73. Food and Desire with Dr. Judith Brisman

Understanding Disordered Eating

When you feel like bingeing or restricting “just happens,” how do you begin to uncover how you got there… so you can take steps to make it stop?

Believe it or not, an eating disorder has a purpose.

That purpose might be to manage emotions that feel intolerable, whether that’s anger, sadness, or yes, even desire. But how do you begin to name WHAT you’re feeling, and resolve it? How would you even recognize desire as something that’s playing out in food for you? Dr. Judith Brisman and I got to talk about exactly that today.

Dr. Judith Brisman opened the first center in the country for bulimia. She is known for taking a psychoanalytic approach with eating disorders, and for writing a book for the family and friends of those struggling with eating disorders entitled Surviving an Eating Disorder: Strategies for Families and Friends. In addition to discussing how eating disorders relate to desire, she also gives us some insight into Family-Based Treatment and how families can seek help to support their child suffering from an eating disorder.

Tweetable Quotes

“Families all get into patterns, some of which work, some of which don’t work. An eating disorder in the family is an opportunity to say, okay, what might need to be changed right now? What might need to be inspected?” – Dr. Judith Brisman

“We don’t just see a parent in their role, and a child in their role; we see everybody in their roles, and how the dynamics come together.” – Rachelle Heinemann

“Knowing [your emotions and patterns] allows for choice.” – Dr. Judith Brisman

“It’s not so important to identify the cause of the eating disorder… maybe it’s interesting, but that's not going to end all or be the key… it’s more about what’s happening today, the identification, and what choice that provides.” – Rachelle Heinemann

Resources

Dr. Judith Brisman’s Website

Surviving an Eating Disorders: Strategies for Families and Friends

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