Main description:

Eating disorders are potentially life-threatening psychiatric illnesses commonly accompanied by serious medical problems. They typically appear during adolescence or early adulthood, a time when young people are heading to college or interviewing for a first job. Many people recover fully from eating disorders, but others become chronically ill, and symptoms can continue into middle age and beyond.

Written by leading authorities in eating disorders research and treatment, Eating Disorders: What Everyone Needs to Know answers common questions about eating disorders, including anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, and binge eating disorder, as well as a newly described condition, avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder (ARFID). Practical yet authoritative, the book defines the eating disorders, explains what we know about them based on the latest science, and describes how treatment
works. Importantly, the book dispels common myths about eating disorders, such as the notion that they occur only amongst the affluent, that they affect only girls and women, or that they simply result from environmental factors such as the fashion industry and society's obsession with thinness. In reality,
as the book explains, there is substantial evidence that eating disorders are brain-based illnesses that do not discriminate, and that they have been around for a very long time. Eating Disorders: What Everyone Needs to Know is essential reading for those seeking authoritative and current information about these often misunderstood illnesses.

Contents:

Part I: Facing the Facts and Busting the Myths
Chapter 1: What are Eating Disorders?
Chapter 2: Who Gets Eating Disorders?
Chapter 3: How Do You Know if You or Someone You Care About has an Eating Disorder?
Chapter 4: What Causes Eating Disorders?
Chapter 5: What Could Make an Eating Disorder Better or Worse?
Chapter 6: Do Eating Disorders Overlap With Other Psychiatric Disorders?
Chapter 7: Are Children Affected By Eating Disorders?
Chapter 8: Is Obesity An Eating Disorder?

Part II: Taking Action: Treatment and Recovery
Chapter 9: Where Do People Get Treatment?
Chapter 10: Who Provides Eating Disorders Treatment?
Chapter 11: Are There Medications That Are Helpful?
Chapter 12: What Kinds of Therapy Help Eating Disorders Symptoms the Most?
Chapter 13: Are There Other Useful Strategies?
Chapter 14: What Does Recovery Look Like?
Chapter 15: Can Eating Disorders Be Prevented?

Part III: Eating Disorders Research: Hot Topics
Chapter 16: Olanzapine
Chapter 17: Cognitive Neuroscience
Chapter 18: Genetics

Resources