Author's posts
When it comes to diet culture, it’s time to end the abuse
When you hear someone talk about a relationship that is oppressive, shameful, controlling, and detrimental to the person’s physical, mental, psychological, and spiritual wellbeing: How would you define the relationship? Would you want the person …
Contemplating death taught me how to live
Trigger warning: This article discusses suicidal ideation. Please use your best judgment in reading. I am sharing my journey with caution in hopes that my reflection will help others, and I invite you to continue shall you feel it’s a safe and ap…
I risked my career to save my life
Early into my military career and as an oral and maxillofacial surgery resident, I started to acknowledge the fact that, during periods of sleep deprivation that were initially inherent to my military training hours and then surgery call requirements, …
Eating disorders are mental health illnesses that don’t have a certain “look”
A few days ago, I talked to a mentor and brought up my anorexia recovery journey. Using my voice after years of suffering in silence has been instrumental in releasing myself from the inner torment while trying to create purpose from the pain. When I m…
Stop prescribing one eating disorder to treat another: Why under and overeating are not “opposite problems”
Throughout my recovery journey from anorexia with a propensity for compulsive exercise, I have often heard, in a tone full of self-judgment, “I have the opposite problem.” What the person is typically referring to is that they feel they eat…
Recovering from burnout: a permission to pivot
From 2013 to 2017, I was in the Air Force, selected to become an oral and maxillofacial surgeon, and would soon embark on my residency journey to get there. Up until this point, my educational path was linear. I completed undergrad and committed to den…
Eating disorders thrive in secrecy, so let’s talk about it. Starting with BMI.
Thank you, Dr. Kara Pepper, for your recent article “Why you should not use BMI for your New Year’s resolution.” Our weight-obsessed, BMI-focused culture has been a thorn in my side for much of my life. And since eating disorders thrive in secrecy, let…
