While eating disorders impact both men and women, women tend to suffer from them to a much greater degree. This may be largely due to society’s relentless pressure on females to be supermodel thin and cellulite-free. Sadly, it’s the exception not the rule to fit such unrealistic and unhealthy standards, yet many females strive to …
Anorexia and bulimia are the two most well known eating disorders in the U.S., and until 2013 they were the only two eating disorders recognized by the American Psychiatric Association. For a long time, doctors and researchers have tried—with only partial success—to uncover the underlying causes for the onset of anorexic and bulimic eating behaviors. …
Misread Hunger Signals May Cause Eating Disorders, Landmark Study Finds Read More »
Adult ADHD is the general term for cases of the childhood condition attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder that continue to produce significant symptoms in adulthood. Modern studies indicate that 30 percent to 60 percent of children with ADHD also experience the adult form of the disorder. According to the results of a new study published in July …
Sadie was like most 10 year old girls—she liked swimming and soccer, horses and rainbows, and catching fireflies in the summertime. As a fourth-grade student, she was especially concerned about spelling bees and cared very much about keeping her straight-A record. She’d gotten a C once on a social studies test and her parents would …
Damaging ‘Old Talk’ Is Pervasive Among Middle-Age Women, Researchers Find The vast majority of eating disorders appear in girls and women between the ages of 9 and 26. However, doctors and researchers are beginning to understand that significant numbers of older women also cope with these disorders on a regular basis. In a study published …
Anorexia nervosa is an eating disorder characterized by such things as a severely distorted body image, a dysfunctional obsession with staying thin, and excessive restrictions on food and calorie intake. Teenagers and adults recovering from the disorder often experience a spike in their levels of anxiety that coincide with a healthy increase in their body …
Estrogen Replacement Therapy Reduces Anxiety in Anorexics Read More »
Interpersonal psychotherapy (IPT) is a form of therapy originally developed to address the symptoms of the mood disorder called major depression. Practitioners of this therapy view interpersonal difficulties as one of the primary sources of mental health issues, and work with patients to improve four areas of interpersonal function. Current evidence supports the use of …
Body image is a term used to describe the way you perceive the shape and size of your body in relation to others. People with the eating disorder anorexia nervosa have heavily distorted body images that cause them to seriously misperceive themselves as overweight or fat, even when they are in fact thin or dangerously …
Brain Abnormalities Found in People With Anorexia Read More »
Given that eating disorders are one of the most life-threatening of all mental illnesses, the obvious question is what precipitates the disorder? Some suggest that societal obsession with youth and thinness as the standards of beauty drive fragile females to the brink. Others wonder if something is awry in the family dynamic or if the …
Strident, screeching chatter. Prodding, coaxing, cajoling that never abates. Voices so loud and imposing you can’t sleep. Anorexics, bulimics, and food addicts of all stripes know the sound. We all have “the voice in our head,” our inner voice that directs and guides us. We all hear the playback of voices from our past. But …