Black or White

As a psychologist, I’m quick to point out all-or-nothing thinking – the kind of thought pattern that polarizes things into categories of good and bad or, really, any two camps – without leaving room for the middle ground.

So, it may come as a surprise to hear me say that I think professionals and products and plans are either recovery-oriented or not – but I do.

If a therapist is advertising her treatment program, designed to curb overeating, as a tool for weight-loss, I don’t see her as recovery-oriented. Part of the reason that people overeat is due to the diet mentality. If a yoga instructor promotes the slimming effects of her teaching, I don’t see her as recovery-oriented (or as the kind of yogi whose teachings I’m interested in following). If a health coach is helping people recover from disordered eating by prescribing a particular meal plan, I don’t see her as recovery-oriented. And if a food company is selling a product designed to tame cravings or cure stubborn belly fat, I don’t see this company as recovery-oriented.

We live in a diet-centric, disordered world. And I know it’s reductionistic, but people are either buying into this mentality or working really hard to challenge it. And you can’t be promoting recovery unless you’re actively challenging our nation’s fixation on weight and shape.

So there it is, in black-and-white terms: you’re either part of the problem or part of the solution. Pick a side.

You can find Does Every Woman Have an Eating Disorder? Challenging Our Nation’s Fixation with Food and Weight on Amazon (as a paperback and Kindle) and at BarnesandNoble.com.