Suzanne Manser, PhD

Licensed Psychologist

Eating Disorders

“Food is not the enemy. Self-hate is.”

— TheLoveYourselfChallenge.Tumblr

Eating Disorders include Anorexia, Bulimia, and Binge Eating Disorder. People with eating disorders use food as a coping strategy – what they eat, how much they eat, and how they approach food and their body become their way of managing emotional pain. These behaviors feel crucial to their sense of feeling secure in the world.

Understanding Eating Disorders

Eating disorders are challenging for many people to understand. The misperception is that it should be easy to let go of an eating disorder. In reality, even when a person wants to be rid of it, there is a lot keeping the eating disorder in place. It is much more complex than it seems to be.

Anorexia

Anorexia Nervosa is a serious, potentially life-threatening eating disorder characterized by significant restriction of food intake, excessive weight loss, and a strong fear of gaining weight or being fat.

Bulimia

Bulimia Nervosa is a serious, potentially life-threatening eating disorder characterized by a cycle of bingeing and compensatory behaviors such as self-induced vomiting, fasting, or overexercising.

Binge Eating Disorder

Binge Eating Disorder is characterized by recurrent binge eating without the regular use of compensatory measures to counter the binge.

Body Image

Body image is how you see your body at this particular moment. How you see your body and how others see your body are often not the same.