Biting Anorexia

... A graphic yet poetic insight into the pain and suffering experienced by sufferers of eating disorders.

Getting Better Bite by Bite is an essential, authoritative and evidence-based self-help programmethat has been used by bulimia sufferersfor over 20 years. This new edition maintains the essence of the original book, while updating its content for today's readers, drawing on the latest knowledge of the biology and psychology of bulimia and its treatment. The book provides step-by-step guidance for change based on solid research. The use of everyday language, stimulating contemporary case study story-telling and evocative illustrations in Bite by Bite provide encouragement, hope and new perspectives for all readers. This handy-sized book fills a need for easy-to-understand information about Bulimia Nervosa, a serious and prevalent eating disorder. Ulrike Schmidt and Janet Treasure are world-renowned researchers and authorities on eating disorders, and June Alexander, a former sufferer of anorexia and bulimia, is a respected writer and internationally-known eating disorder awareness advocate. Getting Better Bite by Bite is a valuable resource - for sufferers, for their families, and for the health professionals and carers treating them.

This important book immediately draws the reader into the world of those struggling with anorexia/bulimia (a/b), whose stories, poems, and first-person accounts expose the 'voice' of these deadly problems. The authors' decade-and-a-half collaboration with 'insiders' has yielded fresh answers to these life and death questions: How does a/b seduce and terrorize girls and women? Why is a/b successful in encouraging girls and women to unwittingly embrace their would-be murderer? How can such a murderer be exposed and thwarted? Biting the Hand that Starves You details a unique way of thinking and speaking about anorexia/bulimia. By having conversations with insiders in which the problem is viewed as an external influence rather than a part of the person, these therapists show how to bring the tactics of a/b into the open, expose its deceptions, break its spell, and encourage defiance of its tyrannical rule. These innovations enable insiders, professionals, and loved ones to unite against anorexia/bulimia rather than allowing a/b to pit a professional or loved one against an insider, and the insider against herself. Coercion is sidestepped in favor of practices that are collaborative, accountable and spirit-nurturing. The groundbreaking discoveries outlined in this book will provide new options, inspiration and hope, not only for those who suffer at anorexia's hands, but also for their loved ones and healthcare professionals. The first section of the book illuminates the means by which anorexia/bulimia insinuates itself into the lives of women and confines them to its prison. The second section focuses on how therapists and other helpers assist them to break the spell of a/b, creating possibilities for resisting and defying it. The third section of the book details a two-pronged strategy for reclaiming one's life from a/b. One method involves unmasking a/b by directly engaging with it through critique. The other method involves disengaging from anorexia in order fashion an 'anti-a/b' lifestyle guided by their own values and passions, even while they fear forsaking the promises of anorexia. Finally, the last section of the book addresses ways in which parents and other loved ones can 'team up' with insiders to fight against these lethal problems. This section includes a first-person account of a mother and father's harrowing but ultimately triumphant effort to free their daughter from anorexia's prison. Biting the Hand that Starves You draws to an unprecedented degree on the anti-anorexic/bulimic knowledge of 'insider' clients/collaborators to provide fresh insights into the workings of a/b and the means to overcome it. The knowledge of these authors and their insider collaborators, who speak poignantly and passionately on their own behalf, is sure to benefit all those affected by a/b.

‘If you’d asked me at 10 what my plans were for the next few years, fighting an eating disorder would not have made the list.’ Gen’s early teenage years were the hardest of her life. Struggling with anorexia and poor mental health, she spent time in and out of hospitals and clinics, which also had a huge impact on her family. But with treatment and support, Gen was able to turn her life around, changing her behaviours and attitude toward food and her body. As well as sharing the insights from Gen's own lived experience and challenging stereotypes around eating disorders, Bite Back includes: · Practical tips and activities from Gen and her team that helped with recovery · Answers to frequently asked questions about the cause and treatment of eating disorders · Advice on how you can support a loved one going through it. ‘I hope my story helps you feel seen, that it inspires you and is a reminder that there is a beautiful life waiting for you. Keep fighting.’

This important book immediately draws the reader into the world of those struggling with anorexia/bulimia (a/b), whose stories, poems, and first-person accounts expose the 'voice' of these deadly problems. The authors' decade-and-a-half collaboration with 'insiders' has yielded fresh answers to these life and death questions: How does a/b seduce and terrorize girls and women? Why is a/b successful in encouraging girls and women to unwittingly embrace their would-be murderer? How can such a murderer be exposed and thwarted? This book details a unique way of thinking and speaking about anorexia/bulimia. By having conversations with insiders in which the problem is viewed as an external influence rather than a part of the person, these therapists show how to bring the tactics of a/b into the open, expose its deceptions, break its spell, and encourage defiance of its tyrannical rule. These innovations enable insiders, professionals, and loved ones to unite against anorexia/bulimia rather than allowing a/b to pit a professional or loved one against an insider, and the insider against herself. Coercion is sidestepped in favor of practices that are collaborative, accountable and spirit-nurturing. The groundbreaking discoveries outlined in this book will provide new options, inspiration and hope, not only for those who suffer at anorexia's hands, but also for their loved ones and healthcare professionals.

Widely popularized images of unobtainable and damaging feminine ideals can be a cause of profound disjunction between women and their bodies. A consequence of this dissonance is an embodied performance of these ideals with the potential development of disordered eating practices, such as anorexia nervosa. This book develops a spirituality of anorexia by suggesting that these eating disorders are physical symptoms of the general repression of feminine nature in our culture. Furthermore, it puts forward Goddess feminism as a framework for a healing therapeutic model to address anorexia and more broadly, the "slender ideal" touted by society. The book focuses on the female body in contemporary society, specifically the development of anorexia nervosa, and what this expression communicates about female embodiment. Drawing upon the work of a variety of theorists, social commentators, liberation theologians and thealogians, it discusses the benefits of adopting female-focused myths, symbols and rituals, drawing upon the work of Marion Woodman and Naomi Goldenberg. Ultimately, it theorises a thealogical approach to anorexia aimed at displacing the damaging discourses that undermine women in the twenty-first century. Offering an alternative model of spirituality and embodiment for contemporary women, this book will be of keen interest to scholars of theology, religious studies, gender studies and psychology.

Lippincott® Connect Featured Title The only text covering the pathophysiology of common diseases specifically relative to Occupational Therapy practice, Conditions in Occupational Therapy: Effect on Occupational Performance, 6th Edition, combines the most up-to-date insights and an engaging approach to ready students for success from the classroom to clinical settings. This updated 6th Edition is fully aligned with the most current DSM-5 and Occupational Therapy Practice Framework, 4th Edition, and adds new chapters reflecting recent advances in the management of infectious diseases, general deconditioning, musculoskeletal pain, amputations, and sickle cell anemia. Each chapter follows a consistent format, presenting an opening case followed by descriptions and definitions, etiology, incidence and prevalence, signs and symptoms, diagnosis, course and prognosis, medical/surgical management, impact on occupational performance, and two case illustrations. Rounded out with robust instructor resources and new full-color imagery, this bestselling resource is an essential tool for today’s occupational therapy and occupational therapy assistant students.

Preventing Harmful Behaviour in Online Communities explores the ethics and logistics of censoring problematic communications online that might encourage a person to engage in harmful behaviour. Using an approach based on theories of digital rhetoric and close primary source analysis, Zoe Alderton draws on group dynamics research in relation to the way in which some online communities foster negative and destructive ideas, encouraging community members to engage in practices including self-harm, disordered eating, and suicide. This book offers insight into the dangerous gap between the clinical community and caregivers versus the pro-anorexia and pro-self-harm communities – allowing caregivers or medical professionals to understand hidden online communities young people in their care may be part of. It delves into the often-unanticipated needs of those who band together to resist the healthcare community, suggesting practical ways to address their concerns and encourage healing. Chapters investigate the alarming ease with which ideas of self-harm can infect people through personal contact, community unease, or even fiction and song and the potential of the internet to transmit self-harmful ideas across countries and even periods of time. The book also outlines the real nature of harm-based communities online, examining both their appeal and dangers, while also examining self-censorship and intervention methods for dealing with harmful content online. Rather than pointing to punishment or censorship as best practice, the book offers constructive guidelines that outline a more holistic approach based on the validity of expressing negative mood and the creation of safe peer support networks, making it ideal reading for professionals protecting vulnerable people, as well as students and academics in psychology, mental health, and social care.