When I was in therapy my therapist let me bring my cat. Now this isn't ideal but my cat is very social and loves to be on her harness/leash. And to avoid allergies of other clients, my cat had her own hard chair and never touched the couch or carpet. It helped tremendously. :)
Thank you so much for this video! I have been going through this for a while now and never understood what was going on. I always knew that it was beyond my control but the way you put it, whereby it’s punishing yourself so that you feel unhealthy resonated so much with me! I binge to a point where I throw up not from purging but from the food itself... I’ll eat a whole cake after a meal and then go on to eat more. I hate it and I don’t want to but since I’ve been clean from cutting it’s the only way I’ve been able to punish myself. It’s a downward spiral though because I feel better after punishing myself but I’ve gained 15 kilos from this over the last few weeks, which has just made me more self conscious and depressed. I don’t know anyone with similar experiences because most of the people with eating disorders that I know are anorexic.... which I guess is the opposite of my problem. I really appreciate your videos just because of the representation you’re providing so thank you for making me feel normal for the first time in a while!
It wasn't until I entered recovery did I realize my eating disorder was a way I self harmed. I did not start my bulimic tendencies with the intent of hurting myself, but now that I have slowed my actions and given myself the room to think more, I noticed when I feel fat/angry/overwhelmed with myself I want to binge and destroy my body. I feel like destroying my body because I hate it, and thus want to put myself in physical pain with food to numb my mental discomfort. I have acknowledged this though process and am now combatting it :) I have made tremendous progress in my recovery and still have more to go. Thank you Kati for your videos! Much love.
to the sorority question: like kati said, I think it depends on the culture of the University, which will determine the culture of the sorority. At my school I realize now, that sorority life at my school would be/is dangerous for my recovery. I actually often times fight against the culture of sororities/fraternities against mental health at my university. But also, my university is not super supportive with my mental health issues, so that is also indicative of the sorority culture, but good for you! Also, I completely agree with the comfort items in therapy! I have brought so many comfort items to inpatients, I often face backwards in therapy as well, I would love to bring to my regular appointments but I go straight from class, so I'm afraid that someone else would see them and make fun of me.
This is one of my favourite videos you have done, I myself have over eating/binge eating disorder I'm scared to do therapy I'm scared to stop I'm scared of the pain and emotion!!! I love you Kati
Kati I have two things to say. My counselor always had pillows in her chairs even tho i absolutely hated them at time and I was really thankful for them at times. Also id like to put my input on the journal topic. This really helped me today because often times I forget that im moving forward in life while im actually stuck in past thoughts.. Idk if that makes since but the journal topic really helped me notice that I need to move forward along with my mind..
Hey Kati, I have been watching your videos for a long time now and I just wanted to send you a comment that I love your videos and you intention to break through the stigma. Thank you a lot!
I always take comfort items with me I have had mixed reactions from therapists some wonder why someone of my age would carry a doll or stuffed animal around with them.. and I felt I could not bring it out when I needed the security item I had it with me just terrified to pull it out. other therapist helped me to know that holding a comfort item during sessions was completely okay and would even have me introduce with the name and they would say hello to the doll or stuffy. I would always receive a birthday blanket and comfort item on my birthday. or at Christmas. I treasure these items and when I struggle when I am not in session I wrap up with the blanket and hold the stuffy andf I knew someone loved and cared for me, these items helped build complete trust with the therapist. I also knew I was not alone.
***** please share this with the person who asked you about comfort items in therapy. Sometimes, I hand my therapist my journal and just let her read parts of it. Sometimes, I bring my bear with me when my PTSD is bad. I have hypoglysemia as well, so I often have pop or tea with me. All you have to do is ask. It's your healing process.
I agree that it all depends on the thoughts behind the actions. The only reason I would hesitate to call it Self Harm is because it might not be immediately pain inflicting. I would definitely call it a self-destructive behavior. I guess either way it can be considered SH if you intend it that way. Like everything in mental disorders and psychiatry, people are unique.
I'm 14 And I've always had a weight problem. I've always been a bit fat and I always eat more than I should. I try to stop myself but sometimes I think I don't need to or that nothing bad will happen to me. However I do self harm but since it's summer time I've stopped that for now and since u stopped that I've noticed I've been eating more and more. I think the reason I do it is to get my mind off how sad,deppreseed I am/stressed out over school work etc. so I really don't know what to do anymore. Can someone plz give me tips/ideas what to do? Thanks.
#KatieFAQ Recently I've been wanting to go on a very strict diet. Fasting a few days a week, and cutting out most calories. But, I usually end up binging and I get really mad at myself and want to purge. However, this has nothing to do with me trying to cope through my problems. This is just simply me wanting to be skinny. So my question is, is this an Ed or just an obsession with weight loss? Is there a difference? Btw, Your videos are really helpful at helping me know that I'm not alone. Thanks for everything you do. 💕
#katiFAQ hey kati I love your videos. My question is can you still be a therapist or any kind of mental health doctor if you have mental problems of your own? I want to work some where in that field when I grow up but if I have a mental problem would I be able to do it?
Hi, I've been watching your videos lately, and just signed up on your site. Thank you for making them, it's helping to find a greater understanding with problems I am facing. As well as I am very fascinated with psychology. I'm commenting on your video, specifically on the first question with binge eating. I am bulimic, the one where you purge and fast, (that is a type, right? Sometimes it gets confusing). I sometimes fast because I do not want to get wait I'm afraid of gaining weight, but sometimes it's not about my weight at all. Fasting/starving myself can be painful and I feel like I deserve that, I deserve to suffer, if that makes sense. Would that mean it's a form of self harm for me as well as a eating disorder? I also self harm in other ways as well. I am fighting both of these, but keep relapsing. But it gets complicated sometimes, sometimes I just don't know why I fast. I'm just not hungry, don't feel like it or just maybe if I was (now I almost am) the same size as my little sister then my mom will love us the same? My mom favours my younger sister and I've never been envious of her.. Sorry way off topic. That's my expirence with it. I apologize it's long and way off topic, plus some of my reasoning is very unreasonable. Which I am completely aware of how unreasonable it is. Thank you for reading this and thank you for your videos. The time you put into these and all that you do is very appreciated.
#Katifaq I also have issues with binge eating as a as self harm thing but other times it is a real struggle eating and some days it does feel like a true eating disorder but lately my doctor and therapist do not believe that it is an eating disorder and because it is connected to past trauma that if the treat the trauma then night time binge eating is a secondary problem and if treat first issue then the binge eating will go away... I have talked to a friend about the issue and she herself had food issues , and was treated at a center for it and believed. here is the question I was wondering if I had it that more than likely I already had an eating disorder but I can not get anyone who take me seriously. I go from scarf everything I can to refusing to eat. I am over weight according to the charts and eating is a real issue for me how do I get others to believe me and take me serious?
hi kati im 22 from australia i cant stop binge eating i have a bodybuilding comp in 7 weeks i do bikini division i have only done 2 comps i find the anxiety over the comp makes me binge even worse its like im scared to be hungry or without food i like can you offer any advice?
i can exercise and lay on bed a long times when is hot but if i start eating or drinking water i sweat and sweat more ,so i void water because i will get more sweat even if i,m thirst so please can you explain this to me ?
Out of curiosity, would purging acid (no food) be self harm? idk if anyone else does this, but sometimes i will purge just acid and it makes me feel a lot better. I also have an ed but still don't understand the whole purging when i haven't eaten in a while
#katifaq Hi Kati, i've been trying to recover from an ed, panic disorder and self harm, for almost 3 years. I have lost 3 councilors, who i was very attached to and now i have no one to help me. I've always felt like my emotions were numb but now i'm just not able to feel any emotion. another in September there will be another councilor. I dont want to start the whole process again because i now have trust issues and the part of me that wants help really needs it. What should i do? Thank you.
with sarotities and frats it depends there are horrible sarotities and frats that really dont give a shit about their brothers and sisters and the stereotypes are true but with my friends frat he didnt really have much of a hell week and there was none of those horror stories like you hear now with his frat as well (its more like steve oh from TYTs stories) if they are really your friends like it was with my friends then they will support you if you are sick (he has something along the lines of ADHD but he knows there is an underlining problem but never knew what it was) for me my ADD was just my autism his frat brothers helped him out whenever he needed it also the frat went to my friend because they knew he would click with them thx for the ha bisky Q and A i love these so much
My therapist makes me tea every time I see him
When I was in therapy my therapist let me bring my cat. Now this isn't ideal but my cat is very social and loves to be on her harness/leash. And to avoid allergies of other clients, my cat had her own hard chair and never touched the couch or carpet. It helped tremendously. :)
Thank you so much for this video! I have been going through this for a while now and never understood what was going on. I always knew that it was beyond my control but the way you put it, whereby it’s punishing yourself so that you feel unhealthy resonated so much with me! I binge to a point where I throw up not from purging but from the food itself... I’ll eat a whole cake after a meal and then go on to eat more. I hate it and I don’t want to but since I’ve been clean from cutting it’s the only way I’ve been able to punish myself. It’s a downward spiral though because I feel better after punishing myself but I’ve gained 15 kilos from this over the last few weeks, which has just made me more self conscious and depressed. I don’t know anyone with similar experiences because most of the people with eating disorders that I know are anorexic.... which I guess is the opposite of my problem. I really appreciate your videos just because of the representation you’re providing so thank you for making me feel normal for the first time in a while!
It wasn't until I entered recovery did I realize my eating disorder was a way I self harmed. I did not start my bulimic tendencies with the intent of hurting myself, but now that I have slowed my actions and given myself the room to think more, I noticed when I feel fat/angry/overwhelmed with myself I want to binge and destroy my body. I feel like destroying my body because I hate it, and thus want to put myself in physical pain with food to numb my mental discomfort.
I have acknowledged this though process and am now combatting it :)
I have made tremendous progress in my recovery and still have more to go.
Thank you Kati for your videos! Much love.
to the sorority question: like kati said, I think it depends on the culture of the University, which will determine the culture of the sorority. At my school I realize now, that sorority life at my school would be/is dangerous for my recovery. I actually often times fight against the culture of sororities/fraternities against mental health at my university. But also, my university is not super supportive with my mental health issues, so that is also indicative of the sorority culture, but good for you!
Also, I completely agree with the comfort items in therapy! I have brought so many comfort items to inpatients, I often face backwards in therapy as well, I would love to bring to my regular appointments but I go straight from class, so I'm afraid that someone else would see them and make fun of me.
This is one of my favourite videos you have done, I myself have over eating/binge eating disorder I'm scared to do therapy I'm scared to stop I'm scared of the pain and emotion!!! I love you Kati
Kati I have two things to say. My counselor always had pillows in her chairs even tho i absolutely hated them at time and I was really thankful for them at times. Also id like to put my input on the journal topic. This really helped me today because often times I forget that im moving forward in life while im actually stuck in past thoughts.. Idk if that makes since but the journal topic really helped me notice that I need to move forward along with my mind..
This video was especially helpful, really loved the tips about dealing with exhaustion after a therapy session. Thanks Kati! Xoxo
Hey Kati,
I have been watching your videos for a long time now and I just wanted to send you a comment that I love your videos and you intention to break through the stigma. Thank you a lot!
Great video! I think you should address the issue of food addiction too. Keep up the awesome work!!
good to know i'm not the only one completely exhausted by therapy! i have sessions on saturday morning, get home in a daze, and sleep til the evening.
I used to as well, but its getting better so don't fret :)
I always take comfort items with me I have had mixed reactions from therapists some wonder why someone of my age would carry a doll or stuffed animal around with them.. and I felt I could not bring it out when I needed the security item I had it with me just terrified to pull it out. other therapist helped me to know that holding a comfort item during sessions was completely okay and would even have me introduce with the name and they would say hello to the doll or stuffy. I would always receive a birthday blanket and comfort item on my birthday. or at Christmas. I treasure these items and when I struggle when I am not in session I wrap up with the blanket and hold the stuffy andf I knew someone loved and cared for me, these items helped build complete trust with the therapist. I also knew I was not alone.
***** please share this with the person who asked you about comfort items in therapy. Sometimes, I hand my therapist my journal and just let her read parts of it. Sometimes, I bring my bear with me when my PTSD is bad. I have hypoglysemia as well, so I often have pop or tea with me. All you have to do is ask. It's your healing process.
I agree that it all depends on the thoughts behind the actions. The only reason I would hesitate to call it Self Harm is because it might not be immediately pain inflicting. I would definitely call it a self-destructive behavior. I guess either way it can be considered SH if you intend it that way. Like everything in mental disorders and psychiatry, people are unique.
Another great video! Thank you for all you do!
Amazing video! Thanks, Kati.
I'm 14 And I've always had a weight problem. I've always been a bit fat and I always eat more than I should. I try to stop myself but sometimes I think I don't need to or that nothing bad will happen to me. However I do self harm but since it's summer time I've stopped that for now and since u stopped that I've noticed I've been eating more and more. I think the reason I do it is to get my mind off how sad,deppreseed I am/stressed out over school work etc. so I really don't know what to do anymore. Can someone plz give me tips/ideas what to do? Thanks.
#KatieFAQ
Recently I've been wanting to go on a very strict diet. Fasting a few days a week, and cutting out most calories. But, I usually end up binging and I get really mad at myself and want to purge. However, this has nothing to do with me trying to cope through my problems. This is just simply me wanting to be skinny. So my question is, is this an Ed or just an obsession with weight loss? Is there a difference? Btw, Your videos are really helpful at helping me know that I'm not alone. Thanks for everything you do. 💕
#katiFAQ hey kati I love your videos. My question is can you still be a therapist or any kind of mental health doctor if you have mental problems of your own? I want to work some where in that field when I grow up but if I have a mental problem would I be able to do it?
Hey kati thanks for all that you do I was wondering if you could do a video about being the parentified child in your family.
Hi, I've been watching your videos lately, and just signed up on your site. Thank you for making them, it's helping to find a greater understanding with problems I am facing. As well as I am very fascinated with psychology. I'm commenting on your video, specifically on the first question with binge eating. I am bulimic, the one where you purge and fast, (that is a type, right? Sometimes it gets confusing). I sometimes fast because I do not want to get wait I'm afraid of gaining weight, but sometimes it's not about my weight at all. Fasting/starving myself can be painful and I feel like I deserve that, I deserve to suffer, if that makes sense. Would that mean it's a form of self harm for me as well as a eating disorder? I also self harm in other ways as well. I am fighting both of these, but keep relapsing. But it gets complicated sometimes, sometimes I just don't know why I fast. I'm just not hungry, don't feel like it or just maybe if I was (now I almost am) the same size as my little sister then my mom will love us the same? My mom favours my younger sister and I've never been envious of her.. Sorry way off topic. That's my expirence with it. I apologize it's long and way off topic, plus some of my reasoning is very unreasonable. Which I am completely aware of how unreasonable it is. Thank you for reading this and thank you for your videos. The time you put into these and all that you do is very appreciated.
Many of these diseases feel like diseases of affluence... because i feel like BED is usually adjunct to sedentary, modern lifestyles.
What about eating until one is so debilitated by pain that they cannot think anymore, about anything? is that self-harm?
#Katifaq
I also have issues with binge eating as a as self harm thing but other times it is a real struggle eating and some days it does feel like a true eating disorder but lately my doctor and therapist do not believe that it is an eating disorder and because it is connected to past trauma that if the treat the trauma then night time binge eating is a secondary problem and if treat first issue then the binge eating will go away...
I have talked to a friend about the issue and she herself had food issues , and was treated at a center for it and believed.
here is the question
I was wondering if I had it that more than likely I already had an eating disorder but I can not get anyone who take me seriously. I go from scarf everything I can to refusing to eat. I am over weight according to the charts and eating is a real issue for me how do I get others to believe me and take me serious?
first of all Kati you're amazeballs
hi kati im 22 from australia i cant stop binge eating i have a bodybuilding comp in 7 weeks i do bikini division i have only done 2 comps i find the anxiety over the comp makes me binge even worse its like im scared to be hungry or without food i like can you offer any advice?
i can exercise and lay on bed a long times when is hot but if i start eating or drinking water i sweat and sweat more ,so i void water because i will get more sweat even if i,m thirst so please can you explain this to me ?
Out of curiosity, would purging acid (no food) be self harm? idk if anyone else does this, but sometimes i will purge just acid and it makes me feel a lot better. I also have an ed but still don't understand the whole purging when i haven't eaten in a while
i've done the same and i'd personally class it as self harm
Josh Blow I agree. I do it when I'm emotionally upset.
Thanks for the answers! :) It has always confused me bc it makes no sense to vomit on an empty stomach. But it really makes me feel tons better.
Glad we can help! Good luck on your road to recovery!
#katifaq Hi Kati, i've been trying to recover from an ed, panic disorder and self harm, for almost 3 years. I have lost 3 councilors, who i was very attached to and now i have no one to help me. I've always felt like my emotions were numb but now i'm just not able to feel any emotion. another in September there will be another councilor. I dont want to start the whole process again because i now have trust issues and the part of me that wants help really needs it. What should i do? Thank you.
Its hot in new jersey too. 95 degrees omg
with sarotities and frats it depends there are horrible sarotities and frats that really dont give a shit about their brothers and sisters and the stereotypes are true but with my friends frat he didnt really have much of a hell week and there was none of those horror stories like you hear now with his frat as well (its more like steve oh from TYTs stories) if they are really your friends like it was with my friends then they will support you if you are sick (he has something along the lines of ADHD but he knows there is an underlining problem but never knew what it was) for me my ADD was just my autism
his frat brothers helped him out whenever he needed it also the frat went to my friend because they knew he would click with them
thx for the ha bisky Q and A i love these so much
I binge eat until I feel extreme pain from being way over full terrible cycle
twitter doesnt allow enough characters for my question haha :)
write it out then screen shot it, then post the photo :)
punchjumper3744 oh i never thought of doing that thanks :)