Eating disorder self-diagnosis
I was reading an article (full text available!) by Walter Vandereycken (which I will post about in greater length soon), and something in his online survey caught my eye: In the first part of the survey, participants were asked a few general questions, in cluding self-diagnosis of the type of eating disorder they were showing most...
Coded excuses
Dr. Walter Vandereycken did a really interesting study on how both professionals and patients viewed dropping out from eating disorder treatment. It's something that I've definitely observed (patients and staff having different takes on why someone leaves...
Social media — a new kind of medialization
I think that social media is creating a new kind of medialization -- one where you don't have that intermediary between researchers and the public. Sure, I retweet news articles all the time, but I can also talk to psychologists, doctors, and researchers directly. Now, I wouldn't consider twitter "a primary source of health information,"...
Medialization catch-22s
While mental illnesses are to some extent social constructions, the thing about research is that you are creating new knowledge by observing and writing about it. While new diagnoses may be fads, they also are probably worthy of additional study and analysis. It's only through additional study that scientists can determine if...
It’s really psychological inflexibility
Several years ago, I had a therapist who called herself "a recovering perfectionist." While I thought that was clever, it wasn't really something that I personally wanted to strive for. Sure, perfectionism can be hugely problematic and maladaptive...
WHAT!? moments
When I saw an ED study with “All Better?” in the title, I of course had to read it. Often when a friend or my husband asks me how an appointment was, I say “I’m cured!” Maybe I’ll switch it up with “All better” in the future. Anyway, this was a great article — one...
Diluting the DSM
I’m finally catching up on some of my “must read” articles. Tonight I got a chance to read an article on a new possible diagnostic system for eating disorders in the DSM-V. “Broad Categories for the Diagnosis of Eating Disorders (BCD-ED): An Alternative System for Classification.” You could go ahead and download it – the...
Avoidance: Not always a bad thing
I've always believed that avoidance is a healthy coping skill to some extent… but have had therapists who insist that it is maladaptive. The article makes a good point about this: "[Avoidant] strategies can be effective in the short-term..."
Parents, personality, and eating disorder symptoms
There have been many studies on family dynamics and the development of eating disorders, but I think that this is the first that I’ve seen that takes the next step and makes connections with specific symptomology: The dynamic relationship of parental personality traits with the personality and psychopathology traits of anorectic and bulimic daughters Before...
The worst parts of eating disorders
The National Council for Community Behavioral Healthcare and AstraZeneca conducted a really interesting survey on the impact of bipolar depression on people’s lives. There were a couple of points in the study that really caught my attention: The greatest concerns among people living with bipolar disorder are that their symptoms will have an impact on...
No prescription for BDD
I’ve been told more than a couple of times that negative body image is one of the last things to go in eating disorder recovery. Doesn’t that seem unfair? You want to think that you’ll feel better and be more accepting of yourself with the start of treatment, and that will motivate you to eat...
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