Eating Disorders – 7 Deeper Insights to Consider

I just returned from a teaching excursion to the Big Apple – my hometown of New York City. The Institute sponsored two evening presentations – The Future of Nutrition was our first event that sold out and was so well received by many of our old friends and new followers. It was a great experience for me to walk to the edge and peer into the future of where I see the field of nutrition heading. I think it’s imperative that we envision the future of nutrition as a way to help create the nutritional universe that we’re all hoping to live in. If this is a topic that inspires you, I’d love for you to join us for our full day event in NYC on July 22nd 2012 – The Soul of Metabolism.

Our second event was Women, Sex and Food. This presentation was a sell-out as well, and I co-taught it with our Chief Operating Officer and senior teacher, Emily Rosen. Talk about a juicy topic! Emily and I gave a lively presentation and spearheaded a fascinating conversation with participants. The connection between women, sexuality and eating is deep and powerful and just plain interesting, and it’s high time that this conversation has some airtime and attention. It was also a great experience to co-teach this topic and bring in the perspectives of both a male and female presenter. If you missed the lecture, consider attending our full day workshop – July 21^st 2012- on this same topic.

Yet another fun update – I’ve been invited to Turkey to speak at their national wellness day and other related events in and around the Istanbul area. This is a country that’s been towards the top of my “must visit” list for a long while. As part of my being a wellness ambassador from the USA on behalf of the Turks, I’m being interviewed in Turkish Vogue Magazine. It surprised me that the magazine and it’s readership are extremely interested in eating disorders  – what these are all about, why we have them, and how to treat them.

Of course, this got me thinking about eating disorders – no matter what country we’re talking about, and had me summing up some observations and postulations that I’ve come to over the years. So, here are some of the thoughts I shared with Vogue magazine in Turkey around eating disorders that I believe are relevant and worth considering, and that I’d love to share with you:

Eating Disorders – 7 Deeper Insights to Consider

1. Eating Disorders are far more than someone just having a “big problem with food.” Eating disorders are the body’s hidden language that’s letting us know that something important is happening in our inner world.
2. Eating Disorders are the wisdom of life speaking through our relationship with food – a wisdom that’s asking us to look deeper to see what the real issues are. These could be any combination of numerous possibilities – lack of connection, low self esteem, feelings of being betrayed, hopelessness, inability to express one’s true emotions, fear of life, hatred of self, anger at a loved one, disappointment, unexpressed creative potential, undigested life experience, and so much more.
3. Eating Disorders need to be listened to. They are asking us to be radically curious. They are calling us to wonder, to question, to be open, to think originally, and to be humble to the human experience.
4. An eating disorder is not merely a personal problem that belongs to particular people. Eating disorders are a collective challenge that originates in the world, in culture, in media, in family systems, and social and religious beliefs. In other words millions of people having an eating disorder is not an “individual problem.” Eating disorders, no matter who has one, belong to all of us.
5. Eating Disorders are asking us to examine how we communicate with one another around food, weight, beauty, value, attractiveness, sexuality, health, spirituality, and so much more.
6. Eating Disorders are more than a problem. They are a solution. They are strategies that in a fascinating way, create a balance, an outlet for suffering and confusion, a symbolic way for people to begin to unwind the deeper challenges that are churning within. In other words, if someone has an eating disorder – they have a great reason for it.
7. And lastly, despite how things seem on the surface, eating disorders are here to help us heal, to grow, and to evolve.