Eating disorders vary in severity from developmental difficulties in adolescence which may be transitory, to serious and chronic mental illnesses. The Anorexic Mind offers a coherent approach to these difficult and demanding problems, always underlining the point that while many of the manifestations are physical, eating disorders have their origins as well as their solutions, in the mind. While anorexia nervosa may be considered the central syndrome in eating disorders, this book also considers how it links and differs from bulimia nervosa, the more common, related disorder. In the process of the research on anorexia and bulimia, valuable insights have been gained into the very common problem of overeating. The author takes a developmental approach to eating disorders, and is very aware of the continuities between infantile, adolescent and adult experience. Our earliest relationship is a feeding relationship and feeding difficulties early in life are not rare.