New Study Shows Anorexics Have Different Brain Patterns

An article in U.S News & World Report, Brain Activity Points to Origins of Anorexia, cites a study about differences in brain activity between anorexic patients and those who do not have the eating disorder. The study at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine did MRI scans of the brains of 13 "normal" women and 13 recovered anorexic patients while they played a computer game.

The brains of the healthy women showed heightened responses to winning and
losing, while the women with a history of anorexia showed little difference
between winning or losing. Dr. Angela Wagner said of the results, "For
anorexics, then, perhaps it is difficult to appreciate immediate pleasure if it
does not feel much different from a negative experience."

The results of this study, published in the December issue of the American Journal of Psychiatry, suggest that the women with a history of anorexia were more focused on the consequences of their choices during the guessing game.

In another report about the study, the BBC News suggests that this may give us more insight in how anorexics are able to deny themselves the reward of food.

Anorexia has always been associated with a distorted body image - anorexics usually see themselves as fat, even when they are grossly underweight. Research such as this study could be very helpful in determining if there are specific causes and in finding successful treatment protocols.

Through the eyes of an emotional eater

Today, I thought I would do something a little bit different. I'm working with a client at the moment who has life-long problems with eating disorders including binge eating, emotional or comfort eating and compulsive eating. With her permission, I'm going to be sharing some of Jennifer's story and the process we're going through to help her gain some control over her eating.

Jennifer has tried just about everything. She's been to Overeaters' Anonymous, Jenny Craig, Weight Watchers and counsellors to try and help her beat her food cravings. She has even tried fasting for long periods to attempt to break the hold food has over her.

While she has experienced periods of control, she is dissatisfied at the feelings of deprivation that she experiences when she goes to Overeaters' Anonymous, which encourages abstinence from trigger foods. For Jennifer this would mean a life without the whites - white sugar, white flour and salt. For her, this is a life without pleasure.

In our first session we talked about her perceptions about herself. My goal in this first session was to help Jennifer understand what she tells herself about her role in life. For most of us our identity is wrapped up in the 'labels' we give ourselves. These labels can be anything from the job we do, to our relationships with others, our goals, our passions, our strengths or our weaknesses.

Dr Phil in his book Self Matters: Creating Your Life from the Inside Out, which is a pretty good book if you can get past his corny way of talking, describes labels as:

Labels are incredibly powerful influences in your life. You may not be consciously aware of even a fraction of your labels, whether they come from the outside world or from within yourself. Either way, you must acknowledge the existence of labels, challenge the "fit," and confront the impact these labels have on your concept of self.

Are you a career woman, a mom, an accountant, a politician? Are you a failure or a winner? Are you a "fat girl" or a "pretty girl?" Write down all the labels you attach to yourself, going back as far as you can remember.

With Jennifer, it soon became clear that her identity is wrapped up in her opinion of herself as a wife and mother. Any time that she perceives problems in this area, she reaches for food. For Jennifer the state of her house is a barometer of her internal health. She judges herself by the cleanliness, order and tidiness of her home. When her house is spic and span she feels confident and in control of her life. When dirty dishes accumulate on the bench and washing piles up in the bath she feels like a failure as a wife, a mother and a person.

The result? She eats. She decides that she is a bad mother and a bad wife and wallows in chippies, chocolate, pasta, pizza and greasy foods.

If my house is a mess and I can’t keep up with the housework or I can’t get motivated to get it done I feel like I’m not coping in life.

If my house is tidy I feel like I’m coping.

For me cleaning my bench is a big deal. Some days I look at it and I have no idea where to start. Yet my daughter can come along and in less than five minutes she sorts everything out, wipes down the bench and it’s done.

I don’t know why I can’t be like that. So then I start telling myself that I’m lazy, or that I just didn’t get taught right by my mother. She did everything for me as a kid, and I find it hard to do all this stuff. I don’t enjoy it so I put it off.

I start feeling dumb and inadequate and then I need food to make me feel better.

Even when I do clean the bench I feel like I should treat myself because it’s such an effort. I feel exhausted, so I sit down with a big plate of unhealthy food or a packet of biscuits and scoff the lot.

That’s only part of the story. Jennifer has very distorted ideas about her role as a perfect parent. Logically she knows that cleaning the kitchen can be done in a few minutes, but it is such a big psychological mountain for her to climb, that she feels as if it is taking away hours that should be spent with her children. And once again she feels the need to reward herself with food.

By the time I’ve forced myself to do the cleaning, and got my head around working out what needs to be done the whole job seems to take an eternity. And then I might put off doing things with the kids. I have plans to teach them things or do crafts with them or take them for a walk and instead I eat. Then I call myself a bad parent again.

Jennifer's homework is to examine her distorted perceptions.

We started at the beginning, by challenging her assumption that an overindulgent parent who did everything for her has created a lazy monster who is incapable of doing housework. Jennifer is still having trouble convincing herself that her upbringing is irrelevant. She is very attached to her family and is having trouble separating today's Jennifer from the Jennifer of her childhood. She accepts logically that she's not the same woman, and that the way she is now is a combination of nature and nurture and that she can change her habits, but emotionally she's still letting go.

She's also promised as part of her homework to not immediately dismiss positive feedback. When her husband and friends tell her she is a good wife, a good parent and a good person, she's too quick to find fault with herself. She admits that she tests people and keeps rejecting their encouragement because she doesn't believe it herself.

Finally, she's working on understanding that the state of her house is not a reflection on her as a person. We know this is going to take some time but Jennifer feels that knowing that people "get" her and understand where she is coming from will help.

In the News: Eastern philosophy promises hope for eating disorders

A psychological technique based on Buddhist philosophy and practice may provide a solution for women who struggle with binge eating and bulimia.

The technique known as 'mindfulness' is being taught to Queensland women to help them understand and deal with the emotions that trigger their binges.

Unlike many therapies for eating disorders, there is less focus on food and controlling eating and more on providing freedom from negative thoughts and emotions.

Griffith University psychologists Michelle Hanisch and Angela Morgan said women who binged were often high-achievers and perfectionists.

When such women perceived they didn't measure up to self-imposed standards or were not in control of situations, they indulged in secretive eating binges. A typical late-night binge could involve four litres of icecream and a couple of packets of chocolate biscuits, Ms Hanisch said.

"Many women develop elaborate methods of hiding the evidence of their binges and some feel so guilty afterwards they also induce vomiting, overuse laxatives or exercise excessively to counteract the effects of the binge," she said.

"Binge eating is largely a distraction – a temporary escape from events and emotions that nevertheless can cause long-term physical problems including electrolyte imbalances. Instead, women need to learn how to react in a different way."

Mindfulness involves exercises similar to meditation that could help people live more in the moment, develop a healthy acceptance of self and become aware of potentially destructive habitual responses.

"Women who have been through the program report less dissatisfaction with their bodies, increased self-esteem and improved personal relationships," Ms Morgan said.

"They learn that thoughts and emotions don't have any power over us as they are just passing phenomena and aren't permanent."

Mindfulness has already been shown to be effective as a treatment for anxiety and depression, substance abuse, and the stress associated with physical conditions such as trauma, chronic pain or cancer. Mindfulness is a technique made popular through the books and teachings of Jon Kabat-Zinn

The eight-week program is being offered at no charge at Griffith University campuses on the Gold Coast and in Brisbane. Women who binge eat and are interested in participating in the program can phone 07 3735 3324.

Mardi Chapman
m.chapman@griffith.edu.au

Interesting links on healthy food and eating disorders

The World's Healthiest Foods

Have you been wondering which foods are the healthiest? You can now check it out at this site. Each food has its own page complete with background on the food, health benefits and nutritional information. The information is fully referenced and very comprehensive. The site has a bias towards organic and free-range food which may not suit everyone, but I was impressed with the breadth and depth of the information.

The George Mateljan Foundation is a non-profit organization free of commercial influence, which provides this website for you free of charge. Our purpose is to provide you with unbiased scientific information about how nutrient-rich World's Healthiest Foods can promote vibrant health and energy and fit your personal needs and busy lifestyle.

Check out The World's Healthiest Foods here. (Thanks to Jessi for the link)

Online support effective for Eating Disorders

Researchers have discovered that many people with Eating Disorders such as Bulimia and Anorexia seek help from online support groups, rather than traditional channels, such as visiting their doctors. The researchers were surprised to find that many of the people in the online support groups had the same or greater severity of symptoms as patients that are treated in clinical settings and hospitals. Read the research here

At this stage researchers are unsure whether this method of treatment is effective but it is speculated that many people are more comfortable seeking help in the privacy of their own home and that online support groups may be a growing trend.

Resources:

1. You can visit our forum here if you would like help with emotional eating or compulsive eating.
2. For help with anorexia or bulimia we recommend Something Fishy Eating Disorder forum.

Treatment of Eating Disorders

Recent research into the treatment of eating disorders such as anorexia, bulimia and binge eating has highlighted that effective treatment revolves around these key components:

• improving self-esteem


• body image


• coping skills

To join the discussion on Emotional Eating and Binge Eating click here

Your mother may be causing your eating disorder!

Researchers have found a link between parenting style and the increased incidence of eating problems in children.

The study investigated the individual parenting style of each parent and looked at positive and negative aspects of the parenting style. A scale was applied to a variety of factors including rule setting, discipline and punishment as well as positive aspects such as providing rewards and encouraging autonomy.

Approximately 60% of the mothers of obese children included in the study had indications of dysfunctional or negative parenting.

This suggests that fixing childhood obesity is a family problem that would benefit from counselling and education for the entire family.

Bloodletting: A Memoir of Secrets, Self-Harm, & Survival

Bloodletting: A Memoir of Secrets, Self-Harm, & Survival
A memoir by Victoria Leatham

Bloodletting was an eye opener for me. A great insight into the mind of someone who cuts herself as a way of relieving stress and tension and to escape problems.

Reading about depression and mania was familiar to me, and although the author shared a lot about herself I did not find anything new or compelling about those aspects of the book.

However the aspects of self harm and mutilation were horrendous. Both in the detail provided and the thinking that took place inside Victoria's head. The book was extremely revealing in its discussion of both Victoria's motivation for self-harm as well as the effects that it had on her.

Insights into treatment and the difficulty in treating someone with a range of symptoms were also helpful. Victoria experienced a number of problems that were not always identified by health practitioners. Unfortunately this is a common story. So often people with mental health problems are incorrectly diagnosed or told that there is nothing seriously wrong with them. The co-morbidity of a number of different psychological illness is also a common aspect of mental health.

There were times that the simplistic style of writing irritated me, however I had to keep reminding myself that this was a memoir and not to expect a beautifully crafted piece of writing.

The book was compellingly honest. One aspect that surprised me was her willingness to seek help. So often people with eating disorders and socially unacceptable compulsions such as cutting, hide their disorder from others. Although this was obviously not something that Victoria could share with everyone, she did attempt to seek help from doctors and friends.

As you would expect a lot of the writer's behaviour is self-destructive, not only in the physical sense but also in the relationships she chooses and the way in which she communicates with others.

I'm completely horrified by blood and the descriptions of cutting left me feeling ill, but I was also intrigued by the psychology of cutting and wanted to see how this was resolved. Would she be successful in treating this debilitating behaviour and live a "normal" life? Ultimately the author finds treatment that is helpful, mainly cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT), although it is a long road to recovery.

Good Girls Do Swallow

Good girls do swallow by Rachael Oakes-Ash

My request earned me a smile from the man behind the desk. Actually he laughed out loud. Thankfully another librarian came to my rescue and helped me find this truly interesting book. And yes, it’s as fascinating as it sounds.

A witty account of one woman’s battle with the bulge it tells the tale of Rachael Oakes-Ash, an Australian magazine columnist and television presenter obsessed with acquiring the waif like figure of her idol Kate Moss. Leaving behind a trail of frustrated personal trainers, Tim Tam wrappers and Sara Lee goodies, Rachael’s struggle will be familiar to many binge eaters.

She works her way through a series of diets losing 63kg and gaining 76 kg on a roller-coaster of body image problems including anorexia and bulimia. Believing she wasn’t worthy of her dream job, a man, money or friendship unless she was slim and gorgeous, she tortured herself with the latest fad diets and exercise regimes.

The book cleverly intersperses facts and figures about the diet industry as well as making the point that a svelte figure isn’t the solution to life’s problems. There are some nasty moments in the book. The heroine suffered severe setbacks and challenges, but it is beautifully written and the author never takes herself too seriously.

I found it a fun and entertaining book that provided an insight into the importance of self image. Written in the style of Helen Field’s popular Bridget Jones books it is a described as the blackly comic true story of how one woman stopped hating her body.

Discuss emotional eating and compulsive eating at our forum