Eating disorders include anorexia [self-starvation], bulimia [binging followed by purging], and compulsive eating [binging or eating compulsively]. They affect both men and women, young and old.

Eating disorders are not about food or weight. They're about unexpressed needs, inner pain, shame, fear, control, a search for self/identity, and other internal or external struggles [external meaning conflicts with the individual's environment]. Many blame eating disorders on a society that overemphasizes thinness, equating body size with success. That emphasis does not "cause" an eating disorder, but it presents an easy hook--an obsession with weight and size for other purposes.

Home | My Practice | Helping Resources | For Professionals | Search | About | Contact Me 
Legal Notice and Disclaimer

Updated on 06/12/2002
© 2002, Jonathan P. Levine, CSW