Under heightened emotional states, individuals are more inclined to engage in ill-considered or rash actions than at other times. The authors present evidence for the existence of 2 related traits called positive and negative urgency. The traits refer to individual differences in the disposition to engage in rash action when experiencing extreme…

In this article, the author recalls and shares the first half of her college journey. Her memories do not play back to her in bursts of sounds or colors; friends or lovers; feelings, touches, tastes, or ideas. They play, rather, as silent images of herself that flicker disjointedly across her mind, the lens of her memory having recorded her…

Consumer health publishers in mid-2007 recall those elliptical machine addicts--they have fallen into a safe holding pattern that should maintain their weight in the market. In other words, mind-body books and recovery memoirs are back, as are a bevy of diet and fitness manuals. People buy into the health and medicine genre--"Library Journal's"…

Foucault's analysis of unseen power as it operates in discourses that construct "practices of discipline" and "technologies of the self" has been a central conceptual resource in the development of narrative therapy. Narrative therapists take the view that ?unseen aspects of power work to construct both how a person understands their situation,…

Significant progress has been achieved in the development and evaluation of evidence-based psychological treatments for eating disorders over the past 25 years. Cognitive behavioral therapy is currently the treatment of choice for bulimia nervosa and binge-eating disorder, and existing evidence supports the use of a specific form of family therapy…

Research shows that half of all lifetime cases of mental illness begin by age 14. Scientists are discovering that changes in the body leading to mental illness may start much earlier, before any symptoms appear. Through greater understanding of when and how fast specific areas of children's brains develop, we are learning more about the early…

Discusses how more college men are reporting eating disorders and other problems associated with body image, a so-called "Adonis complex." (EV)

This study examined packing (pocketing or holding accepted food in the mouth) in 3 children who were failing to thrive or had inadequate weight gain due to insufficient caloric intake. The results of an analysis of texture indicated that total grams consumed were higher when lower textured foods were presented than when higher textured foods were…

A patient with pica and Lennox Gastaut syndrome suddenly refused oral intake. Neck radiographs revealed no foreign body. Barium swallow identified an irregular filling defect in the cervical esophagus. Esophagoscopy showed a gold ball-like object (half a lemon) 3 cm distal to the cricopharyngeus. This object had to be removed by esophagotomy after…

The mission of the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) is to reduce the burden of mental and behavioral disorders through research, and eating disorders embody an important fraction of this burden. Although past and current research has provided important knowledge regarding the etiology, classification, pathophysiology, and treatment of…

Discusses body image among adolescents, explaining that today's adolescents are more prone to body image distortions and dissatisfaction than ever and examining the historical context; how self-image develops; normative discontent; body image distortions; body dysmorphic disorder (BDD); vulnerability of boys (muscle dysmorphia); who is at risk;…

Describes anorexia and bulimia, two eating disorders that affect adolescent females more frequently than males. Discusses causes, effects, and treatments of these two eating disorders. Describes what teachers can do to identify students with these disorders and help those who suffer from them. (PKP)

Objectified body consciousness (OBC)--the tendency to view oneself as an object to be looked at and evaluated by others--has received recent attention as a possible vulnerability factor for depression and disordered eating. Although OBC generally is discussed in developmental terms, extant research has examined primarily the experiences of…

This paper discusses the role of automatic negative reinforcement in the maintenance of clinical problems. Following a brief introduction to the functional conceptualization of clinical problems and discussion of four classes of reinforcement maintaining clinical problems, the paper suggests that automatic negative reinforcement is an understudied…

This brief discusses diet, exercise, body image, and weight and also provides information for practitioners on how to measure these factors among youth in their program. It summarizes (1) what it means to be overweight; (2) what are body image and eating disorders; (3) what to do if you suspect that someone in your program is suffering from an…