carnival of eating disorders #12

hello and welcome to the last carnival of eating disorders for 2007. this time around, it’s a “pure” carnival – i’ve only included those submissions that talk directly and unmistakenly about eating disorders. i’ll invite the other submissions to participate in the progressive dinner carnival next month. (yes, i know, that’s a bit ironic, isn’t it? let’s just say that we’re looking at food and eating from multiple perspectives.)

anorexia
our featured article on anorexia is carrie’s track meet at ED bites

when you’re a recovering anorexic in a culture of whacked-out dieters, you are going downhill while everyone else is going up. the scales, calorie counters, diet pills, workout machines, buy one get one free gym memberships- those are like me climbing uphill. losing weight and starving is oddly natural for me. when i get stressed, my appetite evaporates, and the cycle begins. to get out of that cycle, i have to do the unnatural. i have to eat. a lot. especially food (like super premium ice cream) that is generally frowned upon in most of the rest of society.

so while everyone else is looking to get to the pinnacle of diet mania, i am going to the bottom, where the air is better, the plants are bigger, and yeah, the hiking sucks.

we also have an interview by talia mann with vanessa vega, who wrote a book about her recovery from anorexia and self harm.

at are you “eating with your anorexic?” laura collins, a proponent of the maudsley approach to eating disorders therapy, talks about the difference between family therapy and family-based therapy.

finally, jezebel presents scientific findings on the causes of anorexia: researchers believe that there must be something about the female hormones that fetuses are exposed to during development that encourages the development of anorexia later in life.

overeating
therapydoc, witty as always, has a very good suggestion for what to do when overcome by cravings or assaulted by the mounds of food we’re dealing with this time of year

the problem: tis the season to eat like crazy. i understand that starting october 31, eating season begins. most of humankind gains a few to a thousand pounds by january 2. in the northern climes it’s fatten up to melt the snow …

the solution: let us consider the nap. the nap is perhaps the most under-rated, yet effective way to stop a binge,napping away a binge and it need not be a cat nap (short) or a sexual nap (preferably long). it can just be a nap. and you can reach for the sack in a minute, seriously, crawl right under that afghan and close those baby blues, refresh your rhodopsin and reboot your head. and it costs nothing.

more articles on the topic of overeating, by lucynda:
the truth about convenience food
why that size 3 could kill you

exercise bulimia
peach friedman talks about the five characteristics of exercise bulimia

exercise bulimia is so difficult to diagnose, and so under-diagnosed, in part because of this fine line. we know that movement is healthy for bodies. we know that it’s healthy for our bones, our organs, our skin, our self-esteem, our energy level. for these reasons, you might argue that some of the characteristics i identify as being symptoms of exercise bulimia could actually be signs of a healthy, disciplined person seeking movement in their day to day life. many professionals, for example, actually recommend parking far away from the mall and taking the stairs instead of the elevator. so how do you distinguish the disordered behavior from the healthy behavior? motivation.

body image
two articles on this topic. this one is about an annual study in australia of almost 30,000 people aged between 11 and 24. it has found – for the first time – that body image has become the main concern for females and males.

about a third of people listed it as a worry, ahead of family conflict and coping with stress.

mission australia’s manager of research anne hampshire says the survey results possibly reflect changes in society during the last 12 months.

“we’ve got much more of a focus as a nation on the number of australians who are overweight, including young australians,” she said.

“at the other end of the spectrum we’ve got an increasing focus, i think, on body beautiful and what constitutes an acceptable and a healthy body.

“in fact, what’s been presented as ultra thin probably isn’t a healthy body for most of us. so, i think young people are getting a bit caught in between these two potentially conflicting messages.

and the second article? that’s funny – it was submitted by shaheen lakhan and it’s one i wrote for GNIF brain blogger, on body image research. word gets around – literally!

i want to thank all of you who have participated in this carnival so far. i’ve learned a lot and met many interesting people.

so, all you interesting people, readers and bloggers alike: what would you like to read in this carnival in the new year? how would you like it to evolve in 2008?

in the meantime, if any of you has anything to contribute to this carnival, please use this submission form.

(image by heather)

Leave a comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *