Day Seventeen: A Trip to IOP

Today is Monday, which means that it is IOP day. IOP stands for "Intensive Outpatient" treatment. I go to the Solace Clinic in Chattanooga to attend their IOP program every Monday and Wednesday from 4-8 pm. On Mondays from 4-5, we have nutrition group; 5-6 we eat; 6-7 body awareness; and 7-8 Internal Family Structures. On Wednesdays, from 4-5, we have DBT (dialectic behavorial therapy); 5-6 we eat; 6-7 is art therapy; and 7-8 is family session with a different subject each week. There are 6 other women in the group, with ages ranging from 15-50's. The people there either have anorexia, bullimia, or emotional eating disorders, though they do treat all disorders.

Tonight in nutrition, we discussed the subject of "fats"and serving sizes. Fats are necessary for brain functioning and normal regulation of the entire body. The human body also needs fat because it serves as a cushion for the internal organs from injury, a reserve supply of energy, and it regulates body temperature. Serving sizes are important in nutrition to ensure you get enough/don't get too much. One serving of a grain is one piece of bread, half of a bun, half a cup of cereal, or 1/4 of a big bagel (like from Panera or Einstein Brothers bagels). One serving of fat could be 6 almonds, 1 tsp. of regular mayonnaise, or 8 large black olives. One serving of protein could be 1 egg, 1 oz. of cheese, or half a cup of beans. How about that?

In meal, we ate...who would have guessed? During the meal, we discussed marriage, weddings, jewelery, and our favorite candies (pretty normal conversation). We also then went over our thoughts on equine therapy last week. I didn't have any reservations in saying how much I hated it. Next was Body Awareness group. First, those of us who didn't do our homework were scolded, and then we listened to some dude on a CD for 23 minutes, telling us to focus on different parts of our bodies, as we laid on yoga mats on the floor. I dosed off more than a couple of times, and did not focus on what CD man was telling us to. Oopsie.

Lastly, we had Internal Family Structures (IFS). We folded a large piece of paper into a type of pamphlet. On one side, we wrote "where we are now", writing down where we are currently in our thoughts and eating disorders; on the other side, we wrote "where we want to be", writing down the way we want to be; in the middle, we wrote "blocks", which are things that are blocking us from getting from "where we are" to "where we want to be"; and on the back, we wrote "resources", the things that will help us get to "where we want to be". It was interesting to go over the things that go on in our minds, the things we want, the things that keep us from that, and thhe different ways that we can achieve that. We were dismissed a few minutes late, and I ski-daddled home.

The Solace Clinic is a great resource to find information or valuable sources on the subject of eating disorders. Why? Well, that's what it's there for. The entire clientele are eating disordered people in search of recovery. Some people there truly want to recover, while others are there because they have no choice.  Either way, IOP can be a very valuable resource for people. It doesn't work for all, but it is proven to work for some. IOP serves as a beacon of hope for people with an eating disorder, and for the people who an eating disorder affects.

Food Log: Monday October 14, 2013: 

Breakfast:
Pumpkin bagel with butter

Snack:
Chai Latte

Lunch:
Raw veggies; baked potato; three bites of potato-leek soup (not too great)

Snack:
Protein Shake

Dinner:
Tuna salad; mac and cheese

Snack:
Smoothie; something else unknown at this point in time