YOU ARE NOT ALONE - A companion online community discussion board for The Mental Illness Happy Hour podcast with Paul Gilmartin

Forgive me if it has been stated & I have missed it...I'm new here! Anyone have great book suggestions for binge eating/ over eating? Maybe one that discusses childhood trauma & the relationship between the two? Thanks in advance. It's hard to find good ones that aren't just trying to sell a diet or extremely gimmicky. Thanks again,-Krystal

Hi!

Two come to mind, only one of which I can recommend:

1. The notorious "Wasted" by Myra Hornbach. It has all the triggers. I mention this with reservations, considering it is perhaps the most famous first person narrative about ED. Proceed with caution, if at all.

2. What I can recommend is the lovely, sweet, warm, and chilling (especially the end!) "Purge: Rehab Diaries" by Nicole Johns. It is a book about ED inpatient treatment, of course, but it is really about the different paths we choose. Habits are powerful indeed.

I wish I could read "Purge" again for the first time. I like to revisit it annually.

Lastly, though this book has nothing to do with ED, it is an all-time classic of The Wheels Fell Off: "Night of the Gun" by David Carr. So good.

I know it’s been months but maybe you’re still looking for something!

I struggle with BED/emotional eating too. Books that helped me:

“Health At Every Size” by Lindo Bacon
“Body Respect” also by Lindo Bacon
“Anti-Diet” by Christy Harrison
“The Body Is Not An Apology” by Sonya Renee Taylor

They don’t explicitly cover trauma-ED connections, but I found them to be very educational and I have been able to reduce my binge eating a bit by stopping the diets and restrictions. Working on leaning on emotional eating less now, it’s quite tricky.

I also found that for trauma, “The Body Keeps the Score” by Bessel A. van der Kolk, was a life-changing read for me about childhood trauma and body sensations. Particularly with my inability/avoidance of feeling body sensations and numbing with food.

Amen to that. Body keeps the score is truly a life effecting book.