Body-checking is the compulsive act of looking at, and scrutinizing your body. This manifests as an obsessive preoccupation with your appearance and repeatedly checking your body image in mirrors or reflective surfaces, using scales or tape-measures to keep track of weight and measurements, repeatedly evaluating how your clothes look, pinching skin, among other self-destructive behaviors. In today’s social-media and appearance-world, it is easy to compare ourselves to others, especially with regard to our bodies. While body-checking might be a temporary method of attempting to feel better about certain areas of your body, it can ultimately lead to distorted perceptions and greater feelings of loss, judgment, depression and obsessional behavior.

What is Urge Surfing? Urge surfing is an effective visual mindfulness technique for controlling undesirable behaviors. It is especially useful in binge eating recovery. How do I Use Urge Surfing?Urge surfing is a way of ‘riding’ out cravings, in a safe and attuned manner. The first step is to label the sensation as you begin to feel the urge or craving. For example, you may desire to binge at the end of a stressful day or after a fight with a friend. If you are able to, move yourself to a quiet space and relax your eyes.

Sometimes we find ourselves feeling overwhelmed, stressed, or just a little blue. While it’s completely natural to experience occasional dips in mood, finding simple, natural methods to lift your spirits can potentially improve your day. Whether you’re dealing with a particularly stressful week, or just want to generally feel more positive, there are many natural and effective strategies to help boost your mood without relying on quick fixes. See below for 10 simple and natural ways to brighten your day, energize your mind and leave you feeling much better.

Journaling is a common practice used to process emotions, thoughts and feelings. It is a great self-care tool and especially helpful in times of high stress or crisis. Journaling offers a powerful way to nurture our mental health, process emotions, and gain clarity about our inner world. The following guide provides thoughtful prompts to help you develop a meaningful journaling practice that supports your mental wellness journey. So grab a pen and a notebook, find a relaxing space, and get started!

What are boundaries?
Boundaries are essentially healthy restraints applied to emotional or physical actions to ensure and promote harmony and balance in relationships. There are several categories of boundaries: 

• Personal boundaries: Relating to your individuality and self-preservation.

• Physical boundaries: Regarding personal space and physical contact.

• Emotional boundaries: Protecting and advocating for your feelings and sustaining personal emotional energy.

• Sexual boundaries: Ensuring mutual respect and consent in intimate relationships.

• Financial boundaries: Managing financial expectations and responsibilities.

Have you ever heard of DBT (Dialectical Behavior Therapy)? If so, you may know about the STOP skill. STOP is an acronym for: stop, take a step back/take a breath, observe, proceed mindfully. The primary purpose of the STOP method is to handle crises more mindfully. Developed from mindfulness and meditation practices, this technique suggests an accessible way to ease depression and anxiety, improve emotional regulation and increase self-awareness.

Self-compassion is about being kinder and more empathetic to oneself. Many people can do this for others, but it can be difficult to do for themselves. It is easy to engage in self-loathing, shame, and self-inflicted anger; to self-criticize and overthink difficult moments, but, truth be told, we're only human. Establishing self-compassion skills can help us have better self-esteem, stronger personal growth, and a brighter outlook on our lives.

While we may refer to it as the “most wonderful time of the year”, the holidays can bring stress, anxiety, and even dread. According to the National Alliance of Mental Health, 64% of people with an already existing mental illness note that holidays exacerbate their symptoms. There are many reasons why we may find ourselves becoming more anxious: more time spent around family, unmet expectations, fatigue, grief and loss, financial stress, among other things. While there are many wonderful aspects about the holiday season, we must acknowledge the added pressure it brings. If you feel anxious about this year’s holiday season, know you are probably not alone. Here are a few tips:

The holidays often bring situations where more time is spent around family. It can be comforting, festive and wonderful and equally stressful and anxiety-inducing. Tense relationships, family drama, and/or unresolved conflicts can make spending holidays with relatives challenging. These events can be especially difficult if you find yourself struggling to align with your family’s viewpoints and opinions. If you are looking for some peace during this holiday season, grounding exercises can help you stay calm and present. When navigating hectic schedules, family dynamics, or the pressure to plan the perfect meal, there are simple practices to ground us and enable us to enjoy the season more fully. See below for a few ideas:

Lily Thrope was featured on Lauren Bongiorno’s podcast, Reclaim Your Rise:

The Realities of Eating Disorders and Body Image Struggles for Type 1 Diabetics with Lily Thrope, LCSW

In this week’s episode, I’m joined by therapist and childhood friend Lily Thrope!

Lily Thrope, LCSW specializes in supporting individuals who experience anxiety, disordered eating, low self-esteem, relationship stress, and LGBTQIA-related issues. Through her work, Lily helps her clients find the confidence to face these issues and find ways to live their happiest and most authentic lives.

In this intimate convo, we talk about…

• Why people with T1D might have a predisposition to struggle with disordered eating

• What the term “Food Freedom” means for diabetics 

• How we worked through our personal disordered eating journeys to foster a healthy relationship with our bodies, find balance with food, and discover self-love. 

Lily Thrope was featured in two episodes of Caitie Corradino’s podcast, Whole, Full, & Alive:

Eating Disorder Recovery Q&A and Living an Authentic Life with Therapist Lily Thrope

Things We Dive Into In This Episode: 

1. Is FULL recovery from disordered eating and body dysmorphia even possible?

2. How did we know when we were recovered?

3. What is a good definition of "health?"

Listen to the podcast here.

Why Eating Disorders Go Unnoticed and How to Heal in a Way that Works for You with Lily Thrope

Things We Dive Into In This Episode:

1. Why eating disorders often go unnoticed and how fitness culture contributes to them.

2. Why eating disorder recovery is personal; no single solution works for everyone.

3. How you can use therapy, nutrition therapy, and other modalities to sit in discomfort and ultimately heal from food anxiety and eating-related challenges.

Lily Thrope was featured on Meg McCabe’s podcast, Full and Thriving:

Am I Enough? Mastering Body Acceptance, Burnout and Constant Striving with Lily Thrope, LCSW

In this episode of Full and Thriving, we welcome special guest Lily Thrope, LCSW, a licensed clinical social worker and the founder of Thrope Therapy. Lily specializes in helping individuals heal eating disorders and body image issues, taking a compassionate and authentic approach.

Whether you are active on social media or not, it’s probably had an impact on your life in one way or another. Let’s be honest—most of us have a love-hate relationship with it, and it’s the same story when it comes to how it impacts our relationship with food and body image. But, hey, why delete Instagram when you can just add more stress to your life, right?

In this episode, I’m joined by Lily Thrope, a Certified Intuitive Eating Counselor and a Licensed Clinical Social Worker in NY, Massachusetts and Connecticut. Together, we’re diving into how social media can serve as a breeding ground for comparison, misinformation, and, surprise surprise, worsening self-esteem.

In today’s fast-paced world, escaping screens feels nearly impossible. Whether you are using them for work, school, or fun, screens consume much of our daily lives. While technology brings many benefits, it can also be overstimulating, draining, and cause disconnection from others. Striking a balance is crucial for mental health and overall well-being.

Neuroplasticity is the brain’s incredible way of changing and reorganizing itself through life. Traditionally, scientists believed that the brain was "fixed" after a certain age, but modern research has shown that the brain is changeable and adaptable, even as we age. Our brains will form new neural networks each day, but there are certain things you can do to stimulate growth. Here are a few exercises to improve and increase neuroplasticity:

In a society that's so consumption-focused like ours, it may feel impossible not to fill our space up with sparkly new things. However, once we make these purchases, our spaces begin to fill and we might feel overwhelmed by the clutter. The process of cleaning our personal spaces can feel very overwhelming, but a cluttered room or area can reflect a cluttered mind. Taking small steps, we can go through our things and declutter to ultimately find clarity in our space and mind. See below for some essential decluttering tips: