Tag Archives: Eating Disorders

How I Manage Stress

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Last month over at Libero Network we were talking about stress management and I made a looooong list of ways I manage stress – check it out…

Stress management

(originally published here on May 21, 2013)

The past few months have been stressful to say the least. I was in my final semester of my undergrad taking a heavy load of courses, work was becoming increasingly busy by the week, I had friends turn out not to be friends at all, a relationship from my past resurfaced in a way I wish it hadn’t, and I went through the busyness of a move. I also had a friend pass away.

And then in this past month I had final exams, an intense summer course that took me by surprise, and I’ve been trying to figure out what I want to do with my life after graduating, both in the short and long term. Wow, that is a lot when I see it written out.

This past week I’ve been dealing with what I call a “midlife crisis.” My cousin refers to it as “burnout” – but I like my definition better.

Tonight I hit my breaking point. As I was driving home after pulling an 8 hour workday at Starbucks (to clarify: I don’t work at Starbucks, I do work at Starbucks), I broke down sobbing uncontrollably. I think the last few months just sort of came pouring out of me unexpectedly.

In light of this, and since we are talking about Stress Management this month, anyways, I want to share with you guys my list of things I do to wind down, keep the stress at bay, and maintain my “zen.”

Note: my needs differ depending on the situation so it’s important for me to be in-tune with that. For example, sometimes I just need to go for a run and release my negative energy that way; tonight, however, though I’d planned on going for a run after I’d finished my work, I realized I was exhausted physically and emotionally and what I needed rather than exercise was to make myself a warm bath. So I did that instead. It’s all about knowing your options and listening to your body/mind and giving it what it needs.

So here it goes…

Things I do in the moment/during a stressful period:

  • Let it out. Note: this is different than “let it go.” I find to tell someone “let it go,” though it serves it’s purpose in some situations (especially when it comes to obsessions and things we can’t control), is not very productive. Letting it out, on the other hand, is incredibly productive and is, in my opinion, one of the best ways to let something go. What I did in my car tonight – that was me letting it out. Cry, scream, yell – do whatever you have to do; it’s all about feeling and allowing yourself permission to feel.

Aaaand if you’re like me and sometimes prefer videos over reading, here is last week’s Sunday vlog in which I share my Top 5 Stress-Reducing activities: (don’t forget to subscribe! youtube.com/lbersaglio)

I hope you guys found this helpful and that you have a sress-free weekend filled with chillaxing! (yep, I say that)

I’m Back to YouTube-ing (and other fun updates)

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Hello! I know it’s been awhile since I’ve posted, but that’s all about to change! I wanted to write this quick post as a little “update” about my blog and other such things…

First of all, I am back to vLogging!

For those of you who don’t know, I’ve had a YouTube channel for about three years now (wow!) – I took a break because I was busy with school and work and such, but I am back to posting regular videos (which will be live every Sunday). Most of my videos are based on Eating Disorder recovery; however, I have done some videos on body image, relationships, self-harm etc. If there are any topics you’d like me to cover in upcoming videos, please let me know – it’s not always easy coming up with ideas each week and I want to make sure the videos I make are helpful and relevant.  You can check out my channel here: Youtube.com/lbersaglio

And here’s my latest video…

The next news is that I got new tattoos!

tattoosAs some of you know, I have a [growing] tattoo collection, and yesterday I added two more to my collection! All of my tattoos have specific meanings and they are all really important to me.

In case you’re wondering, here is the whole collection (the two on the bottom are new). If you’d like me to ever do a post/video about my tattoos and their meanings, let me know!

Did you know I have an Intuitive Eating blog?

As some of you know, I am incredibly passionate about Intuitive Eating and I’ve had an Intuitive Eating Facebook page and Tumblr blog for a couple of years now. Recently, though, I launched an official Intuitive Eating blog on WordPress! It’s called Honouring Appetite and you can check it out here: honouringappetite.wordpress.com

Again, there haven’t been any new posts recently because of school, but I will be back to a regular posting schedule. I publish a new post every Monday and I’m int he middle of a series on The Eating Guidelines. So check it out!

Changes coming to this blog

And lastly, there are going to be some changes coming to how I use this blog. I know it’s sat a bit inactive and that’s because I haven’t had much time to write because of school and work etc. However, I’ve been doing a lot of thinking, and I really want this blog to me my “home base” of sorts. This means I will be using it as a place to bring all of my “stuff” together – my writing, my YouTube videos, articles I’ve written for other sites, and who knows, maybe even some makeup reviews ;) (follow me on Instagram if you want to see my favourite makeup looks/products).

In addition, I am going to start something called “Friday’s Favourites” – where each week I will post a list of my favourite things from that week – anything from articles I’ve read and videos I’ve watched to songs I’ve been listening to and maybe even some funny picture from Pinterest. Basically a mashup of all the things that made me happy that week! And I am not ashamed to say this idea is very much based on Gala Darlings’ “Things I Love Thursday” – I definitely want to give her credit because I think she is amazing and you should definitely check her out!

Well that’s the end of my little update – I hope you all are doing wonderful and I will talk to you all soon! ❤

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Twitter: @lauren_b_sag

God has a bigger plan for our suffering than us simply surviving it

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I recently got the opportunity to contribute to my church’s blog. I decided to write on suffering and what it means when it is said that God has plans to give us “Hope and a Future”. Here is an excerpt…

“This too shall pass.” These four words were drilled into my mind ever since I was young girl. Anytime something bad happened, “This too shall pass.” If I had my heart broken, “This too shall pass.” The first time I saw Justin Bieber on stage…well you get the picture.God and suffering

In life we all go through periods of suffering—some worse than others. I believe part of what intensifies this suffering is the sense there is no hope, that there is no light at the end of it all. In my life I’ve seen my fair share of dark days, days when there appeared to be no hope. Living with an eating disorder and struggling with self-harm, and then walking the long journey of recovery left me desperate for hope. I needed it. And, once I realized it existed, I clung to it with everything I had.

But I am alive now. I have food in my stomach and life in my eyes. I survived. But that’s not what I’m here to talk about today. Today I’m here to talk about the part that comes after the “surviving.”

See, through some of my darkest moments, what got me through was Jeremiah 29:11 (NIV):

“‘For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the LORD, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.’”

The key word in here is hope; however, we cannot forget the second promise: a future. God has a bigger plan for our suffering than us simply surviving it. Surviving is important, yes, but the future that comes after that is important, too.

I think sometimes we take surviving for granted…KEEP READING

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Note: After reading this post, a friend pointed out Jeremiah 29:12-14:

Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you,” declares the Lord, “and will bring you back from captivity. I will gather you from all the nations and places where I have banished you,” declares the Lord, “and will bring you back to the place from which I carried you into exile.”

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Twitter: @lauren_b_sag

On Eating Disorders, Self-love, and God

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Photo by Branden Harvey / / Design by Lauren Dubinsky

Photo by Branden Harvey / / Design by Lauren Dubinsky

I recently had the honour of being published on the Good Women Project (if you haven’t checked out their site, you should!) I shared my story of finding my worth in a guy, which led to heartbreak which led to a decreased sense of self, which led to my eating disorder, which then led to finding a new sense of self-love and -worth in God’s grace. Here is an excerpt…

My Heart Was Broken at 17 When He Chose a Cheerleader Over Me

“Thus the end of the commandment is love, and that twofold, the love of God and the love of our neighbor. Now, if you take yourself in your entirety,—that is, soul and body together,—and your neighbor in his entirety…you will find that none of the classes of things that are to be loved is overlooked in these two commandments….When it is said, “Thou shall love thy neighbor as thyself,” it at once becomes evident that our love for ourselves has not been overlooked.” -St. Augustine

My heart was broken at the age of seventeen when he chose a cheerleader over me.

I assumed his decision was based on one thing: Me.

I wasn’t good enough. I wasn’t pretty enough. And, most importantly, I wasn’t skinny enough. Never did I consider that maybe his choice had less to do with me and more to do with him. No, it was all my fault.

I would lie awake at night, praying, pleading with God: “God, if You love me, please, please just let me wake up skinny.” And usually I’d throw in the classic: “I’ll never ask for anything else again.” But despite my negotiation, my prayers weren’t answered. So I did what many of us do: I took matters into my own hands – I stopped eating.

And the self-destruction began: weighing myself, starving myself, over-exercising, cutting myself, weighing myself again – I was at war with my body and that is a battle one can never win.

A few months and too many lost pounds later, I decided to ‘smarten up’.

I started eating again, but mostly because I felt if I went on much longer my cover would be blown and my ugly secret would get out: I had an eating disorder. That couldn’t happen. So I kept on pretending that I was OK, painting over the wounds with denial.

I became obsessed with eating only ‘healthy foods’ and avoiding anything that years of diet commercials and ill-informed ‘health’ articles had convinced me was ‘bad’. I later found out the term for this obsession: Orthorexia.

As my disordered eating and compulsive exercise continued I would still flirt with old behaviours; when life got hard, I’d stop eating. When I felt fat, I’d stop eating. And when I felt guilt or shame, I’d self-harm; attempting to numb the internal pain by creating an external one.

This process went on for a couple of years; and then something happened: another heartbreak…KEEP READING