A Hunger Artist

Eating Disorders

How Anorexia Damages Our Mental Capacities

Emily T. Troscianko on May 24, 2023

The evidence about the impact of anorexia nervosa on cognitive function.

The evidence about the impact of anorexia nervosa on cognitive function.

Intelligence

Closing the Gap Between Insight and Action

Emily T. Troscianko on September 30, 2022

Certain structures, beliefs, and practicalities may make it easier to intellectually understand than to act accordingly.

Certain structures, beliefs, and practicalities may make it easier to intellectually understand than to act accordingly.

Cognition

The Gap Between Insight and Action: Causes and Responses

Emily T. Troscianko on September 29, 2022

The ease and satisfaction of interpretation and the devaluing of practical relative to intellectual change are avoidable contributors to paralysis.

The ease and satisfaction of interpretation and the devaluing of practical relative to intellectual change are avoidable contributors to paralysis.

Eating Disorders

The Gap Between Insight and Action

Emily T. Troscianko on September 27, 2022

How can we understand—and then bring to an end—the frustration and damage caused by having insight and persistently not acting on it?

How can we understand—and then bring to an end—the frustration and damage caused by having insight and persistently not acting on it?

Eating Disorders

Free Will, Restaurants, and Eating Disorders

Emily T. Troscianko on July 9, 2022

The restaurant game helps break the deadlock of exerting control and fearing losing it in eating disorder recovery, by creating experiences that are less about “me” deciding.

The restaurant game helps break the deadlock of exerting control and fearing losing it in eating disorder recovery, by creating experiences that are less about “me” deciding.

Free Will

The Restaurant Game and Free Will

Emily T. Troscianko on July 8, 2022

A Personal Perspective: Playing games with menus gives you the chance to experience making decisions differently—and even challenge your assumptions about who’s doing it.

A Personal Perspective: Playing games with menus gives you the chance to experience making decisions differently—and even challenge your assumptions about who’s doing it.

Fear

One Thing That Makes Anorexia Recovery Hard

Emily T. Troscianko on June 17, 2022

Personal Perspective: A thought experiment and a practical suggestion for taking the fat-phobia out of recovery, as a way to take the agony out of it.

Personal Perspective: A thought experiment and a practical suggestion for taking the fat-phobia out of recovery, as a way to take the agony out of it.

Self-Control

Dietary Self-Regulation: Beyond Eating Disorders

Emily T. Troscianko on January 28, 2022

How can understanding the process of relearning effective self-regulation after an eating disorder help us answer wider questions about how to eat and move well?

How can understanding the process of relearning effective self-regulation after an eating disorder help us answer wider questions about how to eat and move well?

Self-Control

Dietary Self-Regulation: Rendering Your Limits Irrelevant

Emily T. Troscianko on January 24, 2022

Practical self-assessment questions plus simple structural adjustments to help you make rigid rule-following on diet or exercise a thing of the past.

Practical self-assessment questions plus simple structural adjustments to help you make rigid rule-following on diet or exercise a thing of the past.

Self-Control

Dietary Self-Regulation, Plus or Minus Feedback

Emily T. Troscianko on January 20, 2022

Effective self-regulation—with diet, exercise, or anything else—occurs when a system is closed loop rather than open loop.

Effective self-regulation—with diet, exercise, or anything else—occurs when a system is closed loop rather than open loop.

Self-Control

Dietary Self-Regulation: Milkshakes and Dietary Restraint

Emily T. Troscianko on January 17, 2022

Milkshake pre-load experiments show what you do with ice cream when you normally don’t allow yourself milkshakes, and shows how dietary restraint impedes effective self-regulation.

Milkshake pre-load experiments show what you do with ice cream when you normally don’t allow yourself milkshakes, and shows how dietary restraint impedes effective self-regulation.

Self-Control

Dietary Self-Regulation: The All-Inclusive Resort Analogy

Emily T. Troscianko on January 14, 2022

The all-inclusive experience illuminates how systematically lifting the standard constraints lets the truly effective regulators take back over.

The all-inclusive experience illuminates how systematically lifting the standard constraints lets the truly effective regulators take back over.

Eating Disorders

Eating Meat To Recover from Anorexia: 6 Things To Try Today

Emily T. Troscianko on July 9, 2021

This veganism/vegetarianism series concludes with a 6-part process for asking yourself why you eat the way you do and what you might gain from switching something up.

This veganism/vegetarianism series concludes with a 6-part process for asking yourself why you eat the way you do and what you might gain from switching something up.

Appetite

Eating Meat To Recover from Anorexia: Nothing Is Forever

Emily T. Troscianko on July 8, 2021

Temporal absolutism (treating everything as if it were permanent) is an important maintaining factor for eating disorders, systematically preventing radical dietary change.

Temporal absolutism (treating everything as if it were permanent) is an important maintaining factor for eating disorders, systematically preventing radical dietary change.

Play

Eating Meat To Recover from Anorexia: Life Tradeoffs

Emily T. Troscianko on July 7, 2021

Remembering that tradeoffs are inevitable can be immediately reassuring as well as longer-term effective in recovery. Many goods can’t be maximized while also minimizing all harms.

Remembering that tradeoffs are inevitable can be immediately reassuring as well as longer-term effective in recovery. Many goods can’t be maximized while also minimizing all harms.

Appetite

Eating Meat To Recover from Anorexia: Acting on Appetites

Emily T. Troscianko on July 5, 2021

Reforging the direct link between appetite and action is one of recovery’s central tasks, and broadening your diet to include animal products is one efficient way to do it.

Reforging the direct link between appetite and action is one of recovery’s central tasks, and broadening your diet to include animal products is one efficient way to do it.

Diet

Eating Meat To Recover from Anorexia

Emily T. Troscianko on July 2, 2021

Full recovery from anorexia tends not to come about by accident. Dietary decisions like meat or no meat contribute at many levels to what your commitment to recovery really means.

Full recovery from anorexia tends not to come about by accident. Dietary decisions like meat or no meat contribute at many levels to what your commitment to recovery really means.

Eating Disorders

Eating Meat To Recover from Anorexia: Asking Who Benefits

Emily T. Troscianko on June 30, 2021

"Who or what really benefits?": A simple tool for checking the rationale and the consequences of our dietary principles (and any other important life choices).

"Who or what really benefits?": A simple tool for checking the rationale and the consequences of our dietary principles (and any other important life choices).

Eating Disorders

Eating Meat To Recover from Anorexia: Correlation and Cause

Emily T. Troscianko on June 29, 2021

Vegetarianism or veganism can be a contributing cause or an early effect of a restrictive eating disorder, and feedback dynamics easily kick in to maintain both.

Vegetarianism or veganism can be a contributing cause or an early effect of a restrictive eating disorder, and feedback dynamics easily kick in to maintain both.

Ethics and Morality

Eating Meat to Recover from Anorexia: The Ethics Trick

Emily T. Troscianko on June 28, 2021

The first part in a series on vegetarianism/veganism and eating disorders, mapping out the essence of the "ethics trick" that can keep people V/V who really shouldn't be.

The first part in a series on vegetarianism/veganism and eating disorders, mapping out the essence of the "ethics trick" that can keep people V/V who really shouldn't be.