Man Up to Eating Disorders

As a recovered binge eater and seasoned eating disorder therapist, Andrew Walen offers a unique male perspective on living with an eating disorder, recovering from it and finding peace and fulfillment in life, love and food.

The first section begins with the development of his eating disorder and body loathing in childhood and continues with the full blossom of anorexic behavior, compulsive exercise as an adolescent and young adult, and eventually binge eating disorder in adulthood until eventually hitting rock bottom.

Section two walks through his experience in therapy, learning how to cope with the urges and identifying the roots of his destructive behavior. With professional help, he gains perspective and a new relationship with food and family.

Section three offers his perspective as a therapist treating eating disorders in men and includes many excerpts about their journey into the recovery process, how they did it and how they sustain it now.

Andrew Walen is the founder and Executive Director of The Body Image Therapy Center in Columbia, Maryland (www.thebodyimagecenter.com). He is a psychotherapist specializing in eating disorders, substance abuse, body image, anxiety and depression, self-harm, and self-esteem. He is an active author, speaker, and advocate on these issues. Mr. Walen currently serves on the board of directors for the National Association for Males with Eating Disorders (NAMED). He was also a founding board member of the Binge Eating Disorder Association (BEDA). He has appeared on The Today Show, was featured in The New York Times, and interviewed on television and radio stations in the Baltimore/DC area as an expert in the field of eating disorders. In addition, he has authored numerous articles and presented workshops on eating disorders, body image disturbance, and binge eating disorder. Mr. Walen is a magna cum laude graduate of the University of Tennessee College of Social Work in Nashville. He also is a published singer/songwriter and performs regionally (www.andrewwalen.com).