This heartbreaking memoir tells the powerful true story of the author's struggle with anorexia and the affects of suffering with the illness. By sharing her story, Jessica Mason writes in order to show the reader what it's like to be controlled by this horrible illness, what can be done to prevent others living with anorexia and most of all to show that there is hope for people who are out there suffering.

The 2014 Christianity Today Book Award Winner (Christian Living) Food is the source of endless angst and anxiety. We struggle with obesity and eating disorders. Reports of agricultural horror stories give us worries about whether our food is healthy, nutritious or justly produced. It's hard to know if our food is really good for us or for society. Our relationship with food is complicated to say the least. But God intended for us to delight in our food. Rachel Stone calls us to rediscover joyful eating by receiving food as God's good gift of provision and care for us. She shows us how God intends for us to relate to him and each other through food, and how our meals can become expressions of generosity, community and love of neighbor. Eating together can bring healing to those with eating disorders, and we can make wise choices for sustainable agriculture. Ultimately, redemptive eating is a sacramental act of culture making through which we gratefully herald the feast of the kingdom of God. Filled with practical insights and some tasty recipes, this book provides a Christian journey into the delight of eating. Come to the table, partake of the Bread of Life--and eat with joy.

Anorexia Nervosa is an enigmatic and, too commonly, an extremely challenging disorder. Its core clinical features have been recognised for centuries, and the label anorexia nervosa was coined in the 19th century. Over the many ensuing years, the disorder has been examined from a wide variety of perspectives, ranging from psychoanalytic to genetic. While potential risk factors have been identified, features clarified and complications appreciated, a full understanding and universally effective methods of treatment remain elusive. The current volume does not attempt to review the long history of research on anorexia nervosa. Rather, leaders in the field describe fresh approaches and new directions. This volume is a very forward-looking examination of novel ideas and new approaches to the understanding of an old, extremely persistent and enigmatic mental disorder. The approaches described will hopefully form a foundation for significant advances in the years ahead.

It has long been known that some people, usually those with eating disorders, or on their way to having one, abuse drugs that are specifically designed for, or have a side effect that leads to, weight loss. It appears that there is an increased prevalence for people to take pharmacological treatments to aid weight loss or maintenance. These people are not like our previous sample as they have no form of psychopathology. What was once thought to be the remit of the eating disordered individual and a sign of serious psychological dysfunction has become the playground of the norm. This book discussed the reasons behind why people are taking them and how they work. Moreover, the author aims to arm people with the knowledge that will defend them from the diet drug vendors who are now pervasive across the Internet and thus our society.

This book describes a novel model of intensive treatment for eating disorders, one that is entirely cognitive behavioural in orientation. In this book the treatment program will be described in detail, and with numerous clinical vignettes. The book explains how to adapt the CBT-E for an intensive real world settings (intensive outpatient therapy and inpatient treatment) and for severe eating disorder patients. It also explains how a multidisciplinary team can apply a single psychotherapeutic treatment. Readers will gain knowledge on the use of a manualised treatment in a real world intensive setting. The book is suitable for all professionals working with eating disorders (e.g. psychologists, psychiatrists, physicians, dieticians, and educators), and particularly for those working in a multidisciplinary team at an intensive level of care.

The aim of this book is to illustrate a variant of the standard cognitive treatment for eating disorders. This therapy is based on the principle that assessing and treating the patient's process of worry and sense of control fosters greater understanding of the psychopathology of the eating disorder and increases the efficacy of cognitive treatment. The book is an edited collection of chapters that discuss the psychopathological roles played by control and worry in eating disorders, and provide a detailed description of the therapeutic protocol, which primarily focuses on the treatment of the cognitive factors of control and worry as core factor of a psychotherapy of eating disorders. In addition, the book shows contributions from other theorists in the field who have investigated the role of worry, preoccupation, and control, or who explore the connections between worry, control, and other emotional factors underlying eating disorders, such as perfectionism, self-esteem, and impulsivity.

A fact-filled guide to coping with compulsive overeating problems by an experienced addictions doctor who draws on many patients' stories of recovery. Overeating, binge eating, obesity, anorexia, and bulimia - Food Junkies tackles the complex, poorly understood issue of food addiction from the perspective of a medical researcher and dozens of survivors. What exactly is food addiction? Is it possible to draw a hard line between indulging cravings for "comfort food" and engaging in substance abuse? For people struggling with food addictions, recognizing their condition remains a frustrating battle. This revised second edition contains the latest research as well as practical strategies for people facing the complicated challenges of eating disorders and addictions, offering an affirming and manageable path to healthy and sustainable habits.

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.

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.

This eye-opening look at twenty-first century culture and its impact on women reveals how food and weight obsession, driven in no small part by images of celebrities openly wasting away, threatens a new generation of girls as the feminist exhortation that ?you can do anything? is twisted into ?you must do everything.? It also inspires readers to consider what wonderful things might happen if the madness stopped once and for all.

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.

What to say-and what not to say-when a friend or family member has an eating disorder.
When a friend or family member shows signs of an eating disorder, the first impulse is to charge in, give advice, and fix what is wrong. But these tactics-however well-intentioned-can backfire.
This compassionate guide offers ways to tackle the tough topics of body image, media messages, physical touch, diets, and exercise-along with a special section on talking about these issues with children. It includes information about when to get professional help, how to handle emergencies, and answers to difficult questions such as "Am I too fat?" or "Is this ok to eat?"

As we recover from an eating disorder, these 366 meditations will help us find the power to develop and deepen our spirituality. Daily positive thoughts offer insight and ideas for meeting the challenges of ongoing recovery from eating disorders.

'A gracefully written book about the inner strength we all have within us' Wim Hof ________________________________________________________________________________ Do you feel held back by your own thoughts? Have you gone through years of therapy but never quite resolved your problems? Whether you struggle with mental health or want to achieve more in life, this revolutionary book is your key to finally making positive changes. It's common to feel a loss of control and even feel out of touch with our own identity when we go through periods of stress or trauma. Our brains are conditioned to form beliefs about ourselves and the world around us, so when we experience adversity thoughts such as 'I'm not good enough', 'I don't deserve to be happy' and 'I don't belong here' can develop and start to hold us back in life. Left unchecked, these thoughts can leave us feeling stuck, incapable and unfulfilled but this life-changing book shows how we can de-hypnotize ourselves of those beliefs and re-discover the capable and confident person within us. Having practised as a therapist for almost thirty years, Andrew Parr has helped thousands of people to break free of their self-sabotaging thoughts and achieve things they never thought possible: from pay rises to weight loss, and from quitting smoking to overcoming insomnia. In The Real You he shares his transformative approach, combining the most effective aspects of hypnotherapy, psychotherapy, coaching and CBT, that will help you to identify and resolve problematic mental patterns more easily than with traditional talking therapy. No matter what you want to achieve, the simple, practical exercises in this book will put you back control of your thoughts, transform your self-confidence and make success possible. ________________________________________________________________________________ 'A truly unique and transformational book' Paul Hewitt, Sports Performance Specialist

This report issues a call for urgent action to combat the growing epidemic of obesity, which now affects developing and industrialized countries alike. Adopting a public health approach, the report responds to both the enormity of health problems associated with obesity and the notorious difficulty of treating this complex, multifactorial disease. With these problems in mind, the report aims to help policy-makers introduce strategies for prevention and management that have the greatest chance of success. The importance of prevention as the most sensible strategy in developing countries, where obesity coexists with undernutrition, is repeatedly emphasized.Recommended lines of action, which reflect the consensus reached by 25 leading authorities, are based on a critical review of current scientific knowledge about the causes of obesity in both individuals and populations. While all causes are considered, major attention is given to behavioural and societal changes that have increased the energy density of diets, overwhelmed sophisticated regulatory systems that control appetite and maintain energy balance, and reduced physical activity. Specific topics discussed range from the importance of fat content in the food supply as a cause of population-wide obesity, through misconceptions about obesity held by both the medical profession and the public, to strategies for dealing with the alarming prevalence of obesity in children.The report has eleven chapters presented in five parts. Part one, which assesses the magnitude of the problem, explains the system for classifying overweight and obesity based on the body mass index, considers the importance of fat distribution, and provides an overview of trends in all regions of the world, concluding that obesity is increasing worldwide at an alarming rate. Chapters in part two evaluate the true costs of obesity in terms of physical and mental ill health, and the human and financial resources diverted to deal with these problems. Specific health consequences discussed include increased risk of cardiovascular disease, cancer, and other noncommunicable diseases, endocrine and metabolic disturbances, debilitating health problems, and psychological problems. The health benefits and risks of weight loss are also assessed.Part three draws on the latest research findings to consider specific factors involved in the development of overweight and obesity. Discussion centres on factors, such as high intakes of fat, that may disrupt normal physiological regulation of appetite and energy balance, and the role of dietary factors and levels of physical activity. In terms of opportunities for prevention, particular attention is given to the multitude of environmental and societal forces that adversely affect food intake and physical activity and may thus overwhelm the physiological regulatory systems that keep weight stable in the long term. The possible role of genetic and biological susceptibility is also briefly considered.Against this background, the fourth and most extensive part maps out strategies for prevention and management at both the population and individual levels. Separate chapters address the need to develop population-based strategies that tackle the environmental and societal factors implicated in the development of obesity, and compare the effectiveness of current options for managing overweight or obese individuals. Specific strategies discussed include dietary management, physical activity and exercise programmes, behaviour modification, drug treatment, and gastric surgery. While noting striking recent progress in the development of drug treatments, the report concludes that gastric surgery continues to show the best long-term success in treating the severely obese. The final part sets out key conclusions and recommendations for responding to the global obesity epidemic and identifies priority areas where more research is urgently needed...". the volume is clearly written, and carries a wealth of summary information that is likely to be invaluable for anyone interested in the public health aspects of obesity and fatness, be they students, practitioner or researcher." - Journal of Biosocial Science

Eating disorders such as anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa pose a grave danger to the health of thousands of Americans each year. This sourcebook brings together in a single volume an extensive amount of information and resources regarding the diagnosis and treatment of these potentially life-threatening conditions. This volume is a substantially updated and expanded version of "Controlling Eating Disorders with Facts, Advice, and Resources" (Oryx, 1992).

The Thin Woman provides an in-depth discussion of anorexia nervosa from feminist social psychological standpoint. Medicine, psychiatry and psychology have all presented us with particular ways of understanding eating disorders, yet the notion of 'anorexia' as a medical condition limits our understanding of anorexia and the extent to which we can explore it as a socially, discursively produced problem.
Based on original research using historical and contemporary literature on anorexia nervosa, and a series of interviews with women diagnosed as anorexic, The Thin Woman offers new insights into the problem. It will prove useful both to those with an interest in eating disorders and gender, and to those interested in the new developments in feminist post-structuralist theory and discourse analytic research in psychology.

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" . . . compelling. . . . This book might have been called 'No Easy Answers.' Each of the contributors writes with undisguised urgency. . . . [W]e should face up to these issues now. By No Extraordinary Means will serve as an impetus and guide." -New York Times Book Review "This fine new book . . . thoughtfully written . . . well edited and cohesively integrated . . . will be valuable for physicians, nurses, nutritionists, attorneys, members of the clergy, policy makers, and members of the general public." -New England Journal of Medicine