I am the type of person who wants to know everything I can about the eating disorder that has consumed my life for over 50 years. Usually, at first, my research was an attempt to prove to myself that I DID NOT have this disease. For most of us, if not all of us, we end proving to ourself that the diagnosis is correct and, yes, we do having ED. At that point, my mind turned to research for that ‘quick fix’. Sound familiar? At some point, we begin to see that there is no such thing as a ‘quick fix’; that we actually have to do some tough and very difficult work. Very frightening for most of us.
These are 4 of the books I would recommend to read for those of us who suffer from any type of eating disorder. I have read them and found them to be helpful – some of which were very helpful, some that were somewhat helpful and some just for knowledge of about our disease. The books I am now most drawn to and find the most helpful are the books that contain knowledge that help me to see how and why my body and mind work ALONG WITH tools I can use to overcome the ED.
If you choose to read or even peruse any of these books, there will be things you can relate to and things you think are pure junk. Take what you need and leave the rest. Understanding that you may not be in a place to believe at that time you are reading them what they have to say is normal. Which is why I will at times refer back to them since as I recover I may be able to be more receptive to the information presented.
For those of you who don’t like to read or struggle with actually reading, many of these books are available on Audible (my personal favorite for audiobooks). You can listen to them when falling asleep or driving somewhere. I would recommend making a mental note of where you left off before you went to sleep and set a timer for when you want to stop listening or may fall asleep so you don’t miss out of an idea that might be beneficial to you in your journey.
With some of these books there may be a workbook that goes along with the book. I would advise speaking with your professional support team before beginning any workbook. This is simply because the feelings, thoughts and emotions a workbook may bring up can be difficult for us (especially in the beginning phases of our recovery) to handle. When your professional team is aware of your work in any workbook, they will be prepared to help you deal with these uncomfortable thoughts.
Coping with BPD by Blaise Aguirre, MD & GillianGalen, PsyD
DBT & CBT skills to soothe the symptoms of Borderline Personality Disorder
I know the title shows this book is for those of us who also suffer from BPD, yet I found the entire book contains situations, feelings, thoughts and emotions that every single one of us has felt and struggled with. This is a very easy read with only 200 pages. This book is my favorite go-to book when confronted with strong situations causing equally as strong thoughts and feelings. I carry this book in my backpack where I keep my other things like my gratitude journal or templates I use to write out my thoughts when overwhelmed or stuck.
Some of the chapters that are in this book address stuff like Anger, Other Intense Emotions, Loneliness, Observing Personal Limits, Urges, Negative self-Thoughts, and Who Am I just to name a few. Within each chapter are 2 to 3 pages are different facets of each topic, so they are short, easy to read pages. Each section starts with The Problem, What It Looks Like, The practice (with short explanations of each practice and ending with a checklist of each of the practices that were discussed. Example: under the chapter on Other Intense Emotions there are pages that address the feelings of Sadness, jealousy, Guilt, Shame, Fear and Disgust.
The Body Keeps the Score by Bessel Van Der Kolk, M.D.
Brian, Mind and Body in the Healing of Trauma
This book is a much longer read. If you like to read, you may be interested in this book. It provides a lot of information on how our bodies store the physical symptoms for any trauma we have experienced during our life. Most of us with an eating disorder have experienced some sort of trauma during our lives. Some of us have experienced repeated trauma most of our lives. For me, it was an eye opener. It helped me to realize that for far too long that most of the somatic (physical) sensations I felt were a result of what I went through and greatly helped to feed the eating disorder that was consuming my life. This book does have a workbook though it is not necessary to use this in order to understand the book, the hows and whys of what we physically feel and the process of healing.
Decoding Anorexia by Carrie Arnold
How breakthroughs on Science Offer Hope for Eating Disorders
This is a book that throughly explains the hows and whys and changes of our actual brain when we become a victim of an eating disorder. It explains the neuroscience behind the changes to our brain. For me, I found this book to be interesting since I am fascinated by why our physical brain changes which make it so much more difficult to combat our disease. Having to fight our ED on 2 fronts, mental and physical changes to our brain can make it seem twice as hard. This book is very much science based. Therefore unless you are interested in that particular aspect of eating disorders this may not be the book for you.
Radical Acceptance by Tara Brach, Ph.D.
Embracing Your Life With the Heart of a Buddha
This book talks mostly about the idea of radical acceptance, which is the art of accepting what is and what has been WITHOUT JUDGEMENT. For a lot of us, we can be the most judgmental people about ourselves in our own lives. This book “shows us the way step by step to stop being at war with ourselves and begin to live fully every precious moment of our lives “. Radical Acceptance is a tool that I have found every professional tries to teach us and encourage us to use in our quest to get better, no matter the type of eating disorder we suffer from. It is also useful in every aspect of our life.
‘What is is” as I have found seems to be something the younger generation says. But how do we come to that conclusion? That is where this book can be of benefit to each of us. It is not a difficult read though it is over 300 pages.
FINAL THOUGHTS:
I know and believe that those of us who suffer from an ED of any type can beat it. It is hard work and at times feels impossible; but I am sure it is a goal that is obtainable to all of you out there.
KEEP YOUR CHIN UP! Take baby steps towards your recovery, put one foot in front of the other and know, with a capital K, you CAN do it. Even if you can’t see it now, the world needs you!
Wings of Recovery 