Raising Awareness for Binge Eating Disorder

By Sarah Johnson, M.D.

What is Binge Eating Disorder?

Binge Eating Disorder involves frequent overeating during a discreet period of time (at least once a week for three months), combined with lack of control and is associated with three or more of the following:

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  Eating more rapidly than normal
  
  


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  Eating until feeling uncomfortably full
  
  


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  Eating large amounts of food when not feeling physically hungry
  
  


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  Eating alone because of feeling embarrassed by how much one is eating
  
  


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  Feeling disgusted with oneself, depressed, or very guilty afterward 
  
  

Binge Eating Disorder also causes marked distress and does not occur during the course of another eating disorder, such as Anorexia Nervosa or Bulimia.

What is the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders?

The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders is used by mental health professionals around the world to help them accurately diagnose psychiatric disorders. The fifth edition of this manual (DSM-5) will be released in May 2013 after 14 years of extensive research studies and input from the best experts in the field.

What is different about Binge Eating Disorder in DSM-5?

Binge Eating Disorder was previously categorized as a “diagnosis for further study.” In DSM-5, it is defined as a unique psychiatric condition with more specific criteria.

Why is it important that Binge Eating Disorder is being recognized as a unique psychiatric condition in DSM-5?

Being recognized as a true mental disorder will raise public awareness of this troubling condition and may help individuals identify themselves as needing support. Increased awareness can lead to increased interest and funding in the research community, so that we may continue to learn more about this disorder and find better treatments. This designation as a “disorder” may also make insurance companies more likely to cover therapy and medications used to treat Binge Eating Disorder. 

What should I do if I think I am suffering from Binge Eating Disorder?

Binge Eating Disorder treatment is complex and individualized. It can include therapy, medications, and addressing other psychiatric conditions or health problems such as obesity that are also occurring. If you think that you, or a loved one, are suffering from this condition, you should contact a mental health professional for diagnosis and treatment recommendations.

How is Binge Eating Disorder treated?

If you decide to see a psychiatrist for treatment of Binge Eating Disorder, he or she will start by asking questions about your medical and psychiatric history and symptoms that you are concerned about. Common components of a treatment plan might include addressing any underlying medical problems such as obesity or high blood pressure and psychotherapy to help with depression, anxiety, or other emotional problems. Medications may also be used if your doctor thinks it is indicated. There is no magic cure for Binge Eating Disorder, and your psychiatrist will work with you to create an individualized treatment plan.

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No to diets

Notodiets is a new blog about eating disorders which I found out about recently. Its creator, Leanne, wrote to me about her experiences and explained why she decided to start the blog:

"Well, it’s about time I started my own blog I thought – having no idea about how to set one up. None the less, off I went on a rather steep ‘blogging’ learning curve and have produced my first ever blog!

Obviously anyone setting up a blog needs to have a focus, a passion for example. Well, this bit of the process is easy for me because I am absolutely, emphatically passionate about raising awareness that ‘diets don’t work’!

I suffered from Bulimia for 15 years mainly through my late teens and twenties. During this time I didn’t talk to anyone about it – which I now really wish I had. I also wish I knew then what I now know about diets!

As a teenager I overate a lot and consequently I gained a lot of weight, not only did this bring taunts from my peers but my self confidence was severely affected. I turned to diets, the type of commercial diets we see advertised everywhere and all the time today.

They maybe worked for a little while then I would give up (which of course is what the dieting industry want us to do, so that we go back for more! It’s all about money). The weight would then go back on and plus some!

I then turned to Bulimia with the false hope that not only would I lose weight but everything would seem ‘better’. But, it wasn’t – I lost and gained, lost and mostly gained in a damaging cycle that dangerously affected my physical and mental health. I became so scared of the impact Bulimia was having on my physical health, I managed to begin recovery 4 years ago and have been Bulimia free for those 4 years.

I have always had a sense that something is not quite ‘right’ with the dieting industry and its approach to weight loss. I wondered more about why we eat the way we eat for example, but this was rarely talked about. This is what started my interest in eating disorders and I began working professionally with people suffering from eating disorders in late 2007.

It has been my own struggle with weight, others’ stories and the government’s drive to ‘tackle obesity’ that has prompted me to begin research into other, alternative ways to weight loss and becoming a healthier person for the individual. This search has taken me into a world of like minded people including renowned professionals conducting research into this area. The basic assertion is that ‘diets don’t work’ and that overeating / compulsive eating is linked to our emotions and therefore a psychological approach is important when attempting to lose and maintain weigh loss.

However, there is much more work that needs to be done in raising this awareness to the government, policy makers, the diet industry and the general public and I hope that my blog, and campaigning amongst all the many other people fighting for this recognition, might help to raise this awareness.

I really hope you enjoy reading the blog – I will be regularly updating it with posts, book reviews, articles, links and discussions.

Please comment / email me via my blog and share with others to help raise awareness."

...out of the office, but -

- need I say more?

OK...here's what the intelligent art critic Brian Sewell said in 2009:

"The two words 'graffiti' and 'art' should never be put together," said the art critic Brian Sewell. He added the council were "bonkers...The public doesn't know good from bad...For this city to be guided by the opinion of people who don't know anything about art is lunacy. It doesn't matter if they [the public] like it. It will result in a proliferation of entirely random decoration, for want of a better word...Any fool who can put paint on canvas or turn a cardboard box into a sculpture is lauded. Banksy should have been put down at birth. It's no good as art, drawing or painting. His work has no virtue. It's merely the sheer scale of his impudence that has given him so much publicity."

You can read more about Banksy and the tagging of the segregation wall in Palestine by clicking HERE.

Karst Country - infra-red timelapse from Glen Ryan on Vimeo.

Hafal in Powys

This afternoon I met with Carina Edwards, who works for the mental health charity Hafal, based in Colwyn Bay. There was no sign of the famous VW camper van in the PAVO office car park, but I look forward to getting an on-board tour another time!

For those that don't know, Hafal is, in its own words:  “a member-led charity run by the people it supports: people with a serious mental illness and their carers. We believe that people who have experienced mental illness at first hand know best about how to achieve recovery.”

I like dipping into Bill’s Blog - by the Hafal Chief Executive Bill Walden-Jones (one of our favourite blogs - link on the right). You never know what you might find... photos of his cats Rhys and Huw lazing around (pets are good for your mental health) or championing the value of psychological therapies for people with serious mental illness, including those who experience a psychotic illness.

Carina was in Powys to recruit a new Family Support Worker who will hopefully be based in Llandrindod Wells and start work in the next few weeks. The role was created to support carers of those with a serious mental illness, and is funded by Powys County Council. The previous worker had moved on after doing excellent work with about 60 carers across the county, setting up strong networks of carers, and also carrying out one-to-one work as required. Another particularly rewarding part of her role was to set up popular well-being days (of the spa and pampering variety).

Carina said that interestingly uptake had been much greater in South Powys, which was surprising considering the greater population in the North. I wonder why? What do you think? 

Do you know someone caring for a person with a serious mental illness such as schizophrenia or bipolar disorder? If they don't already know about the Hafal service, then watch this space, and we'll introduce you to the new worker when they start.

Home Treatment Team for the North

About 20 months ago I supported the charity Powys Mental Health Alliance to edit the organisation’s summer 2011 newsletter. On page 10 there is a really interesting article by Gethin Evans about the new Home Treatment and Crisis Resolution team he was leading on at the time in South Powys. You can read it here.

The definition of a Crisis Home Resolution Team, according to a Sainsburys Centre for Mental Health report in 2006, is as follows:
A CRHT team is a team of mental health professionals which can respond to psychiatric emergencies and crises quickly and in the person’s home.  The team is able to support, treat and manage the person at home (and support their carers) until the crisis is resolved and the person is offered on-going care.

Gethin is employed by Aneurin Bevan Health Board – which provides mental health services in Brecknock & Radnor. Home Treatment Teams have been available for many years in other parts of England and Wales, with the first teams in Wales being established in December 2002.

But what of North Powys, which until now has had to struggle on with no such service? Yesterday I met with Mike Shone, who is the Project Lead for the new Home Treatment Team in the North. He works for Betsi Cadwaldr Health Board, which provides mental health services here in the North (Montgomeryshire).

Mike told me all about the plans for the new Home Treatment Team – which are already well under way.  The new posts for the 10-strong team have been advertised, new premises are being sought, and Mike hopes that the team will be in place to start work the week commencing 6 May.  The new service is regarded as an alternative approach to hospital admission for people experiencing mental distress, but also as “in-reach” into hospital so that patients can be discharged earlier.

The only difference with this team is that it will be called a Home Treatment Team, not a Crisis Home Resolution Team. Mike explained that Crisis Resolution teams were trialled in other areas of North Wales such as Wrexham, but when reviewed not found to be particularly effective. Referrals could be from anywhere, and many were from GPs. However, in reality people were often not appropriately referred, and much CHRT time was spent assessing people who in all likelihood would not have been facing hospital admission anyway. Following the review the teams became known purely as Home Treatment Teams, and only took referrals from Community Mental Health Teams. (In other words, people referred had already been diagnosed with a mental health condition and were keen to receive further specialist support). You can read more about how Crisis Resolution works alongside Home Treatment in the Sainsburys report (see below). What do you think about this? Clearly those people already registered with a CMHT and in crisis will be eligible to take up the services of the new HTT. But not others. Where does that leave those who are not with the CMHT when a crisis unfolds which could potentially lead to a hospital admission?

An information event about the new HTT is planned for Monday 8 April, 1.30 - 4.30pm at The Elephant & Castle in Newtown. There is an open invitation to those individuals using services, carers and staff to attend and find out more. Read more and book a place here.

You can download and read Crisis Resolution and Home Treatment – a Practical Guide, by the Sainsbury Centre for Mental Health, here.

£5.45 BILLION 2-year budget announced for Arts and Public Health*

A short and sweet blog this week. Things have been exceptioanlly busy - but all good and productive. Next week, I should be able to report on the Dementia and Imagination research project that I know so many of you want to hear about. I’ll be heading off on a break to cooler northern climbs this week, so sorry no email response.

We want to remind anyone who’s interested in the networking session here at MMU on the 28th of Feb between 6 and 8PM - that we’ll be exploring where this arts and health journey came from, where we’re at now and where we think we might be going. It’s not directly part of the manifesto sessions, but is connected in that I want us to be thinking about how we explore this visually. How we plot our lineage (so to speak) and how we might make sense of where we are in the here and now. So - it will be an interactive session.

I was hoping to work with a graphic designer ‘live’ on the evening, somehow capturing what we say and plotting this field, but she’s out of the country! If anyone is comfortable capturing conversation and the salient points, please let me know. Although remember, I won’t be answering email this week.

OK - final thought on this. “What’s he on about - visualising the field?” Well, we’ve had frameworks, flowcharts and all manner of pseudoscientific illustration and the occasional positive-peak-flow-gibberish - but what about the The Great Bear (Patterson) - what about Acid House and Brass Bands (Deller)? What about the film-makers and animators? There are a few images and films peppered through the blog today - treat them as a stimulus and remember you’ll need to register at artsforhealth@mmu.ac.uk 

International Culture, Health & Wellbeing Conference

Bristol, June 24 – 26th

I’ve got my ticket for this event and I very much look forward to meeting up with those of you I know, those of you I’ve emailed but never met - and complete strangers!

The Early Bird registration for the conference ends on February 28th. The fee is £350 for three days - June 24th, 25th and 26th. This includes the full programme with a choice of workshops, breakout sessions, performances and visits, lunch and refreshments every day. The conference will inform international perspectives on:

• Healthy and Creative Ageing
• Global Health Inequalities and Culture
• Culture and the Social Determinants of Wellbeing

Please click on the Thames Valley 616 (GJB254) Bristol LWL6B's for more details.

Community Libraries in the 21st Century

Arts Council England and LGA have published a report that looks into the different ways in which communities are involved in library service delivery. Research shows that in July 2012, 5% of public libraries had some element of community involvement, ranging from independent community libraries that own their own assets through to council-led and funded libraries whose paid professional staff are supported by volunteers. The findings indicate that this figure could rise to around 12% in the near future. From this national picture, guiding principles have been developed to assist local authorities who are considering reviewing the delivery of their library services to work with their communities. Follow this link for details. http://www.artscouncil.org.uk/what-we-do/supporting-libraries/community-libraries-research/ 

Funding To Support Poetry and Literature (UK)

So, with libraries in mind, the Clore Duffield Foundation has announced that round 5 of its Poetry and Literature Awards Fund is now open for applications. Through the Fund, schools, FE colleges, community groups, libraries and other arts/cultural organisations can apply for grants of between £1,000 and £10,000 to support participatory learning projects and programmes focused on literature, poetry and creative writing for under 19s.

The deadline for applications is the 1st May 2013. Read more by clicking on the splendid bonce of the poet-librarian below! 

Elephant Trust fund for visual arts projects

Deadline: 15 April 2013

The Elephant Trust offers grants to artists, and for new, innovative visual arts projects based in the UK. Its aim is to make it possible for artists and those presenting their work to undertake and complete projects when confronted by lack of funds. The Trust supports projects that develop and improve the knowledge, understanding and appreciation of the fine arts.

Priority is given to artists and small organisations and galleries who should submit well argued, imaginative proposals for making or producing new work or exhibitions. Arts Festivals are not supported. The Trust normally awards grants of up to £2,000, but larger grants may be considered. Read more by clicking on the happy elephant!

...and finally that £5.45 billion 2-year budget for local public health services...

*Whoops - did I say Arts and Public Health? Sorry, I meant Public Health. But wait, don't give up so soon. Read this. Digest it. Think about the new configuration of services. Who is your Public Health champion? How can you engage with strategic commissioning. Is the time right for re-imagining our relationships with Local Authority Arts Officers (where they've not been slashed) and Public Health?

A £5.45 billion two-year ring-fenced public health budget for local authorities has been announced by the Department of Health. From April 2013, public health budgets will be protected for the first time, with local authorities taking the lead for improving the health of their local communities. This aims to drive local efforts to improve health and wellbeing by tackling the wider determinants of poor health. It is claimed that funding is specifically targeted, for the first time, at those areas with the worst health outcomes. In 2013/14 the total budget for local public health services will be just under £2.7 billion. In 2014/15 the budget will be just under £2.8 billion. Every local authority will receive a real terms increase in funding.

For full details by clicking on the healthy food option.

Cut grass lies frail:
Brief is the breath
Mown stalks exhale.
Long, long the death...

An extract from the Philip Larkin poem, Cut Grass

Thank you for reading this blog - please share far and wide...C.P.

Suicide survivors

A couple of weeks ago my sister, who manages a hall of residence at a large British university, was faced with one of the hardest times of her working life. Tragically one of the young students living at the hall appears to have taken her own life (I have to write "appears" as the inquest has yet to take place). Another member of staff and one of the student's friends found her, in her room, after she had been reported as missing all day. It is hard to imagine a more harrowing experience for that staff member and the friend. And then there is the impact upon the family, other close friends, and the wider social circle both at university and outside.

It has been described as like "a grenade going off within a family or community".

The university has arranged ongoing counselling sessions for those students closely affected which is obviously good to know. However, it got me thinking... what about other people who lose a loved one to suicide... what if there is no official support system in place... what do they do?

Well, there are a lot of resources and organisations out there which can offer support and advice.

Survivors of bereavement by suicide (SOBS) has a national helpline - 0844 561 6855, and there are local groups all across the UK. You can find out more here. The website also has links to useful books, videos, survivor testimonials, and other relevant sites.

You can link to an NHS website called Coping after a suicide.


Healthtalkonline has a section here, where you can watch interviews with suicide survivors - brothers, sisters, parents, partners and friends.

Many sites are from outside the UK, but nonetheless helpful for being so.

The Alliance of Hope for Suicide Survivors has a website page here about the common feelings which surface at a time like this. Other people's survival stories can be helpful - showing that not only is survival possible, but there is a journey beyond: "Survivors must mourn, question and rebuild their shattered lives.  For many though, there is an unexpected gift:  a bond among survivors, which pierces through the isolation and the fear."  

"RedRubySlippers" writes of her poignant journey here.

You can find many more resources online - these are just a few key links. Get in touch or leave a comment if you have some ideas that helped you.

Postscript, July 2013: The Samaritans have produced a guide called Help is at hand for family and friends bereaved through suicide and unexplained death. 

Mindfulness - just 10 minutes a day

When my colleague Glynis told me about a brilliant Mindfulness video she had watched yesterday, and I took ten minutes to watch it just now, a lot of things struck home. In particular, Andy Puddicombe's comment that we spend more time looking after our clothes, our car and our hair than we devote to our minds.

10 minutes a day is all he advocates, which does not sound like much really, but it's 10 minutes purely dedicated to Mindfulness. That means no eating, no texting, no TV, no internet, no chatting.... not even any reminiscing about the past...  All you can do is nothing for 10 minutes a day.

I won't talk any more about the exercise or approach that Andy advocates, because that's all in the video. Just to say a little bit more about Andy, who is a former Buddhist monk and meditation expert - he has his own website called Headspace, and you can read a bit of a biog here.

You can actually sign up to a Mindfulness course in Powys. Following the successful launch of its first course in Newtown with Jo Mussen (now fully booked and about half-way through I'm told) Ponthafren Association is planning a course in Welshpool to take place in the summer. You can register interest with them now, however, by contacting Welshpool Outreach by ringing 01938 552770 or email welshpooladmin@virginmedia.com 

And you can find out more about Mindfulness on the Mental Health Foundation website here and in a recent Daily Telegraph article here.

So now I need to just log into my Google calendar and book a 10 minute slot... I wonder if I'll be allowed to ditch the 10 minutes I normally spend dusting my desk each day...

新 年 快 樂

I wish a happy and peaceful year to anyone celebrating Chinese New Year and welcome in Year of the Snake.

What a week! Thank you to everyone who came and shared their ideas and stories at the first Arts, Health and Recovery networking event here at MMU on Thursday evening - what, you didn’t know this is a regular event? Well, following the passion and drive of those in this packed event, there’s clearly a space for it. So - lets do it, lets think of this as a space that we can get together - share ways forward and perhaps develop new projects that relate to recovery, wellbeing and the arts.

SO - a little about the event and the preceding days. Arts for Health is working with artists and people in recovery from substance misuse, in Pescara and Pistoia in Italy; Kütahya in Turkey and here in the UK in Manchester and Liverpool.

Partners from all the countries gathered here in Manchester to plan a series of events and the artists residences and exchanges. We’re recruiting a lead artist from the UK to oversee the project and the artists in Italy and Turkey who will develop work in substance recovery communities. Alongside the lead artist, all three will be involved in cultural exchange with recovery communities in each country, working with people affected by alcohol or drug addiction and around a theme of self-portraiture. Shortly we’ll have a dedicated blog page for this emerging work. 

So, the networking evening was a way of bringing people together from the recovery community alongside artists and health professionals and what a great event it was to be part of, with a high number of people in recovery in attendance and one or two very personal and inspiring stories shared. I was particularly thrilled to hear people saying that it was their first time in a university - and on my word - it won’t be the last. For the first time in my ‘professional’ career, I was inspired to share a little chaos from my own early family life.

We also shared the Finnish film that I posted on the blog last week, Fragile Childhood -Monsters. I was cautious showing it, but relieved I did, as it opened up some difficult, but cathartic and grounded conversations.

For those of us who compared notes on the night, the overriding feeling was that this work was about making substance addiction and recovery visible.

Thank you for all of you who came and shared your thoughts, stories and ideas.

With the annual pressure to send or receive commercial tokens of affection on Valentines day, its been with a wry smile that I notice many of the newspapers are citing the University of Oxford researchers, Savulescu & Sandberg and their Neuroenhancement of Love and Marriage: The Chemicals Between Us, which discusses the possibility of chemically enhancing flagging romance in long-term relationships! A pill not only to make you happy in your long years of monotony, but to synthesize that feeling of amor. Alongside our deluded belief in some over-the-counter prescribed answer to all of life's grief.

Leon Jakeman

Following on from last weeks fleeting comments on the 50th anniversary of Sylvia Plath and The Bell Jar, the writer Jeanette Winterson wrote a lovely succinct reflection of what Plath means to her. Here it is in full.

"The early 60s was a terrible time for women. Worse for clever ambitious women. Valium had been on the market for two years in 1963 and by this time was being advertised aggressively at healthy women who felt trapped and desperate and whose distress had to be medicated away. This is the world of The Bell Jar.

The Bell Jar was published at the same time as Henry Miller's Tropic of Cancer was reissued after its long ban in the USA. The misogynist masterpiss billets half the population to the whorehouse. All women are for sex. Rich women are for cash. Poor women are for housework. Why wouldn't a woman go mad in a world like this? Why wouldn't a woman as gifted as Plath become terminally depressed and end in suicide? Pills don't change the world. Feminism did.

The Bell Jar was a call to action because it is a diary of despair. Plath was gifted. She could have been great. Wrong generation. Wrong medication."

Arts and Health Research (part 1)

I want to give a very warm welcome to the newest member of the Arts for Health team, Rebecca Gordon-Nesbitt who will be joining us for 3 months to research arts and health archives both in the UK and internationally, making where possible strategic links and connections. This work is being undertaken with the generous support of the AHRC and in collaboration with LIME Arts. If you want to meet Rebecca and here more about her background, she’s giving one of the Tuesday Talks at The Whitworth Art Gallery this Tuesday. here are some details.

The Tuesday Talks series invites leading artists, thinkers and curators to explore the driving forces, influences and sources of inspiration within contemporary art. The series is programmed by Professor Pavel Büchler and is a collaboration with Manchester Metropolitan University.

12 February

11.00am – 12.30pm, free, no booking necessary 

Rebecca Gordon-Nesbitt 

Having worked as a curator of international contemporary art for more than a decade, Rebecca Gordon-Nesbitt receded from direct participation to embark upon an extensive interrogation of the European cultural field. Increasingly deploying an investigative methodology, she has exposed the endemic corruption in commercially derived approaches to culture, most recently as Researcher-in-Residence at the Centre for Contemporary Art, Derry, in relation to UK City of Culture 2013. Seeking alternatives to the prevailing model of cultural organisation, Rebecca spent five months in the libraries and archives of Havana, tracing the socially inflected approaches to culture that emerged in the wake of the 1959 Cuban Revolution. It is this research she will present at this talk, in the context of broader trends in cultural policy and their effect on the production of art.

Arts and Health Research (part 2)

Did you know that there is an emerging arts and health research network being developed? You can find details at http://artsandhealthresearch.ac.uk/artshealthandwellbeing/index.aspx

School Residencies: Call for Artists (Round 1), Blackburn and Darwen

10 x artist school residency fees worth up to £10,000 each

Blackburn and Darwen's Building Schools for the Future (BSF) continues with the latest phase of an extensive school building programme. Linked to this, Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council’s Arts Service are launching the first round of an ongoing Artist Call targeting artists from all creative disciplines with an interest in educational and community engagement, and further developing their collaborative practice.

At this initial stage, they are asking for artists to consider the brief on their website: www.artistcall.net and if interested to log your Expression of Interest by registering online and uploading some examples of your work to the private ‘intranet’ section. As well as your basic registration, they encourage you to also upload some practice information as well.

The deadline for your received registrations for this first round is 1st March 2013, but other Artist Calls will continue straight afterwards too.

Wellcome Trust Small Arts Awards (UK)

The Wellcome Trust has announced that the next application deadline under its Small Arts Awards is the 28th June 2013.  The Small Arts Awards provides grants of up to £30,000 to projects that engage the public with biomedical science through the arts. The aim of the awards is to support arts projects that reach new audiences which may not traditionally be interested in science. 

http://www.wellcome.ac.uk/Funding/Public-engagement/Funding-schemes/Arts-Awards/index.htm 

Funding for Creative Young People (UK)

IdeasTap, a non-for-profit initiative supports young creative people between 16 and 25 years of age, has announced that its Ideas Fund Innovators is open to applications. During this funding round the Ideas Fund Innovators aims to offer ten projects £1,000 each to help get them off the ground. In the past, Ideas Tap has funded everything from dance and film projects to music videos and photography collectives.  Applications from any creative field will be considered. Ideas Tap are looking for projects that are inspiring, original, innovative and that Ideas Tap think you can deliver. This brief closes on Thursday 4 April 2013 at 5pm and is open to IdeasTap members aged 16 to 25 on the closing date. Read more at: http://www.ideastap.com/Opportunities/Brief/b39a4a56-3379-4b89-9d0a-a13c0115ceac#Overview 

Nominet Trust: Digital Edge Programme (UK)

The Nominet Trust has announced that the 2nd call for applications under its £2 million Digital Edge Programme is now open for applications.  The programme aims to support projects that use new technology to engage young people in new, more meaningful and relevant ways and enable their participation in building a more resilient society. There is no upper or lower funding limit as the Trust like to encourage applicants to be realistic about what they need to achieve their project objectives.  The closing date for applications is the 1st May 2013. Read more at:

http://www.nominettrust.org.uk/how-to-apply/areas-investment/digital-edge

Europe for Citizens Programme: 

Citizens Projects (UK)

The European Commission has announced a new call for proposals under its Europe for Citizens Programme – Action 1 – Measure 2.1 Citizens' projects.  The measure “Citizen’s projects” aims at exploring innovative methodologies and approaches to encourage citizens’ active participation at European level and to stimulate the dialogue between European citizens and European institutions. Under this measure a variety of projects of a transnational and cross-sectoral dimension, directly involving citizens will be supported.  Priority is given to projects aimed at encouraging local level participation.  Eligible organisations that can apply include civil society organisations and local authorities.   A project must involve organisations/institutions from at least 5 participating countries of which at least one is an EU Member State.

The Grants available range from €100,000 - €250,000 and the closing date for applications is the 1st June 2013.Read more at:

http://eacea.ec.europa.eu/citizenship/funding/2013/call_action1_22_2013_en.php 

Thank you for stopping by...C.P.

Understanding Hoarding Disorder

Dr. Melva Green, a board certified psychiatrist, appears on the popular reality TV show “Hoarders” to help those on the program suffering from Hoarding Disorder. Here she answers questions about this mental illness and shares about her experiences working on “Hoarders.”

How do you define “Hoarding Disorder?” What’s the difference between hoarding vs. collecting?

Hoarding is the compulsive need to hold on to things in excess that often have no actual marketplace value. When someone suffers from Hoarding Disorder, he/she can’t let go of these things even though the things are in the way of day-to-day functioning and even dangerous. For example, not being able to use vital areas of the home like the kitchen or bathroom, being unable to sleep in the bed or only a small area of the bed because of excess clutter. The difference has to do with the level of severity.



What are the signs of hoarding?

Obviously a major sign of hoarding is when the person is unable to get around his/her home safely because the things have taken over. Anxiety over these things – feeling anxious about others touching the things and a sense of paranoia that things are missing which often leads to accusing others of taking things that go missing under the piles are typical. In regards to interpersonal signs, a very common one is difficulty with relationships. Those suffering from Hoarding Disorder struggle with emotional connections to others, especially their own family members. They often describe feeling a deep connection to their things because they believe their things are safe and can’t hurt them as a human can. And animal hoarders describe a genuine strong bonding sense with their animals although in reality, they are often causing the animals harm in these unhealthy environments.



What causes Hoarding Disorder? What are the risk factors?

In every case I’ve seen, there is a painful traumatic event or loss that has triggered the hoarding behavior (like the death of a loved one, divorce, growing up poor). People suffering from Hoarding Disorder have often repressed and internalized their emotions. There's a grieving process that got stuck somewhere along the way. Hoarding is the behavior that keeps them from having to face the underlying pain. Isolation, advanced age, severe obesity or difficulty ambulating, and having a family member with the behavior are also risk factors.



What types of treatment are available for those suffering from Hoarding Disorder?

Cognitive behavioral therapy to change thoughts and behavior patterns. Medication would only be used in a short course if there are other conditions like severe anxiety, depression that are getting in the way of the therapy. But in the end, treatment for Hoarding Disorder is about getting to the heart of the trauma / pain / loss through deep therapy and mindfulness work, so that the patient no longer “hides” behind the things but properly grieves what needs to be grieved and learns to form emotional connections with others...not just things.



Why do you think reality TV shows on hoarding have become popular?

I would like to think that it's because we want to learn more about the human condition...that we want to see people succeed. But the truth is, I think people are fascinated with other people’s problems. On some level, “Hoarders” feeds that voyeuristic energy in today’s pop culture. It's like watching others’ mayhem so we don’t have to deal with our own issues, and we can say “at least my life isn’t that bad.” But for me, those who come on the show are brave souls who teach me about the miracle of recovery. They inspire me. They remind me of the power of the human spirit, the willingness to face what needs to be faced...the determination to live whole.



Do you feel shows like “Hoarders” have helped raise awareness for this mental illness?

ABSOLUTELY! I regularly receive feedback from viewers who say they know someone who may need help and are grateful for the show. What viewers may not know is that patients on “Hoarders” receive free after-care treatment from the show: six months of therapy and organizational skills training. The show has done amazing work in giving people who are close to becoming homeless a new chance at life.



What do you hope viewers learn from the show (“Hoarders”)?

I want viewers to know people do recover from Hoarding Disorder. I also hope “Hoarders” shows another image of psychiatry in terms of a holistic approach to treating the soul – using treatments like mindfulness.



What should someone do if they think they may have Hoarding Disorder? If you suspect you, or a loved one, are suffering from this mental illness, you should contact a mental health professional for diagnosis and treatment recommendations.

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