Amazon.com: Eating, Drinking, Overthinking: The Toxic Triangle of Food, Alcohol, and Depression--and How Women Can Break Free: Susan Nolen-Hoeksema: Books

From Publishers Weekly
Nolen-Hoeksema (Women Who Think Too Much) presents a theory that women who battle eating disorders, alcohol abuse and depression are really suffering from a single disorder for which she has coined the term "toxic triangle." The author claims to be among the first to recognize this (most experts, she says, choose one as the cause of the other two), but doesn't offer anything beyond her own observations as proof that this is true. The book's main strength is its excellent exploration of the impact of all three problems, individually and collectively, on women's lives. Eating disorders, alcohol abuse and depression affect women's relationships, careers, health and put them at risk for assault. Nolen-Hoeksema helps readers make sense of their past experiences and the genetic influences that can also make a difference, perhaps leading to a better understanding of their behavior. But she flounders between writing a clinical dissertation and penning a self-help book meant to guide readers to a solution. She constantly switches voices, speaking directly to the reader at some points and talking about the reader at others. Nolen-Hoeksema makes a provocative argument, but the book's lack of clinical research and cohesive narrative make it a tough sell. (Jan.)
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Praise for Women Who Think Too Much:
“Groundbreaking research… Women Who Think Too Much tells why overthinking occurs, why it hurts people and how to stop.” –USA Today

--This text refers to the Audio CD edition.

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Product Details

Paperback: 272 pages
Publisher: Holt Paperbacks (December 26, 2006)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0805082603
ISBN-13: 978-0805082609
Product Dimensions: 8.7 x 5.6 x 0.8 inches
Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)

Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (8 customer reviews)

Amazon.com Sales Rank: #88,936 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)
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#69 in Books > Health, Mind & Body > Self-Help > Eating Disorders
#75 in Books > Health, Mind & Body > Disorders & Diseases > Eating Disorders

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JILL ISN'T DISEASED but she has entered a perilous zone where millions of women every year find themselves trapped. Read the first page

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	5% buy Women Who Worry Too Much: How to Stop Worry & Anxiety from Ruining Relationships, Work, & Fun 4.8 out of 5 stars (6) $10.85
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41 of 42 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Stuff from a Great Psychologist, January 26, 2006

By	Craig D. Wilcox "HRH Program Author" (Denver, CO USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Eating, Drinking, Overthinking: The Toxic Triangle of Food, Alcohol, and Depression--and How Women Can Break Free (Hardcover)

When I saw that Susan Nolen-Hoeksema had a new book out, I had to take a look. Dr. Nolen-Hoeksema is well known to me from studying the biology and psychology of depression about ten years ago.

She has done research on "ruminative thinking", which she describes as "the tendency to respond to distress by focusing on the causes and consequences of your problems, without moving into active problem-solving." To put it more plainly-and less appetizingly-ruminative thinkers chew on thoughts excessively, like a cow chewing its cud.

Overthinking in this way can lead, in turn, to excess depression and anxiety. Then, to feel better, ruminators turn to food and alcohol. And then the process starts over, as overthinking about the overeating and drinking can occur.

Nolen-Hoeksema, along with a number of other eminent psychologists, has found that women suffer through this type of thinking at a much higher rate than men, which is at least partly responsible for women having double the rates of depression than men.

Since a lot of people are just getting over-or not getting over-the "holiday blues", I thought her book might provide particularly helpful advice for starting off the New Year. And after reading through the main premises of the book, I must say I was happy to have taken the time. Though the book is meant for women, it's also possible for men to suffer through this "toxic triangle" of eating, drinking, and overthinking, so I can recommend it to anyone who feels they may go through this damaging process, which puts tremendous strain on our bodies and can lead to heart disease, diabetes, and other disorders.

The most interesting piece of the puzzle for me is how overthinking can start a very physical stress process. Early in her career, Nolen-Hoeksema wrote many papers with Martin Seligman on the phenomenon of "explanatory style". This relates to how people explain positive or negative events to themselves.

Pessimists largely believe that they are primarily responsible for the bad things that happen to them, that it won't ever change, and that it applies to everything they do. Optimists believe the bad thing that happen to them are other people's fault, that it will go away quickly, and that the event is isolated and doesn't bleed over into other areas of their lives.

And for positive occurrences, the exact opposite happens. Pessimists believe other people had more of a role than they did, that it's short-lived, and that it won't happen to them again. Optimists believe they were directly responsible for the positive occurrence, that it will occur every time, and that it is an indication of the fact that they're good at just about everything.

With a pessimistic explanatory style and a ruminant thinking personality, the "pity party" just goes on and on and starts to relate to every area of a life. Nolen-Hoeksema presents stream of consciousness ruminations that most people can relate to by starting with a particular, isolated problem and blowing it up to be a life consuming weakness.

With her long history as an experimental psychologist, she shows exactly how this can lead to overeating and excessive drinking quite easily. She provides a mental model of how this happens that is perfectly matched to the current biological mechanisms believed to cause these harmful binges.

One of the weaknesses of books by long-time psychologists is that they are heavy on the problems and light on the solutions. This offering by Nolen-Hoeksema makes a great attempt to shed light on some solutions; however, more could be done.

The first step in any recovery, though, is to recognize that a problem exists-in this case, a misdirected and harmful thinking pattern. And Nolen-Hoeksema very clearly shows how to recognize the overthinking problem. I highly recommend the book for those who think (over overthink) that they may have this affliction.

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21 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Book For Women Who Suffer In Silence, January 30, 2006

By	Lisa Angelettie "GirlShrink" (Philadelphia, PA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Eating, Drinking, Overthinking: The Toxic Triangle of Food, Alcohol, and Depression--and How Women Can Break Free (Hardcover)

I love the fact that this book was written and done so well. This subject is very dear to me - as I am a product of a family of women who suffered from this toxic triangle. The legacy was simply passed down from generation to generation. It was a hard thing to watch - and was a major reason why I chose to be a therapist.

What I love about this book is that it addresses the very issues that many women who suffer from "depression" rarely hear when they go for counseling or read the common depression literature out there. There is usually a combination of abuse - a deadly team of alcohol, food and despair. Not just despair. And they are all interrelated and play off of each other in the most horrible way.

Not one member of my family has yet been able to break free from this bermuda triangle. Its such a waste of time. Months, years, a whole lifetime will go by and you don't know where it went. If this is you - this book will serve as a valuable resource to direct you towards solutions. It's well done. Very thought out and chock full of valuable information. I highly recommend it.

Lisa, "GirlShrink"

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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Eating, Drinking, Overthinking, July 16, 2007

By	Tami Brady "Whole Health Therapist" (Calgary, Canada) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER) (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Eating, Drinking, Overthinking: The Toxic Triangle of Food, Alcohol, and Depression--and How Women Can Break Free (Hardcover)

The author calls the cycle the Toxic Triangle. Many women spend all week carefully keeping themselves in check. They work hard at their jobs all day making sure that they don't say or do the wrong thing. After work, they continue to control their actions by only choosing healthy food in just the right quantities and abstaining from alcohol.

By Thursday or Friday, however, the frustration, pressure, and cravings becomes too much. These same controlled seemingly put together women decide to just have one glass of wine to unwind or just a few potato chips. This simple action starts a chain of excess which is turn fuels the desire to control which turns into a never-ending cycle.

Eating, Drinking, Overthinking brings this cycle of self abuse to light showing women what they are really doing to themselves, likely without even knowing it. The author uncovers the real reasons behind these actions and shows woman healthy ways that they can deal with both their emotions and their unreal expectations of themselves.

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Escaping the toxic triangle
In her highly readable book, Susan Nolen-Hoeksema illuminates the risks that render women especially vulnerable to the "toxic triangle" of binge eating/drinking and... Read more

Published 11 months ago by Deb

5.0 out of 5 stars Insightful but does not apply to all
I really enjoyed reading this book not only because it was well-written, but because it seems to put these three disorders into perspective as they can be linked to one another... Read more

Published 11 months ago by Miss Kitty

5.0 out of 5 stars Over Everything!
This is the absolutely best & most informative book I have EVER read!!! This book is a must!!! I'm the Queen of self-help books & this book says it all. Read more

Published 17 months ago by Margaret M. Traina

5.0 out of 5 stars Help Really Is At Hand
Susan Nolen-Hoeksema has provided an informative and encouraging text book on her subject of the toxic triangle. Read more

Published on February 1, 2007 by K. Roberts

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent insight for the intelligent reader
Loved this book, I have not read the author's first book, but that did not present any problems. Susan Nolen-Hoeksema offers some very plausible reasons for overeating/drinking... Read more

Published on July 4, 2006 by T. Cero

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