'Get Fit and Feel Epic'

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One of my favourite blogs and a fellow Scottish blogger - Sandra over at The Black Pearl Blog put up post a little while back about the 'Get Fit and Feel Fit' competition in conjunction with Moneysupermarket.com.  I knew I wanted to enter and I it was always in the back of my mind to do a post about health and weight loss but I kept putting it off, and now it is the deadline day and I am typing away furiously.  I wanted to do this more for myself and to share with others than for the competition if I am being honest. But winning the awesome Aria Wi-fi Smart Scales would be a fantastic weight loss aid.

Before I launch into my 2013 year plan I feel I need to give a little back of a background story. For the last year I have been dealing with having an auto-immune disease called Hashimoto's - which is a form of under-active thyroid with the exception that is it my immune system that is attacking my thyroid rather than just having a deficiency. Thyroid disease affects most things in your body but most noticeably it affects your weight, it took a doctor six months to take me seriously when I said I was uncontrollably putting on weight and by then the damage had already been done.

(thyroids)

It has not been an easy year, in regards to my health and my weight.  I am unsure of the exact amount of weight I have gained but I have went from being a comfy 12-14 to somewhere between a 16-20.  I have so much respect for people that are comfortable with their weight but for me this weight gain has been disastrous for  my mental health. I am also 4ft 11 so that does not help.  I have always had issues with my weight, even when I was a size 6-8 (a long time ago).  I thought I was fat back then, so it is safe to say that I have some issues, it would be stupid for me to deny it but this post isn't about eating disorders. It is about hope.

(Third year of University at my normal weight).

(Graduation - end of 4th year)

In those photo's I don't even think I look like the same person.  It's hard.

Everyone has an opinion about weight but I feel the fact that I have been at both sides of the scale gives me some kind of nonsensical upper wisdom on the topic.  I know how it feels to be thin and feel uncomfortable in your skin and to be overweight and even more uncomfortable.  Weight I feel is a metal health issue above everything these days.  It is no longer just a health issue,  people everywhere are not happy in themselves and  people need to remember being thin does not necessaries mean healthy. My wish for everyone in 2013 is to attempt to be healthy and to be happy with yourself, if you can.


So here is my plan for 2013 - to try and find some sort of inner happiness.

1.  Invest in some vitamins and supplements to help me feel healthier and to give my metabolism the mighty shove that it needs.  The doctors haven't helped me in regards to getting extra help thus far, but I do have a friend who works at Holland and Barrat.  They shop assistants are greatly trained so do not be scared to ask for some help.

2.  Pester the doctors relentlessly until they help me. If you feel something is wrong with your health, go to the doctors.  They get paid to help you and be assertive.  I know it is hard, I am struggling with that at the moment but remember it is their job.  You should not be made feel like an inconvenience.

3.  I am a member of the women's only gym Curves, I have been a member on and off since I was 16.  Normal gyms, I have tried but they never worked that great for me.  A lot of people are sceptical about Curves because it is only a 30 minute workout but it works for me, it might not be helping so much with the weight at the moment (because of the thyroid) but with the lack of energy I have it is some days just enough for me to handle.  The support is brilliant too, everyone is there for the same reason - to feel better about themselves.  There is no bitchiness, simply just lots of women of different ages and sizes trying to lose weight and feel healthier. If you are someone who struggles to find time to exercise then I would advise giving Curves a try, 30 minutes is enough time for a workout but not too much time that is going to get in the way of your life, whether that be studies or children.

3.  Stop eating out as regularly.  My boyfriend and I have got into the habit of going out for lunch or dinner quite frequently and although it is lovely it is not particularly good for the waist line.  So, that is ending.  It will be for special occasions from now on. I am also calling a stop to binding whilst watching films - there is no need.  I'm on the grapes and cherries from now on.  Frozen grapes are a great call for those trying to lose weight, they taste lovely and they take ageees to eat - ask my flatmates who had to put up with the punnet of frozen grapes in the freezer.

4.  Strict diets do not bide well with me but I do believe in everything in moderation. Eat well and eat less junk - to me that is the sane way to do it.  It is a lifestyle change and one you can engage with for life, therefore you cannot fall off the wagon too badly like you can with strict diets which in my opinion can be rather damaging to the self-esteem.


I hope this post helps someone somewhere, and if anyone wants to talk further about any of the issues I have addressed you can either tweet me at: @glampire_x or e-mail me at: victoria.mcewan@hotmail.co.uk

Much love.

xx

Changes To Mental Illness Diagnosis Model Causes Grief

The topic of people’s mental health has always been considered somewhat taboo.  It is not something people typically like talking about openly unless it is in the derogatory sense of calling someone who is unhinged mentally unstable.

However the topic has recently come under heated debate in the public eye as the Diagnostic Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) is coming under revision next year in regards to personality disorders.

For those that are not familiar with the DSM it was founded by the American Psychiatric Association and sets the criteria for the classification of mental disorders.  It is used across the world (including in the United Kingdom) by almost everyone that works in the mental health sector – from psychiatrists to those in health insurance.

This reformation will affect the criteria used in diagnoses and therefore also the severity of personality dysfunction.

The revisions will create big changes for not only those who work in the psychiatric sector but for the public, who could in fact in turn now be diagnosed with a disorder they previously did not match the criteria for.  The question at hand though is if this is a bad thing.

The main reasoning behind the revision is to prevent patients from being diagnosed with more than one condition due to some of the diagnostic categories overlapping. 

There are currently 10 personality disorder categories in the DSM-IV model.  This will be reduced to six – antisocial, avoidant, borderline, narcissistic, obsessive-compulsive and schizotypal.  The categories that are being removed are dependent, histrionic, paranoid and schizoid personality disorders.

At first glance that might seem like a sensible idea but there has been a panic amongst the psychiatric community - as although the categories have been limited the revision could lead to more people being classed as mentally ill and therefore being prescribed drugs that they may not necessarily need.

The revision will result in a wider range of behaviors coming under scrutiny by psychiatrists such as grieving relatives and people with fetishes.

There is already an alarming degree of people using psychiatric drugs – 1 in 4 Americans last year were taking a psychiatric drug and 1 in 3 women will use psychiatric drugs at some point in their lifetime.

If a factor such as grief is brought into the criteria for depression this will no doubt result in people being prescribed anti-depressant drugs to cure an issue that to an extent drugs cannot sort and is just a natural process that a person needs to deal with.

However on the other hand the revision could help people who have gone undiagnosed but struggle with day to day life but the negatives appear to outweigh the positives in this argument.

Another strong argument against the changes is that sex offenders could possibly get out of long-term prison sentences on the basis that their illness will provide an excuse for their behavior.

It is hard to judge who exactly is going to benefit from the revision as there is no obvious scientific value in the changes and already  more than 11,000 health professionals have already signed a petition (at dsm5-reform.com) calling for the development of the fifth edition of the manual to be reconsidered.

This could lead people to wonder if money and pharmaceutical companies are the reasoning behind these changes rather than concern for people’s mental health.

It will be interesting to see if the petition continues to gain support and if the outlined changes will go ahead against large scale opposition from both professionals and the public.