I always enjoy your Smorgasbord Carrie :)

The last paper on your list - regarding emotion acceptance interests me, because my AN definitely served to facilitate avoidance of emotions. I dislike my emotions and struggle to make sense of them.

The next to the last paper, on perfectionism and its relation to over-evaluation of weight and shape, although interesting, is something I simply cannot relate to. I never over-evaluated weight or shape while anorexic and I find it frustrating that such apparent over-evaluation is targeted in standard therapies for AN. My low weight was a 'side-effect' (or inevitable consequence) of behaviours I used to control anxiety and negative emotions. I didn't do those behaviours with the objective of controlling my weight.

love the links, cant wait to check them out!!!

enjoy the day!

The "Fixing the World" article struck a nerve and sent me righ to my keyboard to send a letter to the Editor. Among other misguided things, the LAST thing we need is a penalty on whole milk, which already too many parents have stopped giving their children. Poorer children in particular need all the nutrients, including fat, that they can get. The low-fat bandwagon, the end of physical work including our own housework, and a culture of 24/7 mindless eating are far more to blame than whole dairy for the "obesity epidemic".

How interesting that people have tried to update Maslow's hierarchy! I don't agree with some of their changes though. I don't think parenting is an essential psychological need for a start. I have no desire to have children and I'm sure that the many other deliberately (it may be different for people who are infertile) childless people of the world feel no less fulfilled than those who have children. Equally, although I love being in a relationship, there are those who are naturally solitary and happy being single. I would also disagree that the ultimate cause of creativity is to make oneself more attractive to the opposite sex. For me, painting or playing music is an escape, and one that I rarely share with others. There's so much simplification and generalisation in this article.

I'm going to continue to be contrary and disagree with the author of "The Psychology of "The Neuroscience of"" as well. Whilst I think that SOME people see scientific explanations of behaviour as an excuse not to change, some people use them as a catalyst for change. I only found the motivation to fight my anorexia when I started to realise that it was controlling me rather than vice versa. Learning about the biology of starvation and the genetic risk for eating disorders made me start to label eating disordered thoughts as a product of the illness rather than things I really believed. I obviously have a bit of a rebellious streak :P

I will take my rebelliousness elsewhere now...hehe

The Irish Medical Times (Jim Locke) article is weird - for a start the title doesn't appear to bear any relation to the article, what ARE the causes of ED then, I thought Locke was agnostic about them and the article doesn't give me cause to dispute this. Also, is the article about FBT (an OUTPATIENT treatment) or residential? It starts off by saying how expensive and disruptive treatment away from the home can be, and then goes on to almost advertise Ireland's first residential treatment centre. Most confusing

I hadn't read the two articles Katie comments on above, but after reading her comment, and the articles, I have to say that I agree with Katie on both points she raises.

I have never had any desire to bear or raise kids either - and although I've had relationships I prefer to be single. If I enter a long term relationship the guy will need to have his place and I stay alone (well, with cats...) in mine.

As for the role of neuroscience in explaining AN... To recognise that my AN was partly a product of some 'hard-wiring' characteristic of my brain has helped me a lot. This recognition didn't mean that I felt doomed to remain sick; rather, it actually helped me to understand my difficulty with obsessive-compulsive behaviours (which pre-dated my AN) and to accept myself for these lifelong difficulties. I didn't 'choose' AN and I had never felt that it had much to do with culture.

Hi Carrie,

This is a question unrelated to your post. During your battle with anorexia, did you experience hair loss? I recently stopped eating for 6 months and at the beginning of July I noticed my hair was thinning drastically. I'm told this is normal when you don't eat? If you did experience hair loss, did your hair grow back to its original state? Thanks!