Читать книгу Living FULL - Danielle Sherman-Lazar - Страница 7

Foreword

Eating disorders are frequently misunderstood. Adolescents and young adults affected by disorders such as anorexia nervosa or bulimia nervosa may struggle with self-critical thoughts and engage in potentially dangerous behaviors, without recognizing that they are living with classic symptoms of a serious psychiatric illness.

Danielle Sherman-Lazar’s Living FULL is an honest description of one woman’s battle with an eating disorder. Danielle describes the anxieties and obsessions that may have made her vulnerable to developing the pattern of food restriction and disordered eating behaviors that characterized her eating disorder, and the turning points that allowed her to achieve her recovery.

Her words are moving and authentic and reflect the loneliness of living under the cloud of illness and the liberation that comes with recognizing that eating disorders are treatable and that life without illness is possible.

As Danielle explains, eating disorders are brain-based disorders that are associated with serious medical and psychological disturbances. She sheds light on the importance of effective treatments, and the support systems, including family, that may be needed to achieve successful outcomes.

As a psychiatrist who has specialized for nearly thirty years in care for individuals with eating disorders and the study of the mechanisms underlying these conditions, I feel privileged to have played a small part in this tale of one person’s recovery. I am aware of how difficult it is to reveal the many thoughts, doubts, and secrets that contribute to the development of an eating disorder. Readers will likely find parts of themselves in Danielle’s tale, and find themselves inspired by her story of strength and resilience.

Evelyn Attia, MD

December 2017