4. One More Addiction: Natalie Imbruglia

"First the good news
Its gonna feel very nice
Then the bad news
You gotta pay a heavy price
Rip tide,we slide we ride on a deep forbidden sea
Under we go-so slow
And you're hanging onto me"

5. Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds: The Beatles

"Follow her down to a bridge by a fountain,
Where rocking horse people eat marshmallow pies.
Everyone smiles as you drift past the flowers,
That grow so incredibly high.

Newspaper taxis appear on the shore,
Waiting to take you away.
Climb in the back with your head in the clouds,
And you're gone."

6. The Crystal Ship: The Doors

"Oh tell me where your freedom lies
The streets are fields that never die
Deliver me from reasons why
You'd rather cry, I'd rather fly

The crystal ship is being filled
A thousand girls, a thousand thrills
A million ways to spend your time
When we get back, I'll drop a line"

7. Cocaine: Eric Clapton

"If you got bad news, you wanna kick them blues; cocaine.
When your day is done and you wanna run; cocaine.
She don't lie, she don't lie, she don't lie; cocaine."

8. Joey: Concrete Blond

"Joey, honey - I got some money
All is forgiven. listen, listen
And if I seem to be confused
I didn't mean to be with you.
And when you said I scared you,
Well I guess you scared me too.
But we got lucky once before
And if you're somewhere out there
Passed out on the floor.
Oh Joey, I'm not angry anymore."

9. Truckin: The Grateful Dead

"Sometimes the lights all shinin on me;
Other times I can barely see.
Lately it occurs to me what a long, strange trip its been.

What in the world ever became of sweet jane?
She lost her sparkle, you know she isn't the same
Livin on reds, vitamin c, and cocaine,
All a friend can say is ain't it a shame? "

10. Hotel California: The Eagles

"Mirrors on the ceiling,
The pink champagne on ice
And she said 'We are all just prisoners here, of our own device'
And in the master's chambers,
They gathered for the feast
They stab it with their steely knives,
But they just can't kill the beast

Last thing I remember, I was
Running for the door
I had to find the passage back
To the place I was before
'Relax,' said the night man,
'We are programmed to receive.
You can check-out any time you like,
But you can never leave"

11. Because I Got High: Afroman

"I messed up my entire life because I got high
I lost my kids and wife because I got high
now I'm sleeping on the sidewalk and I know why
- cause I got high
I'm gonna stop singing this song because I'm high
I'm singing this whole thing wrong because I'm high
and if I don't sell one copy I know why
- cause I'm high"

12. She Talks To Angels: The Black Crowes

"She never mentions the word addiction
In certain company
Yes, she'll tell you she's an orphan
After you meet her family

She paints her eyes as black as night, now
Pulls those shades down tight
Yeah, she gives a smile when the pain comes,
The pains gonna make everything alright"

13. Lithium: Nirvana

"I'm so happy. Cause today I found my friends.
They're in my head. I'm so ugly. But that's ok.
'Cause so are you. We've broke our mirrors.
Sunday morning. Is everyday for all I care.
And I'm not scared. Light my candles.
In a daze cause I've found god."

14. Under The Bridge: Red Hot Chili Peppers

"Under the bridge downtown
Is where I drew some blood
Under the bridge downtown
I could not get enough
Under the bridge downtown
Forgot about my love
Under the bridge downtown
I gave my life away"

15. Rehab: Amy Winehouse

"I don't ever wanna drink again
I just ooh I just need a friend
I'm not gonna spend ten weeks
have everyone think I'm on the mend

It's not just my pride
It's just 'til these tears have dried"

16.Numb: U2

"Gimme some more
A piece of me, baby
I feel numb
Don't plead
Don't bridle
Don't shackle
Don't grind Gimme some more
Don't curve
Don't swerve I feel numb
Lie, die, serve Gimme some more
Don't theorize, realise, polarise I feel numb
Chance, dance,dismiss, apologise Gimme what you got
Gimme what I don't get
Gimme what you got
Too much is not enough"

17. Purple Haze: Jimi Hendrix


"Purple haze all in my eyes,
Don't know if its day or night
You got me blowin, blowin my mind
Is it tomorrow, or just the end of time?"

18. Hurt: Nine Inch Nails (Also redone by Johnny Cash)

"I hurt myself today
To see if I still feel
I focus on the pain
The only thing that's real
The needle tears a hole
The old familiar sting
Try to kill it all away
But I remember everything"

19. Comfortably Numb: Pink Floyd

"Ok.
Just a little pinprick.
There'll be no more --aaaaaahhhhh!
But you may feel a little sick.

Can you stand up?
I do believe its working good.
That'll keep you going for the show.
Come on its time to go."

20. Heroin: Velvet Underground

"Heroin, be the death of me
Heroin, its my wife and its my life
Because a mainer to my vein
Leads to a center in my head
And then I'm better off and dead
Because when the smack begins to flow
I really don't care anymore"

21. I'm Not An Addict: K's Choice

"The deeper you stick it in your vein
The deeper the thoughts there's no more pain
I'm in heaven, I'm a god
I'm everywhere, I feel so hot
It's not a habit, it's cool
I feel alive
If you don't have it you're on
the other side
I'm not an addict (maybe that's a lie)"

Empty

The stores in this town are empty and dark.
It is cold and gray and silent.
I have been brought here in a like state, dumped here like a bag of garbage.
My soul has been poured out to so many thirsty beggers,
but there is no faucet to fill what is empty.
I am as useless to society as an old Coke can.
There are no discussions of half-full or half-empty.
I am just empty.
So what can this town give to this dried up girl?
There are no sounds. No things. No lights.
But there are people.
There are people who are bleeding out the moisture that I so desperately need.
They have a source that seems to never end.
I drink. I breath. I am nourished.
These people. They are my friends.
They have given me the answer to life.
They have shown me a faucet that never dries.
I can give and always be filled.
I am alive.
I am saved.

(*Authors notes: I was sent....to enter a treatment program for anorexia. My soul was dried up...Little did I know that I would meet the people who saved my life and changed my existence. Perhaps this poem doesn't make any sense to you, but it was therapeutic to write down the memories of the first day...) ~by wolfpackangel99

This poem just felt right to read and I wanted to share it with you, the author illustrated her feelings so wonderfully you can't help but understand her. "Cliffside Malibu offers an unmatched success rate with helping people overcome eating disorders. Our staff is dedicated to doing everything possible to help you succeed, supporting you along the way. Bulimia, Anorexia and other eating disorders can have a hugely negative impact on your health and when you beat the disorder, you will reap immediate and long-lasting health benefits. Cliffside Malibu provides the experienced staff, the proven programs, after-care support and the exclusive facilities; you provide the willpower and desire to succeed. Together you can conquer your eating disorder and go back to having a normal, healthy life." (Article courtesy of Cliffside Malibu)