the process of thinking. David Burns argues, with much success, that this thinking pattern must change before anything else. He also shows the tremendous success that it can provide in healing all kind of psychological disorders. (Burns, pp.383-405) To be sure, eating disorders are very serious illnesses; they do not have easily detectable causes and they do not have easily related cures. But we do know several things that can be done. Along with making a young girl aware of her thinking, and making her be honest with herself and about her past, it is also important to clarify to her the social pressures that are sending her false messages. Education, therefore, is a must in the context of teaching that the social ideal of thinness perpetuated in Western society is distorted and flawed. It is not connected to human nature and it is not connected to reality. Once young women become aware that there is nothing wrong with their own personal body image, a significant amount can be done on this issue. More than anything else, we need to find compassion and understanding for the victims of eating disorders. While we work on helping these individuals, we must also fight the social forces that objectify and exploit female body image to the disadvantage of not only women, but of all humanity. No one profits if one half of the human race is being held under attack by socially constructed body images that are rooted in morbid intent and infantile fantasy....
