Scribblings of a Psychotherapist

Self-Care this Eating Disorders Awareness Week 2024 We are almost half way through this Eating Disorders Awareness week 2024 and if you have past, or present, personal experience of an eating disorder or disordered eating, awareness weeks such as these can feel especially overwhelming with all the social media posts; articles, news its's and more. So, it's really important to look after yourself during this awareness week and get some support, where possible, if needed. remember, we are here to support you too, wherever you are in the UK. This self-care or self-help exercise involves making a 'Safe Box' or 'Comfort Box'. Read about how to do this below. Make yourself a 'Safe Box' or a 'Comfort Kit'. This can be very useful during times of distress, overwhelm or when we feel under threat in some way (e.g. anxious, confusing feelings etc.) What you put in your box/kit is up to you; however it's purpose is to provide you with a 'go to...

  LET'S TALK!   We all need someone to talk to sometimes.... don't we?   Talking to others about our problems, concerns, thoughts, feelings or about whatever is going on for us in life can be tricky at times. It can be hard to open up and have time to focus on ourselves.   However, your mental and emotional health is sooooooo important and deserves the same care as your physical health.   Sometimes we all need someone to talk to - about the big and the smaller things in life. Perhaps you need a listening ear and someone to talk to about life's struggles and stresses. Or perhaps you experience low mood, depression, anxiety, problems with food/eating, OCD, body dysmorphic disorder, self-harm etc. and other mental health issues.   Or perhaps you need some support with increasing confidence, self-esteem, relationship issues, assertiveness, stress and more.   Whatever the case may be, our experienced and qualified psychotherapists and counsellors can offer ...

WHAT'S ARFID??   5 FACTS ABOUT ARFID The focus of Eating Disorders Awareness Week 2024 is ARFID. Many of you might not have heard of ARFID. well, here's 5 facts about ARFID to get you going. * ARFID stands for Avoidant Restrictive Food Intake Disorder. - It is characterised by selective eating. So, for example, the person may avoid specific foods or certain types or groups of food; they may eat a very limited range of foods; there may be strong or aversive reaction to certain food tastes, textures, smells or colours; there may be anxiety around food; the person may fear choking, gagging or vomiting; and there may be fear around new foods. These are just some of the features of ARFID. * It's often thought that only children and young people experience ARFID. - However, this is not the case. There is more research into children and young people with ARFID; however, it's really important to know that adults experience ARFID too. * It's often thought that people with AR...

E ATING DISORDERS AWARENESS WEEK 2024 Next week marks the start of Eating Disorders Awareness Weel 2024 and we have a few things planned, including: * We are delivering an awareness workshop with some corporate organisations covering the basics of eating disorders * We will be posting about eating disorders on social media * We are offering some free mini-consultations with those looking for support for eating disorders * A member of our team will be talking to some people at a menopause group in Argyll about peri/menopause and the reactivation of eating disorders/disordered eating and body image concerns during this period * We will be offering psychotherapy, counselling, CBT and dietitian appointments in-person in Glasgow city centre and online across the UK * We will be attending some training on ARFID too ..... plus some other bits and pieces across the week Best wishes, Talking EDs: Eating Disorders Support Service Scotland 

DID YOU KNOW? Did you know that we also have a dietitian and nutritionist who works across our various practices? She can provide online appointments to anyone across the UK. See the poster below for more information and get in touch if you need more information, have any questions or would like to book an appointment. CONTACT DETAILS Talking EDs: Eating Disorders Support Service Scotland www.eatingdisorderscotland.co.uk Glasgow Anxiety and Depression Counselling Service (GADS) www.glasgowanxietydepression.co.uk Scotland Anxiety and Depression Counselling Service (SADS) www.glasgowanxietydepression.co.uk

Psychotherapist/CBT Therapist/Counsellor: Adult Eating Disorders (over 16s) (all modalities welcome to apply) CLOSING DATE: MONDAY 26TH FEBRUARY 2024, 5PM START DATE: MID-MARCH 2024 You will see clients at our offices in Glasgow city centre. This is NOT an online role so please do not apply if you cannot work with clients at our offices in Glasgow city centre. Please contact email us on support@eatingdisorderscotland.co.uk for a Role Description and Application Form. We do not accept CVs.   Talking EDs: Eating Disorders Support Service Scotland seek to recruit a suitable Counsellor/Psychotherapist/CBT Therapist to join our friendly, supportive team of psychotherapists, counsellors, mental health practitioners and dietitians. Other therapeutic modalities are also welcome to apply. We are currently a small team of psychotherapists, counsellors, psychologists and dietitians. We are looking for an affiliate Psychotherapist or Counsellor: Adult Eating Disorders (over 16s) to provide in...

FEELING ANXIOUS? THEN IT'S TIME TO TAKE ACTION!   Do you know what generalised anxiety is? We all experience anxious periods now and again. Some anxiety, worry and/or nervousness is ‘normal’ and can even act as a motivator sometimes (e.g. deadlines at work). However, when we begin experiencing excessive, continuous and/or distressing levels of constant anxiety worry and/or nervousness, it is possible that we may be experiencing a condition called Generalised Anxiety Disorder or GAD. What distnguishes GAD from ‘normal’ everyday levels of anxiety or worry? Well, individual’s experiencing problematic, and often severe, anxiety can experience high levels of stress, nervousness and anxiety and worry about ...

  Focus on..... Binge Eating Disorder (BED) Binge Eating Disorder or BED is often characterised by someone consuming very large amounts of food over short period of time, even if they are not hungry. Although, we often see another form of binge eating that is characterised by an almost constant 'grazing' of food, which may amount to a large volume of food over time.    BED is almost 2x as common in women than in men, although gender differences are less pronounced than in Anorexia Nervosa and Bulimia Nervosa. BED has been found is all cultures and ethnicities.   BED was formally classified in 2013/14 as distinct Eating Disorder and now has formal classification in DSM-5.   Keeping in mind that everyone experiencing BED is different and BED may present differently (we are all different and unique, after all!), some of the signs and symptoms of BED include: * Feeling out-of-control when eating during a binge episode.   * Often hiding food (before it has been ...

Looking to access dietetic and nutrition services for yourself or your clients? Our highly qualified and experienced dietitian offers a range of services to those with, and without, eating disorders/disordered eating. Online appointments available across the UK. See poster below and get in touch if you would like more information, have any questions or would like to book an appointment.

Do you want to reduce your stress levels? Is stress causing you worry, nervousness, anxiety, low mood, depression or other distress or difficulties? Stress is that 'word' from the 1980s that was traditionally associated with 'yuppies'. Anyone remember that term? I am old enough that I do. It' a horrible word that, in the 1980s, was coined for busy businessmen working in the city who were stressed by their fast pace of life. It's not really accurate though, is it? We ALL experience stress form time-to-time and that's part of our lives. However, when stress becomes unmanageable, out-of-proportion of the events/thing we are worried about, too much to cope with, causes us to develop unhelpful coping mechanisms (eating, drinking, smoking, over-work etc. distraction etc.) or impacts on our mood, feelings, physical wellbeing or other areas of our life, then many stress is starting to become a problem. Some stress is ok. It can motivate us to action or complete task...