Read an Excerpt of my Book:

Summary

My primary purpose for writing this book was to call attention to the effect of loss on disordered eating.  It is an area touched upon that I believe needs more awareness as well as treatment.  I have referred to losses in our lives that lead to a void, causing the increase in the eating problem.  This can be in the form of not eating, binging, purging, compulsive eating, and overeating, all of which lead to a negative relationship with food.   In addition, please become cognizant that when we try to change our relationship with food, the issue of loss resurfaces.  These facts have encouraged me to suggest a treatment in the form of my Template for Change, elaborated above.

I have outlined seven stages, some or all of which can be useful in changing the relationship with food.  Questions we hear repeatedly refer to the “why” many cannot sustain the changes made in their relationship with food.  We need to acknowledge and grieve the loss this change represents.  This template refers to specific stages to focus on.  By creating this template, one has a roadmap to encourage change.  You can explore these stages and decide on the most relevant ones.  This creates a specific structure with flexibility within its parameters to examine and make needed changes.  The issue of control is pivotal in this area, yet we need some structure as laid out in this book.

I have focused on the relationship with food, fear/anxiety, anger, shame, procrastination, alliance and controlling ambivalence, and adaptation/acceptance.  In each stage, I have summarized the underlying definition, its’ possible effects, case examples, and specific questionnaires and exercises that I believe are instrumental to one’s awareness and acceptance of making change.

I have briefly summarized resilience, neurochemistry, other curative factors, and additional addictions to further educate the reader on additional facts of importance in this matter.

Loss, as I define it, applies to many aspects of life.  We are constantly faced with endings and beginnings, some representing losses too challenging to acknowledge.  I hope the above template can be utilized in those areas; perhaps this will be explored in more detail in the future.