The Body Myth Adult Women and the Pressure to be Perfect

by Maine, Margo; Kelly, Joe

• ISBN13: 9780471691587
• ISBN10: 0471691585
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2005-06-28
• Publisher: WILEY

Summary

Clinical psychologist Margo Maine has been successfully helping adult women overcome eating disorders and body image problems for over twenty years. In The Body Myth, she explains the toll these problems can take on women's lives and provides healing insights and proven techniques for reclaiming readers' lives from the debilitating belief that a woman's self-worth and her worth to others are derived from how she looks, how much she weighs, and what she eats-the Body Myth. Using poignant real-life stories, Dr. Maine explores the complex emotional, social, and cultural forces that perpetuate the Body Myth. A unique and invaluable source of information and inspiration, this breakthrough guide equips readers with the knowledge and tools to escape the clutches of the Body Myth and live a more balanced, fulfilling life.

Author Biography

MARGO MAINE, Ph.D., is cofounder of the Maine & Weinstein Specialty Group, LLC, and a clinical psychologist who has specialized in the treatment of eating disorders for more than two decades. She is a clinical consultant to and former director of the Eating Disorders Program at the Institute of Living in Hartford, Connecticut, and a Clinical Professor at the University of Connecticut Department of Psychiatry. Dr. Maine is a founder of the National Eating Disorders Association and the Academy for Eating Disorders, and she serves on the boards of the National Eating Disorders Screening Program as well as Dads and Daughters.

JOE KELLY is a journalist, activist, and author of Dads and Daughters. He won the 2004 Award for Action from the Eating Disorders Coalition.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	vii
Introduction	1	(8)
The Changing Shape of Womanhood	9	(15)
Fact versus Fiction: How Survival Shapes the Body	24	(16)
Women's Bodies, Women's Lives	40	(36)
The Shape of Eating Disorders	76	(34)
So Why Do People Do It?	110	(21)
How Family Shapes Us	131	(39)
The New Extended Family: How Culture Shapes Us	170	(23)
The Shape of Recovery	193	(24)
Thinking and Coping in New Ways	217	(17)
Embracing Our Selves	234	(23)
Appendix: Resources for Eating Disorders and Body Image Despair	257	(4)
Notes	261	(10)
Index	271