Background: Health care professionals are often confronted with and confounded by the complexity of the hunger experience as it manifests in both the physiology and psychology of the individual struggling with an eating disorder. This lively, interactive presentation presents current research on the multi-dimensional nature of hunger as well as clinical applications for addressing this significant aspect of eating disorder treatment. It will explore the process of “mind-body hungering”, with its interplay of neuroscience, physical sensations, behaviorally conditioned experiences, and interfering factors; and will describe the passageway towards effectively nourishing multi-dimensional hungers through developing mind-body hunger mastery and new neural pathways.
Objectives: Upon completion of this presentation, participants will be able to: 1.) List at least 2 different types of hunger 2.) Name at least 2 influencing factors related to the experience of “hungering” 3.) Describe at least 1 skill area involved in the development of mind-body hunger mastery
- Types of Hungers
- Experience of Hungering
II) Nourishing Hungers
- Simple Nourishment
- Interrupted Nourishment
III) The Research
- Classic Grounded Theory
- Data Collection & Analysis
- Theoretical Models
IV) Hunger Confusion
- Cognitive Interference
- Emotional Interference
- Family Influence
- Environmental Influence
V) Hunger Suffering
- Food Use
- Body Image Disturbance
- Weight Struggles
VI) Pathway Towards Mind Body Hunger Mastery
- Interoceptive Awareness, Willingness
- Social Support / Professional Guidance
- Thought Regulation, Emotion Regulation
- Structured Eating, Balanced Nutrition
VII) Clinical Applications
- Use of Metaphor and Imagery
- To Identify Types of Hunger
- To Achieve Nourishment
- To Address Body Image Issues
- Neuroscience
- Neural Correlate of Metaphor in the Brain
- Brain Wave Activity
VIII) Discussion
The challenge of the eating disorder professional is to identify, acknowledge, and address the complexities of “hungering” as a facet of recovery. Research covering the entire scope of the hunger experience is limited since hungers can include physical hunger, emotional hunger, and “soul hunger” (to name a few). These combined and intertwined hunger experiences are profoundly affected by nutrition, proprioceptive awareness, personal preferences, interpersonal relationships, thought processes, visual and olfactory cues, memories, and emotional states, in ways that can be uniquely individual.
This workshop will present a theoretical model based in Classic Grounded Theory research which posits an overarching process of mind-body “hungering”, and points to the interplay of physical sensations, neuroscience, behaviorally conditioned experiences, and internal emotional states, as well as interfering factors. It will demonstrate how to identify and effectively nourish multi-dimensional hungers, explain the neuroscience involved, and will describe the components necessary for developing the level of mind-body hunger mastery needed for recovery from disordered eating behaviors. In addition to presenting a theoretical model supported by current research literature, this didactic and experiential session will discuss the neuroscience behind the use of metaphor in developing mind-body hunger mastery and demonstrate the practical application of this model in individual and group eating disorder treatment settings through the use of storytelling, imagery, and other activities.
Anita Johnston, Ph.D, CEDS-S, is the Founder and Clinical Director of Ai Pono Hawaii Eating Disorders Residential Treatment Program in Maui. She is the author of Eating in the Light of the Moon, which has been published in six languages, several professional articles and book chapters, and is the co-creator of the Light of the Moon Café, providing online education and support. A pioneer in the field, Dr. Johnston has been working with eating disorders for over thirty-five years.
Hungering: A Classic Grounded Theory (Doctoral dissertation). Available from ProQuest Dissertations and Theses database. Executive Director, Focus Integrative Centers in Knoxville, TN (currently, since 2012) Chief Strategy Office, Focus Treatment Centers in Chattanooga, TN (currently, since 2018) Director of Program Development, Focus Treatment Centers (2011-2012) Founder and Director of Women's Way, Knoxville, TN (2007-2010) Director of Operations, America on the Move in Tennessee, University of Tennessee (2004-2007) Obesity Research Dietitian, University of Tennessee Department of Nutrition, Nutrition and Metabolic Research Clinic (2003-2004)
