Increasing numbers of people have a problem with eating disorders and poor body image. Anorexia, bulimia and compulsive eating all bring their own distressing social and health problems, while a distorted body image can result in a severely restricted life. In this book, Christine Craggs-Hinton explains clearly the social pressures behind the need to be an ideal shape, and how we can fight back. She also examines why some people see themselves as overweight or ugly although they are normal, healthy, and the right body weight and size for their sex, age and build. Topics covered include: - the role of the media in creating unrealistic portraits of how we should look - the importance of self-esteem, and how to boost it - body dysmorphic disorder (BDD) and its link with media influence - alcoholism: also a problem of low self-esteem - and its link with eating disorders - tackling negative thoughts - dealing with anxiety, and how to relax - practical exercises to get back to a healthy relationship with food Recovery from eating disorders and poor body image is possible, so start today!

""I wish to be the thinnest girl at school, or maybe even the thinnest eleven-year-old on the entire planet,"" confides Lori Gottlieb to her diary. "I mean, what are girls supposed to wish for, other than being thin?"
For a girl growing up in Beverly Hills in 1978, the motto "You can never be too rich or too thin" is writ large. Precocious Lori learns her lessons well, so when she's told that "real women don't eat dessert" and "no one could ever like a girl who has thunder thighs," she decides to become a paragon of dieting. Soon Lori has become the "stick figure" she's longed to resemble. But then what? "Stick Figure" takes the reader on a gripping journey, as Lori struggles to reclaim both her body and her spirit.
By turns painful and wry, Lori's efforts to reconcile the conflicting messages society sends women ring as true today as when she first recorded these impressions. "One diet book says that if you drink three full glasses of water one hour before every meal to fill yourself up, you'll lose a pound a day. Another book says that once you start losing weight, everyone will ask, 'How did you do it?' but you shouldn't tell them because it's 'your little secret.' Then right above that part it says, "'New York Times" bestseller.' Some secret."
With an edgy wit and keenly observant eye, "Stick Figure" delivers an engrossing glimpse into the mind of a girl in transition to adulthood. This raw, no-holds-barred account is a powerful cautionary tale about the dangers of living up to society's expectations.

Sally Baker and Liz Hogon, informed by helping hundreds of clients achieve a sustained healthy approach to eating, have researched and written How To Feel Differently About Food to break the painful cycle of yo-yo dieting and emotional eating. The book cuts a clear path through the conflicting nutritional information that fills the popular media to reveal the best way to eat for improved health and enhanced mood, boost energy without triggering feelings of hunger and stop wildly fluctuating blood-sugar levels that lead to cravings. They explain how to make informed and appetising food choices and how to implement small but empowering new eating habits from breakfast onwards. Learning new ways of thinking and feeling about food will naturally enable readers to approach food differently. These positive changes are designed to be effortlessly integrated into a busy life with minimum planning and preparation, including how to eat for nourishment, become healthier, lose excess weight if appropriate, and boost mood as well as help to combat anxiety and depression.

This issue of Psychiatric Clinics, guest edited by Drs. Harry Brandt and Steven Crawford, is the first of two issues dedicated to a comprehensive review of the latest in Eating Disorder diagnosis and treatment. Under the guidance of series consulting editor Dr. Harsh Trivedi, Drs. Brandt and Crawford will cover a number of essential topics, included, but not limited to: Diagnostic categories and criteria and future considerations, Recent Research on Anorexia Nervosa, Recent Research on Bulimia Nervosa, Recent Research on Binge Eating Disorder, ARFID, Psychological Attributes of Eating Disorders, Genetics of Eating Disorders, The Microbiome and Eating Disorders, Sociocultural influences and eating disorders, Eating Disorders Associated with Bariatric Surgery, Body Image, and Children and Eating Disorders, among others.