According to the Academy of Eating Disorders, eating disorders have been on the rise over the past 30 years and “at any given time 10 percent or more of late adolescent and adult women report symptoms of eating disorders. Although these symptoms may not satisfy full diagnostic criteria, they do often cause distress and impairment. Interventions with these individuals may be helpful and may prevent the development of more serious disorders.”
What this means is that at some point in your life, odds are that you have personally battled unhealthy issues with food and your body, and/or you have a friend who has experienced disordered eating.
In the community, topics ranging from a basic lack of self-confidence, to full-blown anorexia and bulimia, often come up, so Chickspeak decided to enlist the help and support of an expert. Aimee Liu is the author of Gaining: The Truth About Life After Eating Disorders, just published by Warner Books. Gaining is, in part, a sequel to Liu’s very first book, Solitaire (1979), which was also America’s first anorexia memoir. In her latest book, Aimee Liu revisits the questions of what really causes eating disorders and what it takes to fully recover. Aimee interviewed leading researchers and more than 40 other women and men with histories of eating disorders, and then found the common threads of behaviors and traits that linked each story together. The end result is moving, strengthening and—beyond anything profoundly encouraging for anyone suffering and for loved ones trying to best be of support.
After reading Gaining and being deeply impressed with Aimee’s honest and thoughtful examination of her own journey of recovery and her findings from in-depth research, Chickspeak knew we had to share her book and break-through strategies with all of the women we care about, especially YOU.
What came of our Q and A with Aimee was extraordinary, not only because she graciously answered questions from our ChickSpeak members, but because she also brought in the ideas and incites of Judith Banker, President Elect of the Academy of Eating Disorders. ChickSpeak has the full interview as a special four part series. A big thanks to both Aimee Liu and Judith Banker for your time, support and enthusiasm in this!
A note from Aimee: These were challenging questions! Some of them pressed for insight that goes beyond my expertise. Rather than attempting to answer them “perfectly” on my own, I decided to admit my limitations and call for professional advice. (In other words, I used this occasion to practice what I preach in Gaining: when you need help, don’t be ashamed to seek it!) I turned to Judith Banker, president-elect of the Academy for Eating Disorders, who generously gave these questions her full attention. (For information about the AED, go to aedweb.org. Because Judith’s responses are so full of important information, I don’t want to paraphrase her, but am including her answers uncut (marked by Judith Banker) alongside my own (marked Aimee Liu). Bear in mind that Judith is the professional—she founded and directs the Center for Eating Disorders in Ann Arbor, Michigan center4ed.org). My own answers will reflect only what I have learned as a survivor and student of eating disorders, and from the feedback, I’ve received from readers of “Gaining”. —Aimee
ChickSpeak: Based on your knowledge, what does the medical community know now about the effective treatment of eating disorders that they didn’t know at the time of your turning point?
Aimee Liu: The entire scientific profile of eating disorders has been transformed by the research findings of the past twenty years. When I was in the grip of anorexia in the 1960s and early ‘70s, treatment was reserved for those who were in imminent mortal danger, and that treatment consisted almost exclusively of hospitalization and forced refeeding. Bulimia wasn’t even named yet! Doctors, families, and counselors alike mostly assumed that people with eating disorders were just very stubborn, and that if they chose to cooperate and stopped being “difficult” they could get well on their own. Recovery was defined almost exclusively in terms of weight gain and nutrition. Unfortunately, most of the general public still maintains these outdated notions. They do not understand that eating disorders represent serious psychological illnesses and that fasting, binging, and purging behavior are expressions of some combination of depression, anxiety, trauma, genetics, and biochemistry. The medical community is beginning to understand this, however, and changes in treatment have resulted as Judith details below.
