• Building Self-Esteem: A Lifelong Journey
• The Healing Power of a Journal
• Eating Disorder Guidelines: Can you shield your child from an eating disorder?
• Dear Dr. B.: Concern About Husband's Porn Magazines
• Calendar of Upcoming Events

by Caren Kenney

Keeping a journal or diary can be a great way to deal with difficult problems and emotions, such as anxiety, stress, anger, and sadness. It provides a safe way to get in touch with your feelings about yourself, experiences in your life, and others. It also allows you to review your thoughts at a later time to help you gain a better perspective on your feelings and the world around you.

• Thoughts
• Feelings and emotions
• Experiences and observations
• Worries and fears
• Hopes and dreams

How to Begin

You can choose to write in a bound or loose-leaf journal or use an online journal, such as the one offered by MySelfHelp.com. If possible, pick a quiet time and place where there are no distractions, so you have a better chance of getting in touch with how you are really feeling. Some days, you may just have a sentence or two, while on other days the words may flow on and on. Don’t try to force it – just allow it to happen.

Protect Your Privacy

If you don’t want anyone to read your journal entries, be sure to keep them under lock and key if they are on paper, or password protected if using an online journal.

The Next Step

Putting your worries and problems into words is an important first step in dealing with difficulties in your life. If you are struggling with issues that seem too difficult to resolve on your own, make an appointment with a therapist, who can help you address them. You may even want to share some of your journal entries with your therapist.

Writing can give you a better understanding of how you are really feeling, and provides a safe way to express your emotions and begin the healing process.

by the Genetics of Anorexia Nervosa Consortium staff

Elementary schools dish out nutrition advice. Sesame Street’s Cookie Monster now eats broccoli. Even YM magazine offers girls a quiz to test their “fast-food restaurant smarts.” These are messages that many need to hear; the number of obese adolescents has doubled over the past 30 years. But experts who treat and study eating disorders say that the increased emphasis on eating, exercise, and weight could be an extra trigger for those already at risk for disorders such as anorexia nervosa or bulimia nervosa.

“I see the war on obesity as being a good war for us to fight. But we also have to be aware that excessive dieting and exercise, for some, is going to be a mistake,” says Craig Johnson, Ph.D. “Families that have specific risk factors for eating disorders really need to be alert to how this war on obesity is affecting their child.” Maria LaVia, M.D. agrees. “We’re dealing with a population that is overweight and becoming more overweight. How can you be responsible about educating those children without triggering eating disorders?” she asks. “That’s where we really don’t have good evidence yet.”

Who is at risk? Studies have shown that children with a family history of eating disorders have an increased risk of developing one themselves. Cynthia Bulik, Ph.D. and others have shown with studies of identical and fraternal twins that eating disorders do have a genetic component. In one study of anorexia in 2,163 female twins, Bulik and colleagues found that genes accounted for 58 percent of the risk for developing anorexia nervosa. In a similar study of bulimia, the researchers found that the heritability of that disorder was around 59 percent.

But genes and environment work together. “Having a genetic vulnerability for any illness doesn’t mean you’re going to get it,” says Allan Kaplan, M.D. “The environment has to be conducive to bringing the vulnerability out.”

Today, that environment includes the media’s “unrealistically thin images of women, which result in a great deal of body dissatisfaction,” Johnson says. Kaplan adds, “I think the goal of a parent is to buffer what in large part is a noxious societal influence on a child.”

The causes of eating disorders are complex, and no one tactic is guaranteed to prevent them. But there are things parents can do to protect their children. Five experts who treat and study eating disorders— Cynthia Bulik, Ph.D., Maria LaVia, M.D., Craig Johnson, Ph.D., Michael Strober, Ph.D., and Allan Kaplan, M.D.—offered their advice, then voted to determine the following guidelines.

The Guidelines

1. Model healthy fitness and nutrition behaviors by striving to feel good, not to achieve a certain appearance.
2. Help your children feel good about themselves no matter what they achieve.
3. Remember that dieting is not an innocent behavior—it alters neurochemistry.
4. Intervene rapidly through expert consultation when dieting appears extreme and increasingly compulsive.
5. Take off the blinders and be objective about any changes in behavior or eating habits.
6. Encourage self expression, verbalization of emotions, and independent thought and action wherever and whenever possible.
7. Have an open door policy of talking with your child about everything.
8. Encourage eating all foods in moderation, rather than labeling particular foods "good" or "bad."
9. Discourage extreme perfectionism and exactness in everyday activities.
10. Encourage a balanced lifestyle with attention to play, relaxation, work, relationships, and spirituality.
11. Address family conflicts and sources of strain openly and honestly.

If you know of families with two or more relatives who have or had anorexia and who might be interested in joining the Genetics of Anorexia Nervosa project, please contact: 1-888-895-3886 or edresearch@upmc.edu or www.angenetics.org.

Dear Dr. B.:

My husband has always kept a collection of porn magazines on the top shelf of his closet- nothing violent or perverted, but lots of pretty explicit pictures. Those pictures did nothing for me, but I didn't care if they turned him on - and our love life was okay. Since our kids came along (Eric is five, Sally is three) I have started to feel differently. I'm uncomfortable about how women are presented. Who would want their daughter in one of those magazines? I am also scared that one of the kids might come across those pictures at an impressionable age. These feelings built up little by little, until one day a few months ago I told my husband we needed to get rid of his magazines. My husband got red in the face, and looked upset. He told me I was overreacting and then he clammed up. Since then, we haven't discussed it any further. Even though he probably disagrees, I still think we should get rid of the magazines. What do you think?

- Jane W.

Dear Jane;

You have every right to be concerned about exposing young children to pornographic materials. Exposure to pornographic images can frighten kids and stimulate them inappropriately. Porn is seldom if ever about sexuality in the context of loving relationships. Instead, pornography often portrays negative attitudes and damaging sex role stereotypes, which can cause kids to become misinformed and confused about sexuality. Most of the content is particularly degrading to women. Adults may realize it's just for fun, but kids will not. Neither you nor your husband would want your kids getting their sex education from pornography.

Please note: These comments are not offered as a criticism of your husband's enjoyment of sexually explicit materials. The issue is only whether you are putting your kids at risk by having these materials in the house. Unless the magazines are literally under lock and key, you should assume that eventually your kids will get access to these materials without your permission. Moreover, you may never even know if your kids find the magazines, since they surely won't want to tell you. Think back to when you were a kid - didn't you know where secret hiding places were in the house, and what was hidden in them? Your kids will soon reach the age where they are completely familiar with the entire contents of your house. In fact, in their explorations, they will turn up things you completely forgot you owned. So unless you have a locked storage area available, once your kids reach school age, it is wise not to keep pornographic materials in the house.

Send your questions for Dr. B. to info@myselfhelp.com. You will remain anonymous if your question is printed in an upcoming newsletter. We regret that we cannot answer every question we receive.

National Eating Disorders Association Annual Conference
September 14-16
Bethesda, MD

Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) National Conference
September 25-27
Orlando, FL

National Depression Screening Day
October 5, 2006

Alternatives 2006 Conference
October 25-29
Portland, OR

A Chance to Heal Foundation Presents -- Reclaim the True Beauty Within -- An evening in conversation with Supermodel Emme
November 8, 2006
Moore College of Art + Design
Philadelphia, PA

16th Annual Renfrew Center Foundation Conference for Professionals
November 9-12
Philadelphia, PA

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