This slackliner achieves stability from a developed inner sense of fluid subtle movement to maintain sustainable balance. We need that ability now.. Pix

The eating disorder system that gave you a sense of control and protection is drastically altered during this Corona Era.

When you have an eating disorder you have developed ways to rely on it when your feelings are too uncomfortable to bear and when disruptions in your life feel overwhelming. That’s what an eating disorder is for. It may cause havoc in your

                                                                                      view from garden couch

As of early March my private psychotherapy practice, case consultations, dream analysis and now also corona adjustment issues are all virtual appointments. I use Skype, Doxy.me and Facetime, depending on what works best at the time.

Note: Since I offer my services online now, anyone in the state of California can have psychotherapy appointment.
 
For limited dream analysis sessions or corona adjustment support - not psychotherapy, there is no geographic limitation.

I still offer a free telephone consultation for someone considering entering my practice or working with me in another capacity.  My phone number is: 310-474-4165. But the best way to contact me is e-mail:  This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

 
High drama in the world requires us to respond in the most stable and healthy way possible. Not easy, but possible.

Caronavirus news and the falling global financial markets can reignite old eating disorder feelings and behaviors. If you have been living without your eating disorder and now are shocked that it has kicked in during this time of fear and crisis you are not alone. Please remember, when crisis is upon us we need to center and think clearly. We need to take positive action to care for ourselves, externally and internally.

You will be limited if your eating disorder takes charge of your decision making. Yes, it can tap down your anxiety. But it also taps down your clarity of thought and your creativity. It stifles your perceptions of opportunity and your realistic approach to real problems both in the world and your immediate living situation. (See end of article for help resources.) 

Why is your eating disorder back?

* Sorting out the swirl of fact, belief, projection, weaknesses and strengths

Don Miguel Ruiz states four agreements between us and the world that can bring joy, satisfaction, health, good relationships and success to our lives. Stating these agreements as clearly as he does gives us the gift of facing them. When we face them, we have an opportunity to see how we do and do not bring these agreements into our lives on a regular basis. That gives us the opportunity to see what’s required to improve our lives. It’s a wonderful guide to identifying issues that can be explored and addressed in psychotherapy.

What follows are each of his agreements and the psychological issues that might be indicated in psychotherapy work when you have difficulty honoring them.

1. “Be impeccable with your word. Speak with integrity. Say only what you mean. Avoid using the word to speak against yourself or to gossip about others. Use the power of your word in the direction of truth and love.
   

On your path to joy be prepared for pushback. You are making time for reading, exploring, taking classes, attending seminars and concerts, writing and communicating with new people. You have disrupted the pattern of what was your ordinary day.

Others in your life may want to interrupt your set times for reading or walking or writing or visiting places in the community. You will need to defend your boundaries.

You may be the one who wants to postpone or cut short your explorations and new activities to revert to your old patterns. Moving on your new choices is sometimes fun and sometimes frightening. Your feelings of isolation, dullness, bewilderment

*You may not recognize your path to joy yet. Now is your time to become a spiritual explorer in the pragmatic world.

The appearance and details of the path to joy are different for each of us, yet the pattern and method are similar.
                        
To explore start with these steps.

1. look for clues that are nearby. Your heart and soul may be barricaded by a stiff dry chrysalis, but clues leave a trace. And the chrysalis is breaking down.
2. Do you have secret longings? Write them down.
3. What have you procrastinated for months or years or your entire life? Write them down.
4. What little items have you found or purchased that mean a lot to you, even if you don’t know why? Look at them. Muse about them. Let your imagination

Choices exist in this world. Do you know what your choices are? Your path beckons.*

First is your choice to either keep living as you are living or move toward freedom and change.

If you continue to follow your routine in a life that is unhappy, neglect your yearning and fulfill the expectations of others you will maintain your status quo and gradually feel worse. If you can’t find your way to change you may try to distract yourself with activities and substances or temporary and short-lived thrills. When you emerge, you see nothing improved and your life may have disintegrated more during your absence. 

*The caterpillar may lead a joyous life, but at the end of the life cycle it goes into reclusion for transformation. That may be joyous until the change is complete. Now the new being works its way into a different life as the worn out chyrsalis crumbles.

A quiet self-talk statement to keep yourself centered and awake is this:  I can find my path to joy.

Bored? Restless? Lonely? Feeling guilty about wasting time? Overeating? Starving? Numbing yourself in bars? Sex becoming dull? People uninteresting?

You weren’t always like this.