Eating Disorders

Create a new post for topic
Join the Conversation on
Eating Disorders
74K people
0 stories
14K posts
About Eating Disorders Show topic details
Explore Our Newsletters
What's New in Eating Disorders
All
Stories
Posts
Videos
Latest
Trending
Post
See full photo

NON-JUDGEMENT: 3rd of 9 Foundational Attitudes of Mindfulness As Part of Resilience

It is in the full definition of Mindfulness itself — we must remember that mindfulness is not just being in the present moment, it must be “awareness of the present moment Without Judgment.”

Or stated this way:

“Paying attention in a certain way -on purpose, in the present moment, Non-Judgmentally.”

Non-Judgment in itself, as well as, when utilized along with the other 9 attitudes of the mental wellness state of mindfulness that I discuss in this group, is a game-changer when put into practice.

There have been many articles and books written about the practice of Non-Judgment.

One of my original teachers of this is the very well-known Gabrielle (Gabby) Bernstein.

This is where I learned to utilize this transformative go-to short statement every time something arises in my mind that could be a wrong judgment and could cause all kinds of chaos for no reason:

“I choose to judge nothing that occurs.”

I am going to go in-depth about this here, because it is that important.

It even has helped me tremendously in my marriage which I am very proud to say, with my dedication to mindfulness as a new way of life, and with my emotional intelligence growth that I keep sharing with you, I have taught my husband how he needs to grow along with me, and due to my persistence to create a life that I want to live, our marriage going on 15 years has evolved into what I shaped it into, based on my values, and my mental health needs. And he is a tough one, to say the very least. He never would have grown at all otherwise.

Non-Judgement of myself too has been a game-changer for me to learn one of the biggest lessons of all of life that I was not taught growing up— Self-Love.

And that my friends, is something we cannot afford to not master, so I will dedicate another post at another time to that Key to Everything.

Every time the impulse to decide whether something is good, bad, right, wrong, ugly or pretty arises, stop and say, “I choose to judge nothing that occurs.”

Everytime you see someone and think “they should” or “they shouldn’t”, “that’s good” or “that’s bad”, “she’s right” or “she’s wrong”, instead, just observe and don’t comment to yourself or others. Go cold turkey and stop judging totally for a period of time. Do a judgment detox.

A judgment detox means giving up judgment of all things. Judgment of self, others, the world, things that happen or don’t happen.

Choose to say these things to yourself instead:
“Today I choose to accept all that is for what it is – nothing more, nothing less.” You can also say to yourself daily -“Judging serves no purpose”.

You may find that you will have more peace. You may find that you feel less anxious because you are not having to figure everything out. You may find that you start observing life more and trusting more.

How much of your time and energy is taken up judging what is right, wrong, good or bad for everybody and everything? How much of your time today do you spend trying to predict the future? “That would just be terrible” or “If I do this, then I’ll be miserable.”
Or “If I do this it will make me happy”.

How would your life be different if you stopped judging and evaluating everyone and everything? Think about it. We evaluate everything. We put a value on everything. We are assigning meaning to things.

We spend a lot of time analyzing, criticizing, and pretending we know what’s good/bad, right/wrong, and on and on and on.

The real danger lies in becoming attached to our judgments.
Believing you really know what’s right or wrong, especially for someone else, can be very hurtful and damaging.
But also, we can’t assign meaning to something someone does because we might not be looking at the real reasons why they do it or don’t do it, that could have nothing to do with us intentionally.

If you want to dive into this deeper, you can read one Gabrielle Bernstein’s New York Times Bestsellers:“Judgment Detox: Release the beliefs that hold you back from living a better life.”

If you are like me and love extracting all of the teachings within the best article, here’s her articles website link: Gabby Bernstein Blog Articles | Informative Articles From Gabby

The critical ways I learned to apply non-judgement to my marriage and to my life choices I also learned from Kathy Murphy, PhD in her Article “Today I Will Judge Nothing.”

She discussed how our judgments have ruined many a good relationship.

The problem is we think we do know. Then we become limited by our perceptions and beliefs. We become bound by what we think we know and may be missing some of the greatest opportunities and lessons of our lives.

In addition, how does one design a life without making judgments, without deciding what’s good or bad or what’s right or wrong? We do need to be able to make choices for our lives, but maybe we need some new strategies for making these decisions. We can recognize and admit that all we really have are our preferences, our desires, our opinions, and our best guesses. With this information we discern what would be our best choice for today giving credence to the reality that “you never really know” how it will turn out. It’s a subtle yet powerful shift to change our language from what is right or wrong, good or bad to simply stating what we prefer.

Mindfulness Attitude of Non-Judging is cultivated by assuming the stance of an impartial witness to your own experience. To do this requires that you become aware of the constant stream of judging and reacting to inner and outer experiences that we are all normally caught up in, and learn to step back from it. When we begin practicing paying attention to the activity of our own mind, it is common to discover and be surprised by the fact that we are constantly generating judgments about our experience.

#MentalHealth #Mindfulness #MajorDepressiveDisorder #BipolarDepression #BipolarDisorder #Depression #Agoraphobia #Anxiety #GeneralizedAnxietyDisorder #BorderlinePersonalityDisorder #Addiction #ChronicIllness #ChronicFatigue #ChronicFatigueSyndrome #IfYouFeelHopeless #Cancers #AnorexiaNervosa #EatingDisorders #ObsessiveCompulsiveDisorder #Fibromyalgia #Selfcare #Selfharm #Grief #SuicidalIdeation #SuicidalThoughts #SuicideAttemptSurvivors #Suicide #ComplexPosttraumaticStressDisorder #PTSD #Trauma #RareDisease #SocialAnxiety #Fibromyalgia #Loneliness #Migraine #CerebralPalsy #MultipleSclerosis #ParkinsonsDisease #MoodDisorders #MotorDisorders #PersistentDepressiveDisorder #ADHD #Relationships #FamilyAndFriends

Most common user reactions 5 reactions 2 comments
Post

My struggles. #Depression #MentalHealth #sexualharassement

Read everything if you can. I need as much advice as I can get on this. I'm sorry if it's too long.
Also, feel free to ask any questions to what you don't understand, I'll try my best to answer them.

Back back in 2019 I left my home country and move to another as a refugee to go to college as they were insecurities at the time in my country and there still are.
I was going to be staying with my Aunt and her family as my parents didn't have enough money to afford college and paying for a dorm on top of that. I was 18 at the time.
Coming from a French speaking country, it was required to do 1 year of English studies before enrolling into college.

When I finished that, I enrolled into a college that was literally into its first year of 'business' in 2020 and when covid came around, they closed down permanently and I wasted a year just like that.

By that time, I had left my Aunt's place to live with my uncle and 3 cousins (2 girls and 1 boy) who were all just in their early teens.

My uncle used to rent an apartment with 5 rooms and he'll occupy one with my cousin (the boy) and us 3 girls will have another room.
The remaining 3, he'll put in full on adult males as supportive tenants who used to bring their male friends also, so one room can even have 5 guys sharing it all together at once.

It was chaotic.

And an important thing to note is that the entire apartment only had ONE BATHROOM AND ONE TOILET.
And none of them had locks on them.

So it was normal for any of them to open the doors on you at any time when you were showering or doing your business in the toilet and I can't begin to tell you how uncomfortable and shameful that was.

And as you can guess, sexual harassments started happening inside the house. Not just to me, but to all my cousins as well. Even the boy.

I thought it was just me at first because I was older, but once I talked to them, I discovered that they were going through the same thing.

You get a guy who is old enough to be your father touching you inappropriately and making sexual advances to you.

And to make it all even more disgusting, it will be someone you refer to as "UNCLE".

Not my actual uncle, but in my culture, here is how we refer to some people:
A woman or man who is older than you by 5-9 years, we call them by 'brother/sister' followed by their first name.

And the ones older than you by 10 years or more but are not your family member, we put 'uncle/auntie' before their name.

I had to put that there just for clarification.

Anyway, when those situations started to get out of hand, we sat my uncle down and explained to him what was happening, he didn't do anything about that.
He just told us they help him pay rent since he can't afford it on his own and can't chase them.
We asked him, why can't we move to a smaller apartment where it can be just us and no one else? He pretended to listen but never did anything about it.

We even suggested he starts getting female tenants instead, but still got nothing.

I know women can be predators too, but we all know that generally, they are safer to be around than men.

My cousins and I well all in school. I was in college and all that started affecting my mental health and grades, but I couldn't allow myself to break down so I just let it be.

I also kept thinking about the fact that I was an adult living in his house and eating his food, so I had no reason to complain, even if my parents were sending him money.

Not to mention, my refugee document had expired during covid and the country refused to grant me another one for some reason, so I couldn't even get a job.

I felt useless, I accepted the fact that I was a failure and a disappointment.

I started skipping meals for some reason (don't know if it was an eating disorder or something) but I could go days without eating, just drinking water and sometimes having a single slice of bread and I'd be full just with that.

My sleep also got scarce. I'd spend the whole night just staring into nothing and when I felt like my thoughts were going down a bad path, I'd distract myself by studying or doing my assignments at night.
If I managed to sleep, it wouldn't be more than 4 hours. And that was on my best days.

My uncle started requesting me to wake up every day at around 5 to prepare for him water to bath, make him breakfast and lunch to take to work and I started doing it. (before he was doing it by himself).

But those were the same times those guys will also be moving around the house to get ready to go to work, and being alone with one of them in a small kitchen without anyone else around, it was another opportunity for them to keep their disgusting behavior going on.

Eventually, I stopped waking up at 5 to do that for my uncle and would just wake up at around 7:30 to get ready for school when they were all gone.

My uncle got mad at me for stopping that and just went on to tell my family that I was a lazy person and wasn't doing anything for him.

Not sure if he told my mom that, but I know most of my family members can't keep anything to themselves, so she must have heard everything by now.

Is she did, she never confronted me about it and I'm thankful because I don't even know how or where I can start to tell her the truth.

And that is just to summerize everything that's happened in the spun of 4 years. And i would like to tell you that everything's better now, but I can't. The situation hasn't changed.

Being an introvert has made it hard for me to open up to someone and when I felt like I could trust my Aunt and told her some of this, she said I was just lazy and that my uncle wasn't at fault for anything.

Now, I'm at a state where I don't feel physically or mentally able to do anything and all I can do is regret everything about my life and feeling like I've failed my parents and siblings since I can't even support them financially.

Everything's my fault and I don't know how to stop feeling like this.

Please help!!!

Most common user reactions 15 reactions 7 comments
Post
See full photo

Turn your adversity into your advantage by listening to it.

How would somebody respond if they are told that his/her overall cholesterol level was 322 mg/dL and Triglyceride level was 232 mg/dL ??

This happened to me 3-4 years back. Many would have accepted the tablets recommended by the doctors !!! Why not, they are the repository of medical science.... Many could have easily be in a panic mode... Yet, I have asked my GP sometime of 3-6 months !!!

I have consciously changed my cooking oil to Rice Bran Oil ever since, stopped intake of sugar ( at least cut it down by 95% ). There is no chemically processed sugar packet or sweet in my house... I started eating brown rice with husk and banned eating processed food to the extent I can.

I have been eating fresh fruits and vegetables including salads to quench my appetite... After 36 months, my cholesterol came down to 154 mg/dL from 322 mg/dL which is acceptable to the doctors... After 36 months my triglycerides are now hovering around 167mg/dL....

How did I achieve this ?? Google search + I have been a biology and chemistry topper since my school days... If knowledge is truly inculcated, it should produce positive outcomes... But very few could have resisted medication like I did and opt for negotiation with a GP !!!

#BipolarDisorder #EatingDisorder #MentalHealth

(edited)
Most common user reactions 22 reactions 9 comments
Post
See full photo

Turn your adversity into your advantage by listening to it.

How would somebody respond if they are told that his/her overall cholesterol level was 322 mg/dL and Triglyceride level was 232 mg/dL ??

This happened to me 3-4 years back. Many would have accepted the tablets recommended by the doctors !!! Why not, they are the repository of medical science.... Many could have easily be in a panic mode... Yet, I have asked my GP sometime of 3-6 months !!!

I have consciously changed my cooking oil to Rice Bran Oil ever since, stopped intake of sugar ( at least cut it down by 95% ). There is no chemically processed sugar packet or sweet in my house... I started eating brown rice with husk and banned eating processed food to the extent I can.

I have been eating fresh fruits and vegetables including salads to quench my appetite... After 36 months, my cholesterol came down to 154 mg/dL from 322 mg/dL which is acceptable to the doctors... After 36 months my triglycerides are now hovering around 167mg/dL....

How did I achieve this ?? Google search + I have been a biology and chemistry topper since my school days... If knowledge is truly inculcated, it should produce positive outcomes... But very few could have resisted medication like I did and opt for negotiation with a GP !!!

#BipolarDisorder #EatingDisorder #MentalHealth

(edited)
Most common user reactions 22 reactions 9 comments
Post

I’m new here!

Hi, my name is Louram. I'm here because I’ve finally decided that enough is enough. Recently battled and won over cancer, now I have to heal the mind and spirit.

#MightyTogether #Depression #Anxiety #BipolarDisorder #ADHD #EatingDisorder #Cancer #Grief

Most common user reactionsMost common user reactionsMost common user reactions 15 reactions 5 comments
Post

I’m new here!

Hi, my name is Louram. I'm here because I’ve finally decided that enough is enough. Recently battled and won over cancer, now I have to heal the mind and spirit.

#MightyTogether #Depression #Anxiety #BipolarDisorder #ADHD #EatingDisorder #Cancer #Grief

Most common user reactionsMost common user reactionsMost common user reactions 15 reactions 5 comments
Post

I’m new here!

Hi, I’m ArtZine. I’m interested in developing a thorough understanding of trauma informed expressive arts therapy, mindfulness and dbt.

#MightyTogether #BipolarDisorder #Migraine #Depression #Anxiety #Fibromyalgia #ADHD #PTSD #EatingDisorder #MultipleSclerosis #mastocytocis#ibs#OCD

Most common user reactionsMost common user reactions 12 reactions 3 comments
Post

I’m new here!

Hi, I’m ArtZine. I’m interested in developing a thorough understanding of trauma informed expressive arts therapy, mindfulness and dbt.

#MightyTogether #BipolarDisorder #Migraine #Depression #Anxiety #Fibromyalgia #ADHD #PTSD #EatingDisorder #MultipleSclerosis #mastocytocis#ibs#OCD

Most common user reactionsMost common user reactions 12 reactions 3 comments