For those with food-related challenges or an eating disorder, the holidays are full of events that can trigger addictive thoughts and behaviors. Triggers can be anxiety-provoking and stressful, setting a negative tone for the entire holiday season. Depending on which type of eating disorder your loved one has, giving in to temptations — or even just…
What psychology is at play in the eating disorder anorexia nervosa? A new movie called “To the Bone” starring Lily Collins seems to support the theory, somewhat tangentially, that anorexia involves a psychology of wanting to feel in control and accepted. As the anorexic starves herself, she overcomes temptation and achieves rigid control over her…
“You can never be too rich or too thin” said Wallis Simpson, Duchess of Windsor. “Nothing tastes as good as skinny feels,” said Kate Moss, international supermodel. Such statements from iconic and famously slender women have become a kind of mantra for generations of women, who often develop low self-esteem and body image issues if…
By Elizabeth Langreck, MS, RDN, Director of Nutrition at Promises Scottsdale Anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa and binge eating disorder are life-altering, life-threatening psychological illnesses characterized by extreme eating habits and an obsession with body weight or shape. Eating disorders do not discriminate. Men and women of all ages, races, religions, sizes, education levels and socioeconomic…
One of the first questions people struggling with eating disorders ask is how to get these crazy thoughts about food, weight and body image out of their head. What is the best treatment to stop these obsessive thoughts and the compulsive nature of the eating disorder behaviors? The answer is simple, FOOD, in an adequate…
Eating disorders are a group of mental health conditions that includes anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa and binge eating disorder. Roughly 30 million Americans will develop the symptoms of one of these conditions at one time or another. Decades of research indicate that you can potentially ease the symptoms of an eating disorder with the help…
It’s the rare person who has never turned to food in times of great stress, be it the proverbial pint of ice cream after a bad break-up or some other soothing indulgence. But some people become too reliant on stress eating, to the extent that it becomes their only means of handling stressful situations. The…
Weight and weight loss can be extremely difficult to navigate for someone who has suffered with an eating disorder in the past. For many people, the recovery process involves avoiding scales altogether, and with them any numbers concerned with weight loss and weight management, such as calorie counting. However, sometimes people with a history of…
Do you find yourself unable to avoid pulling into a fast food drive-in for lunch? Can you barely resist the urge to get a donut with your coffee? Have you stopped keeping chips in the house because you can’t control how many you eat in one sitting? If you can say yes to these questions,…
Body dysmorphic disorder (BDD) is a mental health condition that causes affected individuals to negatively focus their attention on minor or nonexistent “flaws” in their physical appearance. The American Psychiatric Association classifies the condition as a close relative of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). People affected by eating disorders also commonly have fixations regarding their appearance, but…
