ABSTRACT
Eating disorders are, in their simplest form, a set of embodied, physical acts that function to negotiate what are perceived as overwhelming internal and external stresses and demands (Cook-Cottone, 2006, 2015a, 2015b). The intentionality, physicality, and ultimate embodiment of eating disorder symptomatology are distinct from symptoms manifest in mood, anxiety, and many other mental illnesses (American Psychiatric Association [APA], 2013). Despite broader etiology, efforts to function are narrowed to a set of physical actions designed to control the size, shape, and/or experience of the body by way of a pathological involvement with food (i.e., bingeing and restriction), pharmaceuticals (i.e., laxatives, diuretics), and exercise (APA, 2013). Since early conceptualizations, it has been understood that those who struggle lack an accurate or valid sense of themselves both in terms of the physical body and a cohesive, functional personal identity (e.g., Chernin, 1985). For clinical patients, the daily experience of the body is distorted, typical development and relationships may be altered, and mortality risk increased (Cook-Cottone, 2015b; Smink, van Hoeken, & Hoek, 2012).
