On this episode, we'll be sharing a recovery story. Dr. Karen Nelson is joined by Jessica who will take us through her journey of diagnosis, treatment, and what it means to live in recovery.
On this episode, we'll be sharing a recovery story. Dr. Karen Nelson is joined by Jessica who will take us through her journey of diagnosis, treatment, and what it means to live in recovery.
For a transcript of this episode click here.
Dr. Karen Nelson 00:02
Eating disorders thrive in secrecy and shame. It's when we create a safe space for honest conversation that we’ll find the opportunity for healing. Hi there, I'm Dr. Karen Nelson, licensed clinical psychologist at Melrose center, welcoming you to Melrose Heals, a conversation about eating disorders, a podcast designed to explore, discuss, and understand eating disorders and mental health. On today's episode, we'll be sharing a story of recovery. I'm joined by Jessica, who will take us through her journey of diagnosis, treatment, and what it means to live in recovery. Now, before I begin, I invite you to take a deep breath and join me in this space. I just want to thank you for being here today, Jessica. I'm just so happy to have you with us.
Jessica 01:00
Well, thank you for having me. I'm excited to be here.
Dr. Karen Nelson 01:03
So today, we're actually going to be talking about your recovery from an eating disorder and your diagnosis of Type 1 diabetes. We've talked about it actually on a previous episode, this intersection that can happen when someone has a diagnosis of an eating disorder, as well as a diagnosis of Type 1 diabetes, and kind of the nuance and the, the specialty around getting appropriate care for that. So, we're going to be exploring that a little bit. But let's maybe start at the beginning, the diagnosis of Type 1 diabetes. Tell me about how old you were when that came to be.
Jessica 01:40
So, I was three years old, very young. It's actually probably my first memory is being diagnosed. So, I don't remember a lot of not having diabetes. I kind of always had this focus on food, really. So, I think it's probably not surprising that I developed an eating disorder. But I was three years old, I was really sick for months on end, losing a lot of weight. My parents kept trying to give me more food and somehow, I would lose more weight, the more I ate. And finally got the diagnosis of Type 1 diabetes, was in the hospital for about a week. And then they discharged me, and my life was just very different from that point forward. I was counting everything I ate at the age of three, I was focusing on portion sizes, I was focusing on how that food affected my body, which I don't think any three-year-old should really have to deal with.
Dr. Karen Nelson 02:49
Good point. So, this immediate attention to food, and rightly so because it was through that, that you were working to manage the diagnosis of Type 1 diabetes, you just had to be aware of it. But what a, I don't even know what the word is, just what a complicated experience as such a young girl, to then have so much attention on food. What do you remember, as far as what it was like for your family as they're coming to know this diagnosis, and as you moved through early childhood with that diagnosis of Type 1 diabetes?
Jessica 03:29
Yeah, my parents are great, I love them. And they were really on top of everything, which is fantastic. And at the same time, made me focus a lot more on the food and the effects of food on my body. And so, I was very regimented, especially back when I was younger, the advances in diabetes care were much less so you had to be on a very strict meal plan. You didn't really listen to your hunger cues. You were always just eating by your meal plan.
Dr. Karen Nelson 04:05
I like that you bring up kind of the evolution of care for diabetes. Right? We talked about that with our diabetes educator on the podcast about, there's been a lot of advancements and kind of understanding about diabetes as a diagnosis. But you remember early on the rigidity, I think is what I hear around the food. Is that right?
Jessica 04:26
Absolutely. Yeah, I can remember my parents weighing my portions. We had a scale at the kitchen table and I remember as a young child, that when they would measure my rice it was in this particular measuring cup that looked like a half circle, but when they would put it on my plate, I would make it into an igloo. Of course, you did. So, but I just remember that thought that well, I can't eat more than this. I can't eat less than this because I will get sick if that is the case.
Dr. Karen Nelson 04:58
Absolutely. So, food maybe started to develop, or this relationship with food where it was maybe worrisome or worried that I might eat the wrong thing? Or I could eat the wrong thing? Or what do you remember about that?
Jessica 05:14
Yes, I would say that. And also, I got a lot of feedback about what I should be eating and what I should not be eating. And I think it was well-meaning, but it wasn't helpful.
Dr. Karen Nelson 05:30
So, a lot of feedback. And I like that you can acknowledge it was through the lens of helping you potentially manage the diabetes. But as we'll progress our conversation today, just understanding the intersection of this hyper-focus on food or good food, bad food, and the development of the eating disorder. What do you remember about any things friends would say? Or what was that like for your friends to kind of watch you manage your diabetes?
Jessica 06:01
Yeah,I mean, kids, they're well-meaning as well. And I think they're always curious. So, I would get a lot of questions. I became a diabetes expert and I love to talk to people about the misconceptions around diabetes, even. And I think a lot of people have ideas that are ingrained from society. And a lot of those are just untrue.
Dr. Karen Nelson 06:26
That's right.
Jessica 06:27
And I think it's worth saying too, that everyone's diabetes is different. And so, this idea that there's a right way or a wrong way to do things, and that you're doing something wrong, or you're doing something right, I think that rigidity really developed within me and I started seeing things is very black and white.
Dr. Karen Nelson 06:50
Very good point. I'm wondering, as you started to move into your teen years, did anything shift or anything change about how you were managing the diabetes, or how people were talking to you about it?
Jessica 07:03
Yeah. So, when I was younger, my parents primarily managed my care, because I wasn't able to do it at that point. But as I started moving through adolescence, I started taking on more of the role. At that time. I also didn't like to stand out from the crowd. So, I could kind of hide what I was doing. And honestly, if I didn't take care of my diabetes, sometimes that was easier for me because I wouldn't get the questions. And I wouldn't get the comments that were hurtful sometimes. And I realized that it was an option to not always take care of my diabetes as well as my parents did. I just kind of accepted it as this is what you did. And I started to see that there was more of a continuum in that.
Dr. Karen Nelson 07:56
Very good point. Our natural desire as human beings to fit and belong. It's just one of our yearnings as humans is to just fit in. And one thing I remember about high school is number one, thankfully we don't have to repeat it, right? Like once we get through it, and this desire to not only fit in, but I'm kind of looking for my place, how do I fit in? Where am I accepted? And if I have this thing that highlights that I'm different, it makes a lot of sense to me that I might want to not engage in those behaviors or hide it. And so was it like, maybe I wouldn't give myself insulin, or I wouldn't check my blood sugars or what to remember about that?
Jessica 08:46
At that point in high school, I was always taking my insulin, but I wasn't great about checking my blood sugars. I did start to have a little bit more of a rebellious phase in my diabetes. I knew that I would feel really sick if I didn't take my insulin. So, I was still doing that, and I needed to. I was a high achiever in high school, I really wanted, and if I was feeling sick, I couldn't do all the things that I wanted to do. I was on the honor roll, I was in orchestra, I was playing sports. And so, I needed that energy. So that wasn't an issue at that point. But I did try to hide the diabetes.
Dr. Karen Nelson 09:29
And again, that, that place of, we reflect back and look at that, the kind of the evolution of your story. We’re remembering those facts never to ever judge it or to shame it or to say, what was the matter with me? Rather, the, the words that I often give my patients as we use the words of course, yeah, of course, I wanted to fit. Of course, I didn't want to stand out or feel uncomfortable. Of course, I didn't want to feel ridiculed. Of course. Like we just get it. And the cool thing about moving through adolescence and then into adulthood is we can reflect back on that and say, wow, now I can make it different. That feels so powerful to me. Ah, it's just, that's literally recovery.
Jessica 10:18
Yes.
Dr. Karen Nelson 10:19
So here, we start to get the picture of this diagnosis of diabetes when you were three, working to manage your diabetes all through early childhood and adolescence. Tell me about when did you start to notice potential eating disorder behaviors wander in?
Jessica 10:38
The first time I can remember having a conscious thought around eating disorder and that some of my behaviors might not be healthy, I hate using the healthy and unhealthy.
Dr. Karen Nelson 10:51
I know, right. But sometimes it makes sense.
Jessica 10:53
Sometimes it makes sense. I was 13, in my freshman year of high school, and I had a lot of tumultuous stuff going on with my family at the time, to remove me from that environment sent me to boarding school. At boarding school, I did not have the oversight to make sure I was getting all my meals in and I quickly learned that restricting food could help with the anxiety and depression that I had been struggling with probably most of my life but had not really identified up to that point.
Dr. Karen Nelson 11:25
Absolutely. And so that, that aspect that we talk a lot about, as far as the evolution of an eating disorder. You know, eating disorders show up in an attempt to manage, numb out, or distract from uncomfortable emotions. And so now reflecting back, identifying I think maybe I was struggling with some depression and anxiety. Because number one, I'm trying to manage this health issue. That in and of itself can cause stress and anxiety. Not to mention just all of the stressors of maybe family, school friends. Does that resonate?
Jessica 12:03
It does. Yes, absolutely.
Dr. Karen Nelson 12:06
So, let's talk about that place of starting to notice, maybe some restriction or avoidance of meals, of being able to maybe manipulate food intake. Was there any changes that happened as maybe the eating disorder started to take hold, that happened for your diabetes management?
Jessica 12:27
I don't know if funny is the right word. But, when you're restricting food, your blood sugars get a lot better. I actually received a lot of positive feedback from doctors telling me that I was doing a great job of managing my diabetes, and they just didn't understand really what was going on. Because it, it was coming in waves. It wasn't just one day I woke up and I wasn't eating anymore, I had a full life of other things going on. So, I would say that it kind of developed and then would go away, and then would develop a little more and in a different way.
Dr. Karen Nelson 13:05
Right.
Jessica 13:06
But then there were those periods where I was totally fine. So, I was like, well, I'm fine. I don't have a problem.
Dr. Karen Nelson 13:11
Would love it if you could give our listeners a description of what that was like or what changes. So, was it mainly restriction that was happening around eating or cutting out food groups, or, you know, counting calories, or what kind of behaviors did you notice show up?
Jessica 13:28
Yeah, at the beginning of my eating disorder, and for years really after that it was mainly restriction of food. But as we all know, eating disorders like to morph.
Dr. Karen Nelson 13:45
They do, good point. They change the rules a lot, don’t they?
Jessica 13:46
They change the rules a lot. So, I would say that I struggled with this restriction and manipulating of food for almost 10 years. And it was really easy to excuse and hide, because if someone asks you about it, you just say, “Oh, no, I can't eat doughnuts. I'm diabetic.”
Dr. Karen Nelson 14:04
That's right. And because people may not understand diabetes completely, they, it becomes this kind of almost acceptable way to restrict.
Jessica 14:14
Absolutely.
Dr. Karen Nelson 14:15
I totally get it. Tell me about, you know, we were talking about just the emotions you remember, as the eating disorder started to evolve. What do you remember about that time? About how you felt?
Jessica 14:28
I remember feeling proud. I thought that I could do something that other people couldn't. And I, like I said, I was getting praise. I was getting praise from doctors. I was getting positive feedback from my peers about my appearance. And it seemed like everything was going great.
Dr. Karen Nelson 14:48
When do you think you may be started to notice, when, when did things start to not go great?
Jessica 14:55
So about 10 years after this all started I had gone through high school successfully, went to a good college, graduated, and I graduated in the middle of a recession, had some trouble getting a job. And with that free time, my mind, just the eating disorder really took hold. And, I was using all my free time to focus on body, shape, size, how I could restrict my food. And then, I didn't have as much to do. So, I realized, if I felt a little sick from not taking my insulin appropriately, it was okay, because I didn't have these high-achieving things to do. And so that is when my symptom of insulin restriction started. And I had heard about insulin restriction before and heard it in terms of very negative stigma. So, I never wanted to try it. But at this point in my life, I was at a really low point. And it just seemed the appropriate thing to do. And once I started, it became almost addictive. I lost weight very quickly, and it was extremely numbing. I didn't have the energy to do anything, including think. So, it was really helpful with those hard emotions that I was experiencing at the time.
Dr. Karen Nelson 16:30
That's right. I mean, like we were just saying the eating disorder shows up to kind of manage the emotion. Eating disorders, ironically, aren't about food. No, they express themselves through food, they show up through food, the focus does need to be on food as part of our healing. But most importantly, having that aspect of understanding that it is about the emotion that I'm experiencing, and working to manage or not hurt.
Jessica 17:03
Absolutely. And I didn't have a negative body image for a really long time until I got pretty far into the deep eating disorder. I've always been slender and could do that without a lot of work. And so, my negative body image didn't start until I was many years into the eating disorder. And, and, it's interesting. It's taken me a long time to recover from that and to be able to turn that around.
Dr. Karen Nelson 17:32
Well and again, we talk about it a lot, the evolution of an eating disorder. Like you said, it didn't just happen one day, one night, where I woke up and thought, “Well, I'm gonna engage in all of these behaviors.” It was kind of a slow burn is what it sounds like. As you were potentially increasingly engaging with eating disorder behavior, do you think people noticed? Or I wonder if anyone ever expressed concern?
Jessica 17:59
Yeah, so when I started restricting insulin, I knew that people were going to notice. I pretty much secluded myself from my friends. I withdrew a lot. And my parents could tell something was going on. And then my doctor realized that something was going on. And I'm very grateful for that. I was living in Boston at the time, and I had access to excellent care. And my doctor suggested that I see a therapist out in Boston who specialized in eating disorders and diabetes, which is something that's very hard to find. And I didn't realize how lucky I was to find that at the time, but I'm very grateful for.
Dr. Karen Nelson 18:46
Absolutely. So, tell me about that. This suggestion of, I think you should go talk to someone. What was that like?
Jessica 18:54
It was a relief.
Dr. Karen Nelson 18:55
Yeah.
Jessica 18:56
I had been hiding this for so long. And I had been struggling for so long. And I just, I felt horrible at that point from the insulin restriction. It just makes you feel very, very ill. And I was hopeful that I was going to be able to get out of this behavior cycle that I had fallen into because I didn't feel, I wanted to be able to handle it by myself because again, I was a high achiever. I always wanted to do that kind of thing on my own. But I knew at that point that I wasn't going to be able to get out of it without help.
Dr. Karen Nelson 19:34
Absolutely. Well, I think too, sometimes it's in that shame or that negative dialogue that we have with ourselves. Many of my patients describe that, of saying, “I should be able to figure this out on my own.” It is about the emotion and, and, we deserve nurturance and support, and compassion as we're working to integrate all of that into recovery. You bet. So, help me understand the timeline. So, you were referred to that, thankfully, specialist in Boston who understood eating disorders and diabetes, and then what?
Jessica 20:09
So, my therapist in Boston recommended that I seek more intense eating disorder care. I was referred to a eating disorder clinic in Boston, but they did not have a diabetes program. So, I went inpatient there, but they didn't want anything to do with my diabetes, they didn't want to help me manage it, they didn't want to address it with the eating disorder. And long story short, I was eventually kicked out of the program because I was told I was too much of a liability, and that it was likely that I was going to die. At that point, my therapists that I had been seen told me about Melrose, out in Minnesota, and that there was this specialized program that dealt with the comorbidity of eating disorders and Type 1 diabetes. And she recommended that I go out there for inpatient treatment.
Dr. Karen Nelson 21:09
Wow, what a story. And you're sitting right here with me today. Oh, I'm gonna get all choked up.
Jessica 21:17
Oh, I am too. Because I never thought that at my low points, I just never would have imagined that I could be where I am today. And sitting here with you, so.
Dr. Karen Nelson 21:31
Oh, just deeply, deeply proud to know you.
Jessica 21:36
As the eating disorder took more hold, depression and anxiety got much worse. I think we all know, the eating disorder can be that immediate relief for the depression and anxiety. But in the long term, it's just ramping it up. And it's making you need to use that behavior to get any relief. And it's only short-term relief. In the long term, it's making it worse.
Dr. Karen Nelson 21:59
That's right. Absolutely. And so, the people in the intensive care unit in Boston, they were worried about your overall just health of saying like, you're not gonna survive this?
Jessica 22:14
Yes, they were only addressing the medical issues. And I, I was told by doctors multiple times, you're going to die.
Dr. Karen Nelson 22:22
I thinkit's good to acknowledge the specialization that we do offer here at Melrose, that we do have an inpatient setting that intimately addresses the intersection between eating disorders and diabetes.
Jessica 22:36
This was the first place that I wasn't shamed for my behaviors.
Dr. Karen Nelson 22:40
What do you remember about those initial days of treatment here at Melrose?
Jessica 22:46
I was very tired at the time. I was emotionally and physically exhausted from using my symptoms. And I remember doing all the initial meetings with my care team, and just everyone being non-judgmental, and talking to me like a human being, not like a patient, if that makes sense.
Dr. Karen Nelson 23:11
It really does. And again, like we were saying, the eating disorder expresses itself through food or eating disorder and diabetes might express itself through elimination of insulin, but it's not about that. That is the symptom. And so, coming into treatment is about understanding what is maybe pushing the urge to use symptoms. Tell me about that a little bit. You know, like as you started to move through treatment, what did you learn about, kind of, the function of your eating disorder? Or what was the eating disorder working to manage for you?
Jessica 23:50
Like I mentioned earlier, I've struggled with depression and anxiety most of my life. I also had some specific tumultuous things going on in my family life. I was always trying to be a high achiever. And when I started to see myself as failing, I just, I didn't want to deal with anything, and the eating disorder really numbed me. It numbed those bad emotions that I didn't like. It numbed the sense of failure. It numbed just everything, and I had no joy in my life. I basically, I remember just laying in bed for, to the point where I would have this thought, “Oh, I hope I don't totally like atrophy my muscles. I should probably get up and move around a little.” But then I would try to get up and move around and I was so weak from not taking insulin, that I would just have to sit down again.
Dr. Karen Nelson 24:50
As you moved into treatment, what were maybe some of those initial messages that you started to hear about recovery, or what did you learn as you were entering into treatment here at Melrose?
Jessica 25:05
it was a very different experience for me. I really appreciated the multidisciplinary approach, because the eating disorder didn't develop alone. It was very entwined with the diabetes and with the messages I've been getting all my life. So, those were addressed together.
Dr. Karen Nelson 25:25
This is a perfect transition into those messages were addressed together. Let's talk about that. That intersection between the eating disorder and diabetes. Sometimes I think the messages can be almost conflicting, right? About, you know, the one that comes up for me, we say here at Melrose, all foods fit, there's no such thing as a bad food. It's probably one of the first things that I work to kind of teach or explain to my patients. There's no such thing as a bad food. Well, if you have diabetes, there may be some foods that could be more risky, or what do you remember about that? Tell me about that.
Jessica 26:09
Yeah, um, Melrose, I remember hearing all the time that all foods fit. There are certain foods that I still avoid, and I am not doing those for eating disorder reasons. I do them because I know they're going to make my blood sugar spike and then plummet and then just make me feel sick for many hours on end. And it's not worth it for me to eat that food. That craving, I can find, satisfy in another way.
Dr. Karen Nelson 26:40
Carbs is the thing that comes up a lot.
Jessica 26:42
Carbs have always been a big trigger point for me. And I think that's probably how I got started in the counting of my food, because you need to count your carbs to know how to dose your insulin. So, I was aware of carbs at a very early age. And I think just in society, carbs are demonized in diet culture. And so, if I was constantly counting them.
Dr. Karen Nelson 27:07
So, ifas you were counting carbs, or your awareness of them, it just almost became kind of socially acceptable to like, avoid or not add them in, or.
Jessica 27:18
It was even more than socially acceptable, it was encouraged. It was seen as doing the right thing and being a good diabetic. And, like I said, they developed so quickly together, or so intertwined, that it was really hard, even for me to see what was eating disorder, what was diabetes, and to untangle that rat’s nest.
Dr. Karen Nelson 27:44
Good word. It is for sure. And untangle that, not alone. I don't have to do it.
Jessica 27:52
Absolutely, with people who have experienced this and have been through it with their patients, not personally, but to be able to have the support that they've seen this, and it's, I'm not in an ICU being told, “Well, you're just suicidal.”
Dr. Karen Nelson 28:10
Any aha moments for you, as you were moving through therapy of how things maybe started to click in a different way?
Jessica 28:17
I learned a lot of new skills in how to deal with my emotions, and not just numb them. I learned how to be more effective in the ways that I interacted with people. I have a trait that I still deal with where I like to people please a lot. And sometimes when you're people-pleasing, you're not doing what's best for you. So, I learned how to stand up for myself almost.
Dr. Karen Nelson 28:48
Yes, absolutely. The fancy words that we use in therapy is called self-advocacy, right? Which is just fancy words for, “My needs are important, too.” Right? And sometimes, I've spent my whole life working to take care of everybody else's needs, or to ensure that they're not upset with me, disappointed in me, irritated with me, but then I'm suppressing what I need. That is a really common experience for many, many of my patients. I'm so glad you brought that up. So, advocating for yourself in a different way, or I don't know, what do you remember about that, as you were kind of working on that skill?
Jessica 29:26
It's very hard.
Dr. Karen Nelson 29:29
It's a process, right?
Jessica 29:30
It's a process. It’s a process I'm still working on. And I think that's just life. You're continually going through these processes, and you're always trying to improve. And it's a continuum. It's not a start and stop at any point. So, you have to keep working on it.
Dr. Karen Nelson 29:45
I love that. Why do you think it is so important, you know, as you have moved through treatment, to integrate the treatment of eating disorders and diabetes? What, thoughts on that?
Jessica 29:59
Like I said before they developed together. There's no way to heal them separately, and they were so entwined. If you try to address one, I've heard this analogy before of Whack-a-Mole, where you're whacking one thing down and then the other thing pops up way worse. And you need really an integrated approach, I think. And Melrose does have that integration, and that whole team approach to make sure that you're getting the appropriate care, and they're addressing things not necessarily too fast. That's another thing with the diabetes and the eating disorder. It can feel horrible if they just try to get you back on track really quickly, which is what happened in Boston, and I ended up feeling much sicker, and wanting the eating disorder all the more.
Dr. Karen Nelson 30:55
Let's go back to some of those moments as you were maybe working with your team, or your therapist. You know, I think sometimes when we talk about recovery, I talk about a pathway, right? And it's windy, it's not always a straight shot. We want to hope it is, right? But many times, there can be hiccups or frustrations. I can feel overwhelmed or sad, feelings that you remember as you were moving through therapy.
Jessica 31:26
I felt overwhelmed a lot. I also had a lot of hopelessness. I had been at a really low, low point. And I didn't think that there was anything that could get me out of that. And I had some really great providers who repeatedly told me that, no things can get better. Life doesn't have to feel like this. And I remember some days I would have motivation. Yes, I'm going to do this. And then some days, I didn't want to do it. And I remember my therapist telling me, “Well, that makes total sense, because motivation is an emotion. So, it comes and goes. And I am going to hold that for you.” And I, after a while I won't say this was immediate, I decided, yeah, I'm gonna jump in with both feet. I don't know that things will get better, but I just know that I don't like things as they are now. So, it can't get worse than this.
Dr. Karen Nelson 32:27
That's right. I'm gonna try.
Jessica 32:30
Exactly.
Dr. Karen Nelson 32:31
Yeah. Well, and I remind people as they're moving through recovery, as long as you're trying, you can't do it wrong. I'll take a kernel of trying, I’ll take an ounce, I'll meet you right there. And then we'll grow it together.
Jessica 32:45
I've learned that I'm much stronger than I ever thought I could be. Learned that I matter and that I'm worth taking care of. And I've learned that things can get better. I've learned that there is joy in life and that it's amazing when you start building a life and getting better. And I never thought that I would have all these things. I thought I was just gonna have the eating disorder and that was the only thing I was gonna have, and honestly thought it was going to kill me. I had given up hope. And now looking at all these things I have, I never would have imagined it. I am just so happy that I was able to get the help that I needed.
Dr. Karen Nelson 33:32
So important. I like how you describe how as you're moving through recovery, as people are getting better, there's like momentum in the better. It's like your life blossoms, right? As you start to release some of the eating disorder thoughts and behaviors. There's all this new space that opens up in your brain. Which, many times on the podcast, our brain space is like a pie chart. And many people who are struggling with an eating disorder say their brain space is 90% occupied by thoughts of food, body, symptom use, that doesn't leave a lot of time for just about anything else. There are likely listeners who are listening right now Jessica and are working on their recovery. Any messages you might have for them?
Jessica 34:22
I would just say, believe that things can get better. Because no matter how dark it seems, there's a beautiful world that's bright and sunny, and you got to take the good with the bad, but it's just so worth it. And I never thought that I would be at the point that I am now. And if I had heard someone like me telling me this years ago, I probably wouldn't have believed them. But I'm here from the future and I can tell you that it's true.
Dr. Karen Nelson 34:57
Your story is just beautiful. And I appreciate you sharing it with us.
Jessica 35:03
Thank you for having me.
Dr. Karen Nelson 35:05
That's it for today. Thanks for joining me, we've covered a lot. So, I encourage you to let it settle and filter in. And as I tell my patients at the end of every session, take notice, pay attention, and we'll take it as it comes. I'll talk to you next time. To learn more about Melrose Center, please visit Melroseheals.com. If you or a loved one are suffering from an eating disorder, we're here to help. Call 952-993-6200 to schedule an appointment and begin the journey towards healing and recovery. Melrose Heals: A conversation about eating disorders was made possible by generous donations to the Park Nicollet Foundation.