Bright, popular and a star on the rugby pitch, 15 year old Ben had everything he could want. But then food-loving Ben began to systematically starve himself. At the same time his urge to exercise became extreme. In a matter of months Ben lost one quarter of his bodyweight as he plunged into anorexia nervosa, an illness that threatened to destroy him.
"Please eat... A mother's struggle to free her teenage son from anorexia" is his mother's heart-breaking yet inspirational account of how she watched helplessly as her son transformed into someone she didn't recognise, physically and mentally. It also describes how, with the help of his parents and therapist, and through his own determination, Ben slowly began to recover and re-build his life.
Read the first 6 chapters free here: http: //www.anorexiaboy.co.uk/Please_Eat.pdf
""Cancel your plans for the day when you open this book: the riveting story will have you caring and cheering for a family that the world needs to meet. If only the world knew the truth told in this memoir " Laura Collins, Founder of F.E.A.S.T. (Families Empowered and Supporting Treatment of Eating Disorders) & Author of Eating with Your Anorexic"
""The world is slowly coming to realise that 'Boys Get Anorexia Too'. Bev Mattocks writes honestly and from the heart about helping her teenage son to overcome anorexia. Like ours, this is another success story of a family working together with friends, school and clinicians to beat this insidious illness. Many families will find great comfort from reading this story as well as much needed energy to fight the eating disorder." Jenny Langley, Author of Boys Get Anorexia Too"
""An essential read for anyone trying to understand more about eating disorders in teenage boys. Bev Mattocks describes the story of her son's anorexia but also provides insight for other families facing this complex illness in a world where anorexia is still associated with teenage girls. Totally recommended." Sam Thomas, Founder, Men Get Eating Disorders Too"
""A powerful, painful account, beautifully written... this book will benefit parents in reducing isolation and feeling more powerful when speaking with healthcare providers." Becky Henry, Founder of Hope Network, LLC & Award Winning Author of Just Tell Her To Stop: Family Stories of Eating Disorders"
""Bev Mattocks is doing such amazing work empowering other parents and helping to raise awareness that boys get eating disorders too." Leah Dean, Executive Director, F.E.A.S.T. (Families Empowered and Supporting Treatment of Eating Disorders)"
""This is a wonderful book. It's quite hard to read because the story is so painful, but easy to read because of the clarity and simplicity of style." Gill Todd, RMN MSc, former Clinical Nurse Leader at the Gerald Russell Eating Disorders Unit, Bethlem & Maudsley Hospitals, London"
""I have just finished Please eat... and it such a powerful page turner Bev Mattocks has captured the complexity of her family's journey so honestly, bravely and with such clarity of writing. It is a compelling read." Susan Ringwood, Chief Executive, BEAT"
""Please eat... is gut wrenching and touching. It captivated me and I could hardly breathe as I was reading it. I read the first 6 chapters in one sitting. Bev Mattocks has done such a great job of bringing her story to us in a vivid and personal way." Parent"

"I thought that once I had lost the weight, I would feel better about myself and maybe I would be something special. Well, I have lost weight, I do not feel better about myself, and I am still nothing special." "Restricted" takes readers into the mind of a nineteen year old girl named Erin. Brought on by the obsession over weight and calories, and fueled by low self-esteem, she falls victim to an eating disorder. The world she enters is a world where thoughts are overrun by fears, lies are no longer fiction, and reality is miles away. The healthy nineteen year old that used to be is replaced by a weaker girl unable to keep up with her peers. Erin's distorted thinking and actions eventually take a toll on her body and mind. In order to get better, change is the only option. The journey told starts during the height of the sickness and follows Erin through the many challenges and lessons of treatment. In order to start her process in recovery, she must face her greatest fear: herself. Based on the author's own experiences, Erin's story is not unique. There are millions around the world who are living her story, still struggling to find their way.

In an attempt to turn her life around and regain her former boyfriend, a college sophomore decides to go on a diet. Before long, Jackie's weight-loss regime has spiraled out of control, as evidenced by her emaciated frame. A series of diary entries chronicles her many fears and secrets, and exposes the underlying despair of an illness that neither she nor anyone else can seem to grasp. Her recollections from present to past illuminate how a single catalyst is not the cause, but rather a prior series of devastating events gone unacknowledged. These awarenesses then begin to provide the fuel needed to make the necessary positive changes and help her understand the reasons for her behavior. This story is for women dealing with eating disorders who don't feel that anyone understands their plight, as well as those families and friends who are trying to understand what went so horribly wrong. In the end, The Hungry Soul is also a story of hope and healing.

Description

This compelling and poignant memoir tells about the journey through the disease of Anorexia, the recovery process, and all that comes with it-the hurt, hope and humor. After almost dying from the disease, and being neglected by the doctors, the author sought recovery and spent seven weeks at an inpatient facility. In her powerful story, she digs into the depths of Anorexia and describes how her simple diet and exercise program turned into a horrific eating disorder-one that controlled her life and forced her to go to the gym every day for four hours and reduce her diet to only fruit. After almost suffering from a heart attack and amazed that she was still alive, she knew she had to save herself and get treatment. Today, she is a survivor. By telling her story of the disease and recovery process, she not only educates the reader about eating disorders, but also shares with them a secret world unknown to many, and most importantly, that there is hope and recovery is possible.

Full recovery from an eating disorder is possible. Despite what you may have been led to believe, most people with anorexia, bulimia, or binge eating disorder are able to completely restore their health and well-being. But how does this happen?
Author Aimee Liu has woven together dozens of first-person accounts of recovery to create a break-through roadmap for healing from an eating disorder. "Restoring Our Bodies, Reclaiming Our Lives" answers key questions including: How does healing begin? What does it feel like? What supports and accelerates it? Will I ever be free of worry about a relapse?
Throughout the book are informative sidebars written by leading professionals in the field, addressing essential topics such as finding the right therapist, the use of medications, exploring complementary treatments, and how family members can help.
Learn more at the author's website: www.aimeeliu.net.

Barry Jones is a Hypnotherapist, NLP practitioner and Life Coach based in the worlds medical centre of excellence, Harley Street in London. His simple but effective techniques have inspired thousands to change their lives for the better. The Instruction Manual For The Mind has been written with simplicity in mind so that anyone can understand how their mind works and make permanent changes. Whether your issue is fear, phobias, panic attacks, weight, smoking and more, this book explains, in everyday terms, what is going on and how you can resolve it.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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? "

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.

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.

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.

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

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.