The Fear of Fat: What Does It All Mean?
Americans invest an inordinate amount of time, energy and money trying to avoid gaining weight, losing weight and trying to keep weight that was lost permanently off. The term “fat” is synonymously used to describe how we should avoid looking as well as what foods we should avoid eating. Restricting food intake is counterproductive as […]
In Celebration of Life: Water May Be Too Much a Good Thing
Water….. replete with symbolism in the fields of psychology, spirituality, and anthropology. Change, life, death, murkiness, fear, sadness and freedom, to name just a few of the multitude and often-contradictory representations is that of water. Drinking clean water often represents the taking in of life, restoration, healing and celebration. How could something so good go so wrong? […]
PTSD and Eating Disorders
PTSD- And How it Relates to Eating Disorders By Judy Scheel, Ph.D. Exposure to an extreme traumatic stressor involving direct personal experience of an event that involves actual or threatened death or serious injury or threat to one’s physical integrity is included in the DSMIV-R description of the diagnosis for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD.) For children, sexually traumatic events […]
EDs Across Cultures – Increasing in Prevalence & Awareness?
I have the wonderful good fortune as I write to be at a Film Festival in France – Festival International du Film Fantastique de Gerardmer, now celebrating its 20th year. I am the guest of the Cinematographer and the Director of an Independent Film that was accepted in the competition. Removing myself from the world of […]
Culture Provides Context, Not Cause
The professional eating disorder community is reaching agreement about what causes eating disorders. The truth is that there is no one single cause for every individual and no constellation of causes that fits everyone. Despite some efforts to push toward the idea that a gene or combination of genes exist that are responsible, we are examining this as only […]
“Coolness” associated with Celebrities with Eating Disorders
I have been asked lately about the seemingly “coolness” that is associated with celebrities with eating disorders. The question typically asked is whether it is causing more girls, young women, boys and men to develop eating disorders so they can be “cool” like celebrities. I say, NO, celebrites are not responsible for causing eating disorders; […]
Young Endurance Runners Draw Cheers & Concerns
I read the Sunday, November 4, 2012, NY Times article by Barry Berak, “Young Endurance Runners Draw Cheers and Concerns,” with an open mind and enthusiasm as a long time distance runner and someone who knows the psychological and physical benefits of running from a young age. Kaytlynn Welsch, 12 and Heather Welsch, 10, sisters, […]
Eating Disorders and Social Anxiety
Many individuals with eating disorders experience significant anxiety when in social situations. According to the Free Dictionary (Farlex www.medical-dictionary.the free dictionary.com,) “anxiety is a multisystem response to a perceived threat or danger. It reflects a combination of biochemical changes in the body, the patient’s personal history and memory, and the social situation. Although anxiety is related to fear, it is […]
Reflections on the 2012 Olympics
It is nice to be able to take a step back sometimes from viewing the world through the lens of a mental health practitioner who treats eating disorders. I generally do not pay attention when I am in restaurants except when the person, typically a very thin female, at a nearby table is telling the wait staff […]
Does Understanding What Causes an Eating Disorder Matter?
There are several questions I am often asked. First, if a person recovers from an eating disorder without ever understanding what caused it in the first place is the recovery any less real or lasting? And, if the treatment being provided is behavioral only (symptom focused) but is effective in recovery, then why need look any deeper […]