Thin
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7 A. H. Crisp, Anorexia Nervosa: Let Me Be, Psychology Press, 1995.
8 Susan Willard, NOVA/Transcripts: ‘Dying to be thin’, www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/transcripts/2715thin.xhtml, (WGBH Educational Foundation and Twin Cities Public Television, 2000).
9 Forty-two per cent of GPs did not make an early diagnosis, ‘Getting Better? Is the quality of treatment for eating disorders in the UK getting better?’, EDA (7 February 2005).
10 Fifty-five per cent of people are not being treated by a specialist, ‘Getting Better? Is the quality of treatment for eating disorders in the UK getting better?’, EDA (7 February 2005).
11 Anorexia nervosa has one of the highest rates of mortality for any psychiatric condition: 13–20 per cent per annum, Howlett et al. (1995), EDA website www.edauk.com (27 August 2004).
12 P. F. Sullivan, ‘Mortality in anorexia nervosa’, American Journal of Psychiatry (1995), 152 (7), 1073–4. Cited in ‘In-Patient Versus Out-Patient Care For Eating Disorders – A West Midlands Development and Evaluation Service Report’ (Development and Evaluation Service, Department of Public Health and Epidemiology, University of Birmingham, 1999).
13 A. H. Crisp, Anorexia Nervosa: Let Me Be.
14 ‘Hilde Bruch argued that anorexia nervosa is caused by the failure to develop a diverse set of identities and self-definitions’, Karen Farchaus Stein, PhD, RN and Linda Nyquist, PhD, ‘Disturbance in the Self: A Source of Eating Disorders’, article from Eating Disorders Review (January/February 2001), vol. 12, no. 1 (Gurze Books, 2001).
15 ‘Disturbance in the Self: A Source of Eating Disorders’, Karen Farchaus Stein, PhD, RN and Linda Nyquist, PhD, article from Eating Disorders Review (January/February 2001), vol. 12, no. 1 (Gurze Books, 2001).
16 ‘Family studies have shown the prevalence of eating disorders is 7 to 12 times higher among relatives of anorexic or bulimic probands than among controls’, ‘Serotonin: Implications for the Etiology and Treatment of Eating Disorders’, Walter H. Kaye and Michael Strober, PhD, Eating Disorders Review, vol. 10, no. 3. (May/June 1999).
17 Walter Vandereycken and Ron Van Deth, From Fasting Saints to Anorexic Girls: The History of Self-Starvation, p. 4, (The Athlone Press, 1994).
18 Yogarexia, reported in the Guardian Weekend (26 February 2005).
19 David Knight and Steven Bratman, Health Food Junkies: The Rise of Orthorexia Nervosa – The Health Food Eating Disorder (Broadway Books, 2001).
20 Stressorexia, reported in the Independent on Sunday (5 December 2004).
21 ‘Whilst the incidence of anorexia nervosa appears to have remained fairly constant over time, that of bulimia nervosa appears to be increasing rapidly. Turnbull et al. (1996) have suggested a fivefold increase in the incidence of bulimia nervosa over a five-year period from 1988 to 1993’, EDA website www.edauk.com (27 August 2004).
22 Richard Morton’s Phthisiologia; or, a Treatise of Consumptions (translated from the original 1689 Latin edn, London, 1694), in which he describes ‘Atrophia nervosa’: to waste away from nervous consumption.
23 The New Shorter Oxford English Dictionary.
24 Dr Ernest Charles Lasègue, ‘On Hysterical Anorexia’, translated from Archives Générales de Médecine (April 1873), The Medical Times and Gazette, 2, (London, 1973). Quoted in From Fasting Saints to Anorexic Girls: The History of Self-Starvation, Walter Vandereycken and Ron Van Deth, p. 157 (The Athlone Press, 1994).
25 Anorexia Nervosa: Let Me Be, A. H. Crisp.
26 Charlotte Brontë, Shirley, World Classics, 1991.
27 ‘One in every 250 females experiences anorexia in adolescence and young adulthood, and five times that number suffer from bulimia’, National Institute for Clinical Excellence (2004). Eating Disorders. NICE Clinical Guideline No. 9, London, National Institute for Clinical Excellence. Available from www.nice.org.uk.
28 Russell, 1979: Fairburn and Cooper, 1984, Mitchell et al. 1986, EDA website www.edauk.com (14 November 2004).
29 ‘Bulimia Nervosa was not recognized as a clinical condition until Gerald Russell’s paper, published in the UK in 1979’, EDA website www.edauk.com (27 August 2004).
30 ‘Eating disorders can persist throughout life and people may fluctuate between anorexia and bulimia nervosa’, EDA website www.edauk.com (27 August 2004).
31 Diagnostic criteria for eating disorders, American Psychiatric Association (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual, DSM IV, 1994).
32 A. H. Crisp, Anorexia Nervosa: Let Me Be, p. 33.
Recommended Reading
When I was anorexic, I really liked reading about anorexia. Unfortunately, it was often for the wrong reasons, and encouraged my disordered behaviour. As I began to recover, however, I found inspiration and guidance within those same words, which I hadn’t been able to see before. The very fact that my illness was being discussed and analysed helped me to see beyond myself. I believe that all the books I have listed here have clearly good intentions behind them. They offer practical advice, useful information or personal or historical viewpoints on the illness for the benefit of others.
Personal stories
Chisholm, Kate, Hungry Hell, Short Books, 2002.
A clear and concise account of the author’s own experience of anorexia, balanced out with informative historical and theoretical sources.
Hornbacher, Marya, Wasted, Flamingo, 1998.
American writer’s brutally honest memoir of her experience of eating disorders. Her powerfully punchy writing engulfs the reader into the very extremes of her illness. This is a no-holds-barred tale of her struggles, which had very severe effects.
Lindsay, Clare, Conquering Anorexia: The Route to Recovery, Summersdale, 2000.
An accessible, simply written diary account of anorexia, and the author’s experience of differing treatments, including a useful section on self-help techniques and exercises for those looking for help with recovery strategies.
Self-help
Cooper, Peter, and Fairburn, Christopher, Bulimia Nervosa and Binge-eating: A Guide to Recovery, Constable & Robinson, 1993.
This guide is suitable for sufferers and their family and friends. It contains a wealth of information to aid understanding and discusses treatment options. Part Two of the book offers a self-help programme with effective strategies for beating the problem.
Crisp, Arthur, Joughin, Neil, Halek, Christine, and Bowyer, Carol, Anorexia Nervosa: The Wish To Change, Psychology Press (second edition), 1996.
Dr Crisp is a leading expert on anorexia. This book provides a step-by-step programme for change for those suffering from anorexia. It would be most effective for those already committed to trying to combat their anorexia, but unsure about how to start.
Fairburn, Christopher, Overcoming Binge Eating, Guilford Press, 1995.
Includes clear information about eating disorders and a comprehensive self-help guide for recovery from binge-eating disorders.
Freeman, Christopher, and Cooper, Peter, Overcoming Anorexia Nervosa: A self-help guide using Cognitive Behavioural Techniques, Constable & Robinson, 2001.
This is a complete self-help recovery programme to overcoming anorexia using cognitive therapy techniques.
Treasure, Janet, Breaking Free From Anorexia Nervosa: A Survival Guide for Families, Friends and Sufferers, Psychology Press, 1997.
This often recommended book aims to answer questions raised by the illness for a variety of readers. It includes an overview of anorexia, different perspectives on the illness, and reassurance and guidelines for professionals, patients and their families.
Fiction
Brontë, Charlotte, Shirley, Oxford World Classics, 1991.
Female starvation hinges on the line between power and powerlessness in this nineteenth-century novel.
Hamsun, Knut, Hunger, translated by Sverre Lyngstad, Rebel Inc., 1996.
A captivating, hugely original and sometimes disturbing novel written in 1890, Hunger is an interior monologue of a young male writer suffering from the extreme effects of starvation, d
esolation and loneliness.
Rosen, Jonathan, Eve’s Apple, Granta, 1997.
Observed from the perspective of an anorexic’s male partner, this novel offers intelligent insights into the nature of appetite and obsession.
Poetry
Duffy, Carol Ann, Feminine Gospels, Picador, 2002.
This compelling book of poetry focuses on various shapes and forms of female identity.
For professionals and parents/carers
Bruch, Hilde, The Golden Cage: The Enigma of Anorexia Nervosa, Harvard University Press, 1978.
This classic text from the 1970s still provides insight into the illness for patients, parents, mental health trainees and senior therapists alike. Bruch focuses on the pursuit of thinness and the formation of identity.
Crisp, Arthur, Anorexia Nervosa: Let Me Be, Psychology Press, 1995.
A clinical perspective on anorexia nervosa, Dr Crisp’s focus is that of the development of the illness and the challenges posed by puberty and growth. This book is suited to those with a professional interest in the subject, or to parents or sufferers who value a more in-depth and detailed clinical approach.
Duker, Marilyn, and Slade, Roger, Anorexia Nervosa & Bulimia: How to Help, Open University Press, 1988.
This book is intended for helpers and carers of all kinds who are concerned with the best methods to help. Describes what that help can involve, drawing upon the authors’ own experience with clients.
Lawrence, Marilyn, The Anorexic Experience, Women’s Press Handbook, 2001(first edn 1984).
An informed perspective from a therapist at the Women’s Therapy Centre, this is a clear and accessible guide to approaching the illness.
Related issues
Orbach, Susie, On Eating, Penguin, 2002.
A helpful guidebook from the author of Fat is a Feminist Issue, this little book offers tips and pointers on redressing your relationship with food and eating. The advice is clear, easy to digest and calming.
Schmidt, Ulrike, and Treasure, Janet, Getting Better Bite by Bite: A Survival Kit for Sufferers of Bulimia Nervosa and Binge Eating Disorders, Psychology Press, 1993.
A useful manual offering help to those with bulimia and binge-eating disorders. It provides suggestions for further reading as well as advice on a wide spectrum of relevant topics.
Wurtzel, Elizabeth, Prozac Nation, Quartet Books, 1995.
A powerful account of living with depression and self-harm embedded with an astute cultural awareness of America at the end of the twentieth century.
History/social context
Ellmann, Maud, The Hunger Artists: Starving, Writing and Imprisonment, Virago, 1993.
An academic perspective which provides a unique and original view, exploring self-starvation through themes of hunger, writing and imprisonment.
Jacobs Brumberg, Joan, Fasting Girls: The History of Anorexia Nervosa, Vintage, 2000.
An interesting analysis of the condition from a historical perspective.
Vandereycken, Walter, and Van Deth, Ron, From Fasting Saints to Anorexic Girls: The History of Self-Starvation, The Athlone Press, 1994.
A detailed international perspective on self-starvation over the centuries, with a particular focus on the relevance of the sociocultural context.
Wolf, Naomi, The Beauty Myth, Vintage, 1991.
A highly charged, stat-packed book which still sparks debate about the way in which images and idealizations of female beauty are used to maintain the male-dominated power structures.
Woolf, Virginia, A Room of One’s Own, Penguin Classics, 2000.
In this classic text, Woolf expresses the effects of poverty and social constraints on female creativity and intellectual freedom.
Directory of Useful Addresses
Anorexia Nervosa and Related Eating Disorders, Inc.
www.anred.com
American-based website containing information about anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, binge-eating, compulsive exercising and other less well-known food and weight disorders, and includes statistics, warning signs, personal stories and links.
Body Whys
www.bodywhys.ie
PO BOX 105
Blackrock
Co Dublin
Ireland
Telephone helpline: 00 353 1 890 200 444 (Mondays, Wednesdays 7.30 p.m. to 9.30 p.m.; Tuesdays, Fridays 12.30 p.m. to 2.30 p.m.; Thursdays 10 a.m. to 12 noon)
Email: info@bodywhys.ie
Irish national charity offering help and support for people with
eating disorders, their friends and families.
Careline
www.carelineuk.org
Cardinal Heenan Centre
326–328 High Road
Ilford
Essex IG1 1QP
Tel. 020 8514 1177 (Monday to Friday 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. and 7 p.m. to 10 p.m.)
Provides a confidential crisis telephone counselling service for children, young people and adults on any issue including eating disorders.
Centre for Eating Disorders (Scotland)
www.maryhart.co.uk
3 Sciennes Road
Edinburgh EH9 1LE
Tel. 0131 668 3051 (usually an answer-phone service)
Email: info@maryhart.co.uk
Offers psychotherapy and counselling aimed at helping to change eating habits and attitudes. Has a range of self-help manuals on types of eating disorders, causes, self-help, plus a publications list.
Eating Disorders Association (EDA)
www.edauk.com
103 Prince of Wales Road
Norwich NR1 1DW
Adult telephone helpline: 0845 634 1414 (weekdays 8.30 a.m. to 8.30 p.m., Saturdays 1 p.m. to 4.30 p.m.)
Helpline email: helpmail@edauk.com
Youthline telephone: 0845 634 7650 (weekdays 4 p.m. to 6.30 p.m., Saturdays 1 p.m to 4.30 p.m.)
Youthline email: talkback@edauk.com
Youthline TEXT service: 07977 493 345
Recorded message (10 minutes/50p per minute): 0906 302 0012
A national charity offering help and information to people with anorexia and bulimia nervosa, and their families and friends. Provides advice and publications on all aspects of eating disorders. Operates a UK-wide telephone helpline for people with an eating disorder, their family, friends, and professionals, along with a youthline that offers information, help and support for young people aged eighteen years and under.
Eating Disorders Resources
www.edr.org.uk
Information website with news, reports, research, conferences and opinions on eating disorders including anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, compulsive eating and binge-eating, with details of organizations, publications and links to other websites.
First Steps to Freedom
www.first-steps.org
1 Taylor Close
Kenilworth
Warwickshire CV8 2LW
Telephone helpline: 0845 1202916 (10 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily)
General enquiries: 01926 864473
Email: first.steps@btconnect.com
Aims to help in a practical way people who suffer from phobias, obsessive compulsive disorders, anxiety, panic attacks, anorexia and bulimia. Provides a confidential helpline offering counselling, listening, advice, support and information.
The International Eating Disorders Centre
www.eatingdisorderscentre.co.uk
119–121 Wendover Road
Aylesbury
Bucks HP21 9LW
Tel. 01296 330557
Email: webenquiry@eatingdisorderscentre.co.uk
The centre provides multi-disciplinary rehabilitation programmes for eating disorder sufferers.
Mental Health Foundation
www.mentalhealth.org.uk
London Office:
9th Floor, Sea Containers House
20 Upper Ground
London SE1 9QB
Tel. 020 7803 1100 (Monday to Friday 10.30 a.m. to 4 p.m.)
Email: mhf@mhf.org.uk
Scotland
Office:
Merchants House
30 George Square
Glasgow G2 1EG
Tel. 0141 572 0125
Email: scotland@mhf.org.uk
Offers information and literature on all aspects of mental health, including where to get help, information about specific mental health problems, treatments and rights.
The National Centre for Eating Disorders
www.eating-disorders.org.uk
54 New Road
Esher
Surrey KT10 9NU
Tel. 0845 838 2040
Provides information on eating disorders such as compulsive or binge-eating, anorexia, bulimia and dieting. Offers information, counselling and professional training.
NHS Direct
www.nhsdirect.nhs.uk
Tel. 0845 4647 (24-hour nurse advice and health information service)
Provides information and advice on all health topics.
National Institute for Clinical Excellence
www.nice.org.uk
MidCity Place
71 High Holborn
London WC1V 6NA
Tel. 020 7067 5800
Email: nice@nice.org.uk
Includes official eating disorder treatment guidelines.
Patient UK – Introduction to Anorexia
www.patient.co.uk/showdoc/23069106
Provides information leaflets, details of support groups and a directory of UK websites.
The Royal College of Psychiatrists
www.rcpsych.ac.uk/info/eatdis.htm
Provides information leaflets on eating disorders and links to useful organizations, books and reports.
Something Fishy Website on Eating Disorders
www.something-fishy.org
US pro-recovery website dedicated to raising awareness about eating disorders, providing support and information for those with eating disorders, and their family and friends.
Women’s Therapy Centre
www.womenstherapycentre.co.uk
10 Manor Gardens
London N7 6JS
Tel. 020 7263 7860
Email: info@womenstherapycentre.co.uk