The Silver Linings Blog is a collection of stories, opinions and artwork, created by members of our community with lived experience of eating disorders. Our intention is to share reflections that are filled with honesty, empathy, understanding and most importantly, hope.
Your story is valuable too. If you are curious about contributing email Sophie at sophie.balisky@silverliningsfoundation.ca
Recovery from an eating disorder brings the opportunity to discover our worth in every aspect of who we are. In this month's community blog post, Marcela shares art and words that empathize with the up and down process of personal growth and transformation.
What does being “recovered” truly mean? In the final post of this three part series, Jenna reflects on how her life has changed after eating disorder recovery.
The journey to wellness is never linear. In Part 2 of this blog series, Jenna gives us a detailed and honest look into what the process of her recovery entailed.
in 2023 Silver Linings Foundation set out to conduct a needs assessment to learn how we can make our services more inclusive. We heard from BIPOC and 2SLGBTQIA+ youth and community organizations. These are our findings.
Peer Mentor, Jenna reflects back on how her troubled relationship with food began as a response to grief and the process of coming to terms with having developed an eating disorder. Don’t miss out on this vulnerable post.
In Budget 2023 the government of Canada introduced significant changes to the Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) regime that could impact your clients' charitable giving strategies, effective January 1, 2024.
“Most of all… I’m sorry that I let the little girl I once was believe those that told her who to be, how to act, and how to hide. I’m sorry I let her think silence was better than speaking. I’m sorry for all those times she cried alone.”
Silver Linings Foundation was established almost a decade ago with a goal of making treatment for eating disorders accessible by everyone. That part of our mission hasn’t changed, but we know that we can do better to ensure that “everyone” includes people from all communities.
No matter where you are in your recovery journey, our groups can provide the support and skills you need to get there faster. Silver Linings Community Navigator and Registered Nurse, Jennie Mendoza, talks us through the options.
Alberta’s first live-in eating disorder recovery centre will save lives and change futures. Importantly, it won’t cost families a cent.
As part of a network of care, group therapy can be a crucial step towards recovery. We spoke to Lakshmi Krishnan, social worker and therapist, about how groups work.
A growing number of women are seeking support for eating disorders over the age of 40. We spoke to Silver Linings Foundation mentor and board member, Kathryn Quick, about finding support later in life.
Underrepresented, underdiagnosed and undertreated, eating disorders among men often fly under the radar. We talk to recovered binge eater and bulimic Christopher about living with an invisible illness and why he encourages people to define their disorder on their own terms.
The conversation of “recovery” starts almost as soon as an eating disorder has been identified and diagnosed. Whether the person is a child or an adult, family and friends view the person as having “the issue” which must be fixed, cured or removed. Almost always, the person is also surprised to find themselves with a diagnosis and unsure of how to reverse the situation.
Registered social worker, therapist, and Silver Linings founding member, Lakshmi Krishnan, explains the link between calorie counting and anxiety and how to change your narrative with numbers.
Registered social worker, therapist, and Silver Linings founding member, Lakshmi Krishnan, explains where body issues might come from and how to parent through these tough times.
What is it like to be supported by a peer mentor? SLF chatted with a mentee in the program (M.) to get a first-hand account.
November 2022 marked the the start of the 2nd season of the Peer Support Program at Silver Linings. We are now training the second cohort of peer mentors who will go on to support individuals in recovery. Last year 15 remarkable people from our community stepped up to train as mentors for eating disorder recovery and this year we have 16 new people who want to do the same.
Sometimes we feel like a war is raging within ourselves. This war, like any other war in the history of humankind and beyond, is a war disseminated by ignorance and fear.
Keeping up with demand for eating disorder recovery services is high priority, but ensuring that support is relevant and effective is the most important part of our work. We partnered with J5 Design to gain a deeper understanding of the journey of eating disorder recovery.
Holidays can often represent a minefield of eating disorder triggers. Invites for gatherings that involve food can be anxiety-producing. For me, a combination of being in recovery and having irritable syndrome can make the holidays an extra anxious time.
It's a reminder for myself, as well as others in recovery, to keep going and to celebrate our progress along the way, and most importantly to be gentle and patient with ourselves when things get hard.
Trusting my body after eating disorder recovery can be a difficult endeavor. Being a control freak, it’s hard for me to fully trust my body. However, recovery requires giving up this control.
Since inception in 2014, our foundation has offered numerous support groups, resources and most recently peer mentoring. We have always maintained that while these programs are an important part of the recovery journey, they are just one piece.
“I am imperfect.”
“I am enough.”
“I AM IMPERFECT. I AM ENOUGH.” As if by shouting the phrase out, it will burn into my psyche and heart and miraculously end the body shame.
Summer is short. Life is short. And newsflash: We have a finite amount of summers during our lifetime. In my own journey, I’ve found healthy distractions to be immensely helpful in turning down the volume of my inner, dysmorphic mean girl during the summer season.
Your weight doesn't define your eating disorder. Your eating disorder is about thoughts and behaviours and the pain that it brings. Your eating disorder is about the struggle in your mind and not what you look like on the outside. You are sick enough.
Caregiving is a full time job and when you add the complexities of an eating disorder, it can be completely overwhelming.
It has been almost four decades since I struggled with an eating disorder. Recovery, for me, is like a two-step: “one step forward, two steps back”.
This poem was inspired by my ongoing internal struggle of being stuck between my ED and longing for recovery. It’s a reminder to myself that I can do hard things and that, if I am willing to let go of the lifeboat, freedom and a much more fulfilling life is waiting for me.