School is a place where teens can cutivate amazing friendships, academic growth, and exciting discoveries. But for teens struggling with anxiety and disordered thoughts, it can also feel like a minefield. Lunchtime becomes a social gauntlet, peers a source of comparison, and gym class a test of self-worth.

If this sounds familiar, you're not alone. Many teens experience anxiety and disordered eating, and school environments can often trigger these issues. But fear not, there are ways to navigate these challenges and reclaim your school experience. Here are some practical strategies to help you manage anxiety and disordered thoughts:

Watching your child struggle with an eating disorder (ED) is an incredibly stressful and emotionally draining experience. The constant worry, the mealtime battles, the feeling of helplessness – it can take a toll on even the strongest parent. But here's the harsh truth: you can't effectively support your child's recovery if you're running on fumes.

Prioritizing your own well-being isn't selfish, it's essential. It's like putting on the oxygen mask on an airplane first: you need to take care of yourself to be able to take care of others.

Recovery is rarely a smooth, linear journey. Bumps, stumbles, and even backslides are part of the process, and they can leave us feeling defeated and discouraged. But what if, instead of succumbing to shame and self-blame, we embraced grace – a compassionate understanding that setbacks are not failures, but opportunities for growth?

Recovering from an eating disorder is rarely a solo act. It's a journey best embarked upon with a strong, supportive village by your side. While therapy and professional guidance are crucial, the love and encouragement of friends, family, and healthcare providers create an invaluable safety net, propelling you forward towards a mentally healthier future.

It's that time again. The air tingles with anticipation, calendars brim with blank slate optimism, and social media is overwhelmed by a chorus of "new year, new me" chants. But amidst the resolutions for shredded abs and detoxed livers, have you stopped to ask yourself: is this the right mental approach for me?

Parenting is a wild rollercoaster. One day you're the killing it, singing silly songs, playing games, and building forts. The next, you're a sleep-deprived, frazzled mess, trying to navigate meltdowns, tantrums, and teen angst. You might find yourself chasing this elusive idea of being the "perfect parent." This pressure to be perfect is not only unrealistic, it's downright harmful. It can lead to feelings of inadequacy, guilt, and anxiety. The reality is…

The Holiday season shimmers with traditions like dreidels spinning, latkes sizzling, sparkling lights, trimming trees, and exchanging presents. Amidst the merriment, the gift-giving part can sometimes feel like an obligation, a chore on a never-ending To-Do list. This year, let's ditch the unnecessary and embrace the present (pun intended) moment.

Anti-dieters challenge the diet culture narrative. They believe that people of all sizes can be healthy and happy, and that there is no one-size-fits-all approach to eating. They focus on intuitive eating, which is a practice of listening to your body's hunger and fullness cues to eat what you need, when you need it.

As a parent, it can be heartbreaking to watch your teen struggle with body image and food anxieties. In a world saturated with diet culture, it's easy to feel powerless to protect them from its harmful messages. But don't despair! There are ways to mobilize your teen to embrace anti-diet culture and find a healthier, happier relationship with food and their body.

People with eating disorders often have distorted thoughts about their body image and may engage in extreme behaviors to control their weight, such as binge eating, purging, or excessive exercise.

Eating disorders are serious mental health conditions that can affect people of all ages, but they are especially common among teenagers. Early detection and treatment are essential for recovery, so it is important for parents to be aware of the signs and symptoms of eating disorders. Here are some subtle signs that your teen may be struggling with an eating disorder…

Recovery from an eating disorder is a journey, not a destination. It takes time, effort, and resilience to heal from the physical and emotional wounds of this complex illness. But for those who are willing to commit to themselves and ask for help, recovery is possible.

Orthorexia is a type of disordered eating that is characterized by an obsession with healthy eating. People with orthorexia may restrict their diet to a very narrow range of foods, or they may become obsessed with the purity or quality of their food. Orthorexia can have a serious impact on a person's physical and mental health, and it is important to seek help if you or someone you know is struggling with it.

You have already taken the important step of seeking treatment for your eating disorder. In-patient or residential treatment can provide you with the support and structure you need to start your recovery journey. However, at some point, you will need to transition to recovering on your own. Here are some tips for making this transition successfully…

Intuitive eating is a non-diet approach to eating that focuses on listening to your body's hunger and fullness cues, honoring your food preferences, and making peace with food. In recent years, there has been growing evidence that intuitive eating can be an effective way to help people recover from eating disorders.

The following studies suggest that intuitive eating can be a helpful tool for people who are struggling with eating disorders.

Joyful movement is any type of physical activity that you enjoy and that makes you feel good. It's not about sweating buckets or pushing yourself to your limits. It's about moving your body in a way that feels natural and pleasurable.

If you're not sure where to start, here are a few tips for finding your own form of joyful movement…

As parents, we want to protect our children from negative messages about eating and help them develop a healthy body image. But it can be difficult to control what your friends and family say in front of your kids. Here are some tips for setting boundaries with them:

We all want to have a healthy relationship with food and our bodies, and as parents, we definitely want our kids to get there with less stress than we experienced. The impact that diet culture and unrealistic body image standards can have on kids can cause a ripple effect that reaches decades into adulthood. With the messages we received in childhood about food and health, it's no wonder that so many of us struggle with our body image today.

The good news is that there are things we can do to help our kids build a healthy foundation with food and the way they see their bodies.

Spring Psychotherapy & Wellness has been built by a book-loving team, so we’d like to introduce ourselves and our lens through the content and messaging of these books. The works mentioned here are anti-diet in nature and have a strong focus on loving ourselves and accepting our bodies. While Eating Disorder Recovery is a primary focus for us, we believe every human being can benefit from the messages here.