Getting Better Bite by Bite

Ulrike Schmidt is Professor of Eating Disorders at King’s College London and a consultant psychiatrist in the Eating Disorders Unit at the Maudsley Hospital, London, UK. Her research covers all aspects of eating disorders, from causes to treatments. She has a particular interest in developing novel treatments, especially brief interventions that can be widely disseminated. She is the author of several popular self-help books and award-winning online therapy programmes. Janet Treasure, OBE, PhD, FRCP, FRCPsych, is a professor and a psychiatrist who works in research and teaching at King’s College London and as a clinician at the South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust,( www.the.newmaudsleyapproach.co.uk). Professor Treasure's research interests include conjoint working with patients and carers using translational research to develop new forms of treatment. June Alexander developed anorexia nervosa at age 11, an illness that challenged and shaped her life. A love of words became a survival tool. She kept a diary and developed a journalism career. Since 2006, June has applied lived experience and literary skills to write about eating disorders. A PhD candidate, June serves on Australian and international organisations, including AED, F.E.A.S.T. and NEDC. Her website: www.junealexander.com.

Introduction. A Few Words of Caution. What this Book Can and Can’t Do. The Way Forward. Do I Suffer From Bulimia? How to Use This Book. First Steps. Back to The Future. Making Your Decision to Go. How to Stage Your Journey. Tools For the Journey. How to Facilitate Change by Keeping a Therapeutic Diary. New Skills to Cope with Old Difficulties. Dieting: A Health Warning. Beauty is in the Eye of the Beholder. In the Healthy Weight Range. Health Hazards of Dieting. How Much do I Need to Eat? Achieving Optimal Weight and Shape. Regaining Eating Control.The Black Hole of the Insatiable Stomach. Why Can’t I Control My Eating? How to Stop Binges. Lapses. Having Your Cake and Eating It Too. Facing the Facts. Why You Are Right to Worry. What Type of Weight Controller Are You? How to Stop Vomiting. How to Stop Abusing Laxatives, Diuretics, Medications. Learning to Feel Good about Your Body. How Body Image Problems Are Caused and Maintained. Challenging Unhelpful Beauty Ideals and Fat Talk. Getting to Know Your Body. Looking After Your Body. Other Helpful Strategies. Living With Your Body. Note. Being Fatter May be Better. Health Risks in Being Overweight. Nothing Beautiful About Dieting. Avoiding the Lonely Trap. Shake, Shake, Shake Your Body. Relapse: Walking In Circles—Or Not. Preventing Slips. What to do if a Slip Occurs. Add Pleasure to Your Day. Childhood Wounds. Sexual Abuse. Trying to Make Sense of it. Grappling With Guilt and Self-Blame. After-Effects of Abuse. Get a Toehold on Trust. Coming to Terms. Food for Thought. Feeling Like You Don’t Fit in. The Gloom-and-Doom Scenario. When Life is Dreadful. Wracked By Guilt. Please, Please Them. Out of Control with Control. Defusing Self-Defeating Thoughts. Shoo Away Shame. Finding Your Voice. Learning to Stand Your Ground. Anything For a Quiet Life. Ground-Rules For Assertive Behavior. Putting Assertiveness Into Practice. The Seduction of Self-destruction. The Slippery Slope of Alcohol and Drugs. When to Worry About Alcohol Intake. Living Dangerously. Spending What You Don’t Have. Note. Web of Life: Parents, Partners Children, and Friends. At Home With the Family. Friends. Sexual Relationships. Children.Working to Live, Living to Work. Common Work Problems.The End of Your Journey—Or Not. If You Are Still Stuck. Time to Get Real About You. Recovery: An Adventure in Self-Discovery. Where to Get Help. Appendix.