ivers, always sensitive to the needs of others (Whitaker, 1989, p. 118). For certain vulnerable students who function rather rigidly, the sudden availability of new choices and options may feel unbearable and unmanageable. This type of student may not trust the sorority big sisters or resident hall RA's and turn their negative feelings upon themselves. Students from small communities may feel lost on campus. Women who have used and learned to abuse food since the crib and highchair days learn to misread their bodies' signals and without therapy or education easily reach for food as a substitute for love, rather than making new friends (Whitaker, 1989, p. 119). In a larger sense, the young female student has not observed others handle stress in a mature way, so she experiences loss of self-esteem and automatically seeks a safe emotional outlet which has brought her relief in the past - food. Many college women who seek counseling for assistance with eating disorders have problems in their relationships with their mothers. These students experience dependency conflicts, a diminished sense of individuality, beliefs about personal ineffectiveness, qualities of distrust and immaturity, and an inability to distinguish between emotion and hunger Friedlander & Siegel, 1990, p. 77). The difficulty in determining whether she is hungry or lonely, hungry or tired, hungry or afraid, greatly increases the chance that such a student will eat instead of meeting the emotional need in a healthier way. The young female student with eating problems feels worthless and inadequate. She has a poor sense of personal control. She may be hypersensitive and feel merged with others. She is unable to regulate herself and may be grandiose, exhibitionistic, even tyrannical. This type of student likely comes from a dysfunctional background, one in which individual differentiation is not valued or promoted. It is unfortunate that the eating disorder serves to further...
