Back to School; Make sure you and your loved one have the support you need
Back to School! As summer comes to a close, many of us are preparing to send our children back-to school. It’s common to experience “the jitters” as we adjust to a new daily routine, but that anxiety can be enhanced if you’re sending a loved one in the midst of eating...
Parental Guide to ED, by Summer Intern Anna
Navigating an eating disorder through the role of a caregiver can be quite difficult. You may feel as though you don’t know what to say to your child or that you tend to get into arguments when you bring up certain topics. This blog post will be about things my...
How to Define Recovery – Edward P. Tyson, MD
If you read my newsletter last week, you won't be surprised that this weekend is a bit wild and we're in the process of selling our house here in Minnesota. So, I'm re-sharing Dr. Ed Tyson's definition of recovery as I've been getting more questions about what...
Cup Half Empty or Half Full? by, Becky Henry, CPCC
Looking on the sunny side of life and seeing my cup as half-full has fortunately mostly been in my nature. But when I’m stretched to my limits in too many areas, even the smallest things can feel overwhelming. You know, the proverbial straw that breaks the camel’s...
Social Media Can Be the Thief of Joy – by, Intern Anna
Due to the shame and secrecy with eating disorders and the fact that parents are not attached at the hip to their kids, it is often very well into the illness that parents become aware that detrimental social media behavior is occurring. The vast majority of parents...
The Tipping Point in Eating Disorders Recovery – by, Intern Anna
Parents desperate for hope inevitably ask me, “Do you think my child can recover?” When they hear the statistics about only about ⅓ of all people with eating disorders recovering fully, they tend to lose hope. First, the sooner an eating disorder is treated, the more...
The In-between Time in Eating Disorder Recovery – by Intern Anna
Understanding that recovery isn't linear and that it's not just us the parents who want it sooner than later can help us be more patient. My summer intern, Anna shares her insights here on what she calls, "The in-between time" before full recovery. Letting go of logic...
Tips for Parents from a person in Recovery – by, Becky Henry, CPCC
Thinking of all of you this Father's Day. Parents often tell me that they feel so helpless when it comes to supporting their child during treatment. It can feel so limiting on This past Wednesday on our Weekly Online Group Support Call, our Summer Intern Anna joined...
Self Soothing Techniques, by Intern Anna
Today’s blog post is brought to us by my summer intern Anna. She shares her insights on how both a person in recovery and their family members can soothe ourselves during the many moments of distress. ~ Becky Henry, CPCC Self Soothing Techniques, by Intern Anna ...
Parallel Process & Believing in our Adult Child’s Capacity – by, Becky Henry, CPCC
A family caregiver’s role is important no matter the age of the child. We don’t stop loving or caring about our child just because they hit the magical age of 18. See my photo here of Dr. Adele LaFrance's slide on the research on involving caregivers in treatment....
Navigating Boundaries through the Eyes of an Individual Who Had an ED, by Intern Anna
Today our Hope Network, LLC summer intern Anna is sharing her perspective on boundaries around disclosing a loved one's eating disorder. It can be very hard to overcome the shame and stigma of these illnesses. We need to have honest conversations about what is theirs...
Finding Your Ground as a Caregiver – by, Anna Heltemes Hope Network, LLC Summer Intern
This summer I’m fortunate to have the help of an intern, Anna Heltemes. She’ll be my guest blogger every other week for the summer. I’ll be previewing and approving all her posts and will assure that they all adhere to Health At Every Size (HAES) principles. Meet...
Reducing Suffering this Mother’s Day- by, Becky Henry, CPCC
Big hugs to you on this day that can be such a mixed bag. It makes me think of the metaphorical boxes we put ourselves in. What boxes do we put ourselves into you ask? Victim? Rescuer? Caregiver? The Problem? The Solution? Bad/Good Parent? As I’ve been wrapping...
Allowing Relief as Caregivers – by, Becky Henry, CPCC
Relief can be tenuous, fleeting, temporary, short lived. For family caregivers, the relief of a loved one’s progress alongside the reality of the dangers and problems that still exist can quickly take away the joy of the moment of relief and switch one back to fear. ...
Imperfect Caregiving, by Becky Henry, CPCC
The title for this could also have been; “Separating your Child From the Eating Disorder and Not Doing it Perfectly” “Perfection, Vulnerability and Shame, Oh My!” “Parenting our ‘Other”Children During a Child’s Eating Disorder” “Making Mistakes while Parenting a...
Why Joy, by Becky Henry, CPCC
Until I became a parent trying desperately to get my child the help needed to survive a life threatening eating disorder, I had no concept of what real sorrow and pain are. Many of you have heard me speak and know my story of not being listened to by so many health...
Is Gratitude Possible in a Pandemic? – by, Becky Henry, CPCC
Those of you who know of my work and philosophy know how much I like gratitude as a self care practice. Pre-pandemic is the last time I specifically wrote about gratitude (at least that I could find looking back through my blogs - I’ll send a deck of “What to Say,...
Reducing Fear in Parenting – by, Becky Henry, CPCC
No one prepares a parent for watching a child break a dish and then cut themselves with it because they are terrified of eating what is on the plate. No one is there to help them cope in that moment with the terror they are all feeling. Often parents share harrowing...
Coping with Life’s Harsh Realities – by, Becky Henry, CPCC
Who knew listening to Chicago Blues could be so healing? Like many of you, I’ve been sitting with the feelings that accompany the passing of a person I care about. About a week ago our friend of over 35 years made a very sudden exit from this planet (it was not Covid)...
Eating Disorder Caregiver Calm; The Role of Neutrality – by, Becky Henry, CPCC
Family caregivers are often overwhelmed and justifiably worried about finding treatment during this pandemic. The wait lists at some residential treatment centers (RTC’s) in the USA are up to 40 people deep. On a call with clinicians and outreach folks from around...
Accepting Realities That Stink – by, Becky Henry, CPCC
Part of our ‘Parallel Process’ as a caregiver is to accept some really harsh realities. When a child or other family member has a life threatening illness such as an eating disorder, there are unfortunately so many really unexpected and brutal realities we must...
Pandemic Brain, by Becky Henry, CPCC
Who else is feeling it? Pandemic Brain seems to have hit me with; total exhaustion, lack of motivation, an underlying sadness and a strange feeling Bill Murray is going to walk around the corner of the kitchen because we’re probably in the movie “Ground Hogs Day” with...
Intentionality in the Midst of Chaos – by, Becky Henry, CPCC
How are you holding up? The past two weeks and this next week will go down as having been 3 historic weeks in a row. Three Wednesdays of monumental significance to the United States. In case you’ve blocked it already; Wednesday January 6 - Insurrection Wednesday...
2 Trainings to Support Family Caregivers – by, Becky Henry, CPCC
Happy New Year! Well, we made it through this first week of the new year...I hope you are safe and finding the calm you need to cope with the events in our country and world. I’m here and happy to chat if you just need someone to talk with about all this. I know it...
10 Holiday Stress Tips for Eating Disorders Caregivers – by, Becky Henry, CPCC
We are in the darkest days of the winter and deep into the holiday season (read ‘stress’ for moms traditionally) and winter school break for many. The need for self care and reducing our stress has become even more needed than usual. Your presence in my life is a...