Description

Reflective Reflections is the quintessential up-to-date book on ALL eating disorders, written from the perspective of a recovered sufferer, therefore especially about anorexia and bulimia, but not forgetting about other eating disorders out there. Written from personal experience and extensive research, and for the first time tackling the dangers of the Internet.

This book considers the factors that might predispose someone to an eating disorder, what are the many and main causes of different eating disorders, and the factors that trap people within these horrific illnesses that trick your mind. Eating disorders bring disarray to both the life of the sufferer and to those people around who love them. Eating disorders are nasty, they fight dirty, but they can be beaten, and I, the author am proof of that after 15 years of anorexia and bulimia myself.

But never forget, eating disorders kill. They kill young people. Indiscriminately. Killing without warning, and quickly. I have lost a few friends to eating disorders, I close my eyes and my heart misses a beat because they were so young, so deserving of life, as deserving of life as me and yet here I am and they are gone. I see friends still living within its grasp year after year and I feel sad for them - and an ill part of me feels jealous. I see others who have partly recovered, and some who are back to "normal."

This book will answer all your questions on eating disorders in a comprehensive but friendly manner, and I hope it helps you be you a sufferer, carer, or medical professional.

Dr. Tanya Skoro wrote this book for all victims of eating disorders who feel hopelessly stuck in the unbeatable trap of overeating. The book explains the mysterious causes leading to the onset of bulimia, as well as reasons which can maintain this disorder for years. It contains instructions for overcoming and abandoning the day-to-day suffering of bulimic patients, indicating which successful steps to take in order to attain health and peace of mind. The book THE SECRET OF BULIMIA will be helpful not only for those suffering from bulimia, but also for all the people engaged in obsessive and addictive overeating, for whom food has become the only substitute for all their unfulfilled desires in life.

From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Salt Sugar Fat comes a gripping exposé of how the processed food industry exploits our evolutionary instincts, the emotions we associate with food, and legal loopholes in their pursuit of profit over public health.

Everyone knows how hard it can be to maintain a healthy diet. But what if some of the decisions we make about what to eat are beyond our control? Is it possible that food is addictive, like drugs or alcohol? And to what extent does the food industry know, or care, about these vulnerabilities? In Hooked, Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative reporter Michael Moss sets out to answer these questions and to find the true peril in our food.

Moss uses the latest research on addiction to uncover the shocking ways that food, in some cases, is even more addictive than alcohol, cigarettes, and drugs. Our bodies are hardwired for sweets, so food giants have developed fifty-six types of sugar to add to their products and ways to exploit our evolutionary preference for fast, ready-to-eat foods. Moss goes on to show how the processed food industry -- including major companies like Nestlé, Mars, and Kellogg's -- has not only tried to hide the addictiveness of food but to actually exploit it. As obesity rates continue to climb, manufacturers are now claiming to add ingredients that can effortlessly cure our compulsive eating habits.

A gripping account of the legal battles, insidious marketing campaigns, and cutting-edge food science that have brought us to our current public health crisis, Hooked lays out all that the food industry is doing to exploit and deepen our addictions, and shows us why what we eat has never mattered more.

Writing from a personal experience with honesty, warmth and compassion, Meredith Seafield Grant explores eating disorders, the development, the depths of despair but most importantly the hope and reality of recovery.

With over twenty years of personal journal entries as a resource, Meredith has compiled the wisdom and insight she gained on the road to her personal life's rainbow.

Appreciating that each individual suffering from an eating disorder requires a personal prescription for recovery, Meredith has written this book in hopes that something on her road to recovery may help other sufferers.

And above all. there is hope.

From the author of "Women Who Think Too Much," a groundbreaking book that uncovers a hidden source of depression in women today

Depression is a common and debilitating problem among women, though it rarely occurs in a vaccum. As Susan Nolen-Hoeksema's original research shows, overthinking--a tendency to ruminate on problems rather than to seek solutions--often co-exists with unhealthy eating habits and/or heavy drinking. In fact, 80 percent of women who report suffering from one of those also suffer from another. This groundbreaking book, written in a vivid narrative style that captures the complexities of women's lives today, explains how the three core problems of the Toxic Triangle reinforce one another, wreaking havoc on women's emotional well-being, physical health, relationships, and careers.

Escape is possible, Nolen-Hoeksema assures us, for those who are already aware that they suffer from a serious problem as well as for the hundreds of thousands of others who have not yet examined the role that bingeing and purging--on negative thoughts, food, or alcohol--plays in their lives. Nolen-Hoeksema shows women how to harness their emotional and interpersonal strengths to overcome the stress caused by a destructive relationship with food, alcohol, and overthinking so that they can fashion effective, healthier strategies for living the life they deserve.

Recently revised and updated and containing extensive critical research, Elena Faccio's book addresses the historical and symbolic origins of a widespread cultural phenomenon. The text compares and contrasts current models of interpretation, provides an in-depth guide for intervention, and highlights the strengths and weaknesses of a variety of diagnostic instruments, theories and possible treatment plans, Nevertheless the author recognises the limited role that research can play in understanding and treatment of the disorder. The book thus tackles medical, environmental, physiological, aesthetic and genetic factors which might play their part in the development of eating disorders. This is a major strength of the book. A further key point to recommend it is that the author manages to make a complex subject relatively simple without ever losing sight of the intricate and individual nature of the disorder. Thus students, researchers, psychologists and clinical practitioners as well as the general reader, should find much in the book which will stimulate them.

A unique eating-disorder memoir written by a mother and daughter.
Unbeknownst to food critic Sheila Himmel-as she reviewed exotic cuisines from bistro to brasserie- her daughter, Lisa, was at home starving herself. Before Sheila fully grasped what was happening, her fourteen-year-old with a thirst for life and a palate for the flavors of Vietnam and Afghanistan was replaced by a weight-obsessed, antisocial, hundredpound nineteen-year-old. From anorexia to bulimia and back again-many times-the Himmels feared for Lisa's life as her disorder took its toll on her physical and emotional well-being.
"Hungry" is the first memoir to connect eating disorders with a food-obsessed culture in a very personal way, following the stumbles, the heartbreaks, and even the funny moments as a mother-daughter relationship-and an entire family-struggles toward healing.

"In 7th or 8th grade I started really worrying about being fat, and wanting to lose weight. I generally would start doing exercises, then stop, not having the discipline to keep at it. At some point I became interested in calories and started counting them. I drove everyone crazy (friends at school) asking them if I was fat. Over and over again I would ask. One friend finally got fed up and said, "Yes, you're fat." And I interpreted it that he'd finally told the truth."

When Martha was eleven years old, her parents' divorce devastated her. Shortly thereafter, Martha began her descent into an eating disorder that would slowly overtake her self-confidence and eventually her entire life. Martha details her journey from the innocence of adolescence and the transition into womanhood in this poignant diary of her thirteen-year battle with bulimia. With hopes of inspiring bulimics to consider change and to encourage recovery, Martha offers insight into the illness as she shares her often heartbreaking experiences and honest reflections. You will learn how the disease begins, delve into the emotional ups and downs, and witness Martha's steps toward lasting recovery.

You too can start over. It's time to begin helping yourself or someone you love find the path to peace and healing.

Key Themes: family struggle, mental health institutions, anorexia, depression, extreme obsessive-compulsive disorder, Child and development psychology, Family Psychology, Abnormal Psychology, Mental Health Services, Memoirs, Autobiography, Coping with Eating Disorders, Coping with Death & Bereavement "Human life is suffering but Sybil Macindoe suffered more than others with a severe and complex mental health problem, known as Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) and Anorexia Nervosa. It was an extremely distressing and handicapping condition for both her and family that ultimately led to her tragic death. This book provides some insight into both the experience of Sybil as well as that of her carers and professionals. We can all learn from her narrative and from the different perspectives of her family and carers. I felt moved by her experience and was left wishing that she could have taken advantage of the newer developments in treating OCD. The impact of OCD on the family is often hidden. Her family s observations and narrative are extremely balanced and provide a cautionary tale for sufferers, carers and professionals alike. There is lots of information and self help material about OCD but this book is a valuable addition to our knowledge about OCD and Anorexia Nervosa and its impact on others." David Veale, Consultant Psychiatrist in Cognitive Behaviour Therapy, South London and Maudsley Trust and the Priory Hospital North London. Description Tehran, spring 1978: Into the political maelstrom of Iranian revolutionary activity is born a severely premature baby, Sybil Macindoe. Where and why will this child s life end tragically twenty years later? Sybil, crucially, is separated from her mother by the Iranian medics, and when she finally goes home, her isolated and inexperienced parents struggle to manage her care as events crescendo around them. Her mentally unwell mother, an American academic and feminist with a troubled background, cannot cope. The same toxic mixture of ingredients will threaten Sybil s survival throughout her young life: bad genes, adverse environmental triggers, family dysfunction, and inadequate medical institutions. Her mother traces these interacting influences as Sybil grows up later in fundamentalist Qatar and then immigrates with her family to the UK, where a mixed array of mental health institutions deals unevenly with the things in her head anorexia, depression, and an extreme version of obsessive-compulsive disorder that includes bizarre religious fixations. So that readers may draw their own conclusions, her mother s confessional narrative is interwoven with other viewpoints of carers and administrators, family members, friends and especially the raw diaries of Sybil herself, intelligent and bewildered, generous and paranoid. This memoir pays tribute to Sybil s brave struggle, is instructive for anyone involved with the onset and treatment of mental illness, and also tells an eventful and moving family story. About the Author Born a New Yorker, Lois Chaber was absorbed in a conventional academic career as a scholar/teacher in Eighteenth-Century English Literature until she was lured away to the Middle East in the mid-1970s by her third husband, a dynamic New Zealander. There, they experienced first-hand the turbulent triumph of Islamic fundamentalism in this oil-rich region and eventually left with Sybil and her younger sister Molly for London, where Lois has taught for a decade in a small American university. Various family misfortunes reached their climax in 1999 with Sybil s tragic suicide, which compelled Lois to begin her memoir. A life-long anxiety/depression sufferer, Lois presently benefits from her psychotropic medicine, Quaker meetings, good literature, purring cats, the Jane Fonda Workout, and many rewarding relationships. She is committed to supporting various mental health charities.

About the Author

Heather Robinson is now 22, a gym instructor working in London. She has been involved in fundraising, sports events and mental health documentaries trying to create awareness about the mis-diagnosis currently in the NHS. Originally from Leeds she developed anorexia nervosa as a secondary illness to OCD. The conditions worked hand in hand for six years until finally she worked out her own strategies to repair the mental and physical damage done. She writes, is a keen poet, loves music, dance, sport, running, clubbing, outdoor pursuits and socialising. One day she hopes to open a sports clinic for addictions.

Book Extract

" RUNNING IN THE RAIN

Starting light which cools my skin.
My clothes now tight that soothe within.
Seeming hydrated, energy inflated,
Faster rhythm the pure has created.

Dripping, soaked, sodden but pure,
Health in my skin much improved I'm sure.
The big smoke is no equal match
to nature's promise of an oasis and fresh catch.

Rain clears the tears which have
built up over the years.
Satisfied, my head is empty,
Running in the rain, do it, be free.

PARANOIA

Zombie nation, my creation.
Demons await me at the station.
Eyes are wide, heading my way,
Buzzing, fuzzing, but not hearing what they say.
Turn around, running silent,
tongues are bitter and expressions violent.
Is it the smoke?
Was it the pills?
Speed, weed and even chemical
All left me with very little thrill.
This is now, but do you know what hurts?
Knowing about the greener grass
and not being able to reverse.
2.4 children, mortgage and paid leave;
why am I not in that world?
Why did I deceive? "

EMPOWER YOURSELF! Whether you are a newly diagnosed patient, a friend, or a relative of someone with anorexia nervosa, or if you simply wish to gain a better understanding of this condition, 100 Questions and Answers About Anorexia Nervosa offers help. This book offers a complete guide to understanding the causes of anorexia, warning signs and diagnosis, and practical suggestions on how to help loved ones suffering from anorexia as well as the treatment options available. Written by a clinical psychologist with nearly 20 years experience in the field of eating disorders, along with contributions from actual patients, this book is an invaluable resource for learning about and fighting this disease.

This has been an endeavor in life journey for me. Through the difficulties in life and in search of nutritional value and finally being able to survive, I have found aspirations through deep thinking. An evolvement of one-day (24 hours) cycle in my mind has necessitated the comfort of how to deal with me during this cycle. One day of life is a full lifetime. I had to sort it out in the hardest possible way. It is all here for you with ease. It is a small journey well worth taking for the very small price which brings numerous different prizes to you in life.

Appetite for Life is a breakthrough in the field of eating disorders and for those who suffer from them. Through real-life stories of inspiration and recovery, Margie Ryerson's fresh, effective approach proves that it is possible to triumph over eating disorders and live a healthy, happy life. Not only will I use Margie's powerful examples in my own practice, I will also recommend her book to all my clients, their families, and all the eating disorder professionals I know. - Debra Waterhouse MPH, RD, best-selling author of Outsmarting the Female Fat Cell and Outsmarting the Mother/Daughter Food Trap. Appetite for Life shares the true stories of healing and hope from seven survivors of eating disorders and chronicles their journeys toward health and inner peace. Author Margie Ryerson, a marriage and family therapist, brings over twenty years of professional experience in helping individuals and their families recover from the devastation of anorexia, bulimia, and compulsive overeating. The helpful topics include: what to do if you or someone you love has an eating disorder; how to overcome guilt and shame; and how to find the best treatment and support. to those who suffer from eating disorders, but also to their loved ones.

A girl with an eating disorder grows up. And then what?

In this groundbreaking book, science journalist Trisha Gura explodes the myth that those who suffer from eating disorders, including anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa, are primarily teenage girls. In truth, twenty-five to thirty million American women twenty-five and older suffer from serious food issues, from obsessions with calorie counting to compulsions to starve then overeat. These diseases often linger from adolescence or emerge anew in the lives of adult women in ways that we are only now starting to recognize.

Drawing on her own experience with anorexia, as well as the most up-to-date research and extensive interviews with clinicians and sufferers, Gura presents a startling, timely, and imperative investigation of eating disorders "all grown up," and offers hope through understanding.

With captivating blue eyes and dark hair, Jenny Lauren looked as though she'd stepped out of one of the ads for which her uncle, Ralph Lauren, is famous. It was not long, however, before she found herself in a world where it was easy to see herself as less than perfect. She was ten years old when she first starved herself. After many years of bingeing, purging, and compulsively exercising, her body fell apart. Her colon herniated and she was forced to undergo surgery. At twenty-four, living in chronic pain, she wrote "Homesick" as a cautionary tale that she hoped would touch many.

This unflinching account details her struggle with anorexia and bulimia, yet is also a much larger story that focuses on universal issues: the intricacies of family ties, the pressures of society, the search for selfhood, and ultimately the power of hope. With flashes of wit and a knowing beyond its young writer's years, "Homesick" is a riveting and emotionally complex story of pain and hard-won recovery that no reader will forget.

Aimee Liu, who wrote Solitaire, the first-ever memoir of anorexia, in 1979, returns to the subject nearly three decades later and shares her story and those of the many women in her age group of life beyond this life-altering ailment. She has extensively researched the origins and effects of both anorexia and bulimia, and dispels many commonly held myths about these diseases with the persuasive conclusion that anorexia is a result of personality.
Key revelations include: the temperament required for eating disorders, the long-term effects of eating disorders on health, brain function, relationships and career, why some individuals recover while others relapse, and why many relapse in mid-life, Which treatment approaches are most successful long-term and how parents can tell if a child will be vulnerable to eating disorders.
Using her own experience and the stories of many recovering anorexics she's interviewed, Liu weaves together a narrative that is both persuasive in argument and compelling in personal details.

I keep trying to remind myself that a number on a scale doesn't make up who I am. My weight shouldn't control my mind, but it does. I wish everything about this eating disorder would just end, but I fear that in many ways it never will. in high school. From the outside looking in, she appeared to have it all. Raised in an affluent community, Alyssa was involved in both her community and school. She was an honor roll student, on the school newspaper staff and four-year varsity letter winner in tennis. herself the way others did. What started as a quest to lose a couple pounds soon became a dangerous obsession. she affectionately refers to as My Rory. Named after the friend she pushed away while battling to find herself, this journal is a heart-wrenching account of the confused inner mind of a teenage eating disorder victim. their family and friends wishing to understand and support them. My Rory captures a rare glimpse of the inner feeling and thoughts of both an anorexic and her family as they battle toward recovery.

In North America, 64% of adults and 25% of children are overweight or obese. We are bombarded by food; it is everywhere we turn. People with Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS) are an untapped expertise in combatting this problem. People with this genetic disorder gain approximately 20-30% more weight on 50% less calories, and are driven to eat. The traditional approach to this syndrome was to lock up all food, and control, restrict, and supervise all activity. While people with PWS were kept alive, they had no quality of life. Today, there are leaders within the PWS community who are taking cutting-edge approaches to combating both health and quality of life issues. Their secrets are revealed within this book. ""In 1999 the World Bank asked 60,000 people living on less than a dollar a day to identify the biggest hurdle to their advancement. It wasn't food, shelter or health care. It was access to a voice."" www.videovolunteers.org In 2007 Albertans with Prader-Willi syndrome and their families were interviewed and they made the same plea. Prader-Willi syndrome is a genetic condition with a complex presentation of characteristics including a body chemistry that is a poor compliment to a pronounced food desire. However, the people interviewed did not ask for a new diet, or rehabilitation strategies. They asked that people listen. By empowering persons with Prader-Willi syndrome and their families to tell their stories, A Recipe For Success gives a voice to those who have been unheard, and inspires the people who fi ght for them. This book is a must read for anyone seeking; a cutting-edge approach to societal health and wellness; an answer to weight maintenance for themselves or someone they love, and/or; a means of supporting persons with disabling conditions such as Prader-Willi syndrome and beyond to achieve meaningful, healthy lives. This book explores health and wellness, with an emphasis on food drive, as well as disability culture, through the voices of self-advocates with PWS and families. It should be read by: . Parents of all children (disabled and not) who want to instill positive, healthy food practices. . Adults who have attempted diets and still not lost the weight. Adults who are seeking an alternate approach. . Doctors and other medical professionals who seek continuing education. . Teachers who are negotiating the balance between organic and teachable conditions. . Self-advocates with disabling conditions who want to explore their own personal voice through the voices of others experiencing stigma and oppression. . Family members of persons with disabling conditions who want to affirm their experiences and interpretations and learn how to navigate the systems. . Government administrators who want to inform their funding allocation. . Extended family, friends, and the public-at-large who want to understand disability and reexamine their attitudes. . Human service workers who want to know how best to support persons with disabling conditions and how to listen to families. . Anyone who wants to know about Prader-Willi Syndrome.

Dr. Susan J. Mendelsohn is all too familiar with eating disorders: she has personally wrestled with them for more than fifteen years. "It's Not about the Weight: Attacking Eating Disorders from the Inside Out" is part self-help guide and part memoir that tackles growing up with-and growing through-the challenge of body image distortions.

Whether you're just beginning your battle with an eating disorder (ED) or have struggled for years, this guide addresses the common themes of weight and body image preoccupations, the psychological place in which you may find yourself and, most importantly, how you can manage these obsessions through practical steps of self-healing-from the inside out.

Weaving real-life cases of Dr. Mendelsohn's clinical practice with her own personal struggles, this compelling success story shows you the appropriate steps in how to overcome the obstacles of weight and body image, how to triumphantly manage weight during recovery, how to maintain an overall satisfying existence, and how to finally live your life no matter what shape, size, or weight you are at any given time. Take this unique opportunity to let "It's Not about the Weight" guide you to a successful recovery and an overall healthy and balanced lifestyle

What is an eating disorder? What are the symptoms? What causes them? And is full recovery possible? Eating disorders are a growing issue - at least 2% of females are now struggling with an eating disorder and studies amongst some groups such as teenage girls reveal much higher rates. This accessible and practical book helps readers to come to a full understanding of eating disorders and the various stages involved in recovery. It is essential reading for sufferers, their family and friends and also the interested reader. Writing from her experience of working with sufferers and drawing extensively on case histories, Dr Middleton explains what eating disorders are and why we develop them. Crucially, she offers guidance for setting out on the road to recovery.

As bariatric professionals we have watched obesity surgery as it evolved from boutique status to a demand industry. We now offer the first comprehensive guide specifically detailing the psychological aspects of bariatric surgery. "From the Inside Out" is an unbiased straight-to-the-point advice from health care professionals: dietitians, nurses, surgeons, and program coordinators, as well as heartfelt insight from over 25 post-operative bariatric patients.
One of the authors knows from experience after losing 160 pounds via bariatric surgery in 2002. Today Paula Magid has managed several hospital based bariatric programs. The other two authors have psychology backgrounds and work with hundreds of patients losing thousands of pounds and keeping it off. Follow their ideas and you will too!