ABSTRACT
According to the World Health Organization (WHO 2007, 1), mental health is dened as “a state of well-being in which the individual realizes his or her own abilities, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively and fruitfully, and is able to make a contribution to his or her community.” Thus, mental health provides “the foundation for well-being and effective functioning for an individual and for a community” (WHO 2007, 1). As part of the broad spectrum of mental health, it is essential that individuals learn how to identify and acknowledge their feelings and learn how to express their feelings appropriately. When negative emotions are blocked and not acknowledged, a person can experience anger, anxiety, frustration, and increased levels of perceived stress, thereby creating a negative mood. Furthermore, negative mood appears to interact with stress to increase preoccupation with food (Lingswiler et al. 1989). To try to avoid or cope with negative emotions and the perceived stress, young people may engage in self-destructive behaviors, including harmful dietary practices, such as self-starvation (Fox 2009; Nordbo et al. 2006), bingeing and purging, and binge eating (Eldredge and Agras 1996; Lingswiler et al. 1989; Masheb and Grilo 2006). Moreover, women with bulimia who have higher levels of perceived stress experience an increased urge to binge eat (Tuschen-Cafer and Vogele 1999). In addition, researchers have demonstrated that body dissatisfaction is inversely related to emotional expression (Geller et al. 2000, Hayaki et al. 2002, Ioannou and Fox 2009). Negative body image and body dissatisfaction have been linked to emotional distress, and studies have suggested that emotional vulnerabilities are among the salient predictors of eating disturbances (Connors 1996; Doll et al. 2005; Fox and Power 2009; Littleton and Ollendick 2003; Phares et al. 2004; Stice 2001).
