New book to be released soon.

Here's the link to my new book on Amazon.

http://www.amazon.com/Hungry-Ecstasy-Trauma-Influence-Sixties/dp/0765708582

 

 

 

 

Naso-gastric feeding tube for weight loss? A recipe for an eating disorder.

Some of you may have read about the weight-loss diet one Florida physician is prescribing for women who want to lose weight in time for their wedding, using naso-gastric feeding tubes to monitor and regulate their nutritional intake . You can read about it here:

http://gma.yahoo.com/k-e-diet-brides-using-feeding-tubes-rapidly-080053646--abc-news-health.html

This is shocking because it is medically dangerous. For a physician to pander in this way to the desire of women obsessed with wanting to lose weight is unscrupulous, unethical, and medically dangerous. Unfortunately too many people are so obsessed that they will do anything for fast and easy weight loss. They will have weight loss surgery because it is being touted as they only reliable means of weight loss for those who are morbidly obese. What they are not informed about are the disasters resulting from weight loss surgery, which include drinking problems in those who never had a drinking problem before, self-induced vomiting in those who never did this before, and even anorexia, depression and suicide attempts. All of these are documented in the scientific literature.I had written about this years ago at www.gastricbypass.netfirms.com/wlspsyche.htm

Naso-gastric feeding tubes are used in hospital settings for patients who cannot or will not eat, to prevent them from wasting away and dying of starvation, a very real and necessary use for naso-gastric feeding tubes. To prescribe a naso-gastric feeding tube for someone who is desperate enough to use it to lose weight is a recipe for an eating disorder.. Eating disorders are potentially life-threatening. Physicians take an oath to "above all, do no harm." This doctor is doing harm.

New book being released

I have not been tending to my blog very well because in addition to my practice, preparations for having my new book published have taken over my life, due to circumstnces beyond my control. Getting my first book published was a piece of cake compared to this, which was blood , sweat, and tears. But it will be published on or around June 1. The title is Hungry for Ecstasy: Trauma, The Brain, and the Influence of the Sixties.

Writing this book was quite an adventure, taking me to places I never would have imagined. It was written not only for mental health professionals but for the intelligent reader interested in knowing more about how the mind works and about what is happening today under the radar in our culture.

Here's what it says on Amazon.com about it:

Hungry for Ecstasy: Trauma, The Brain, and the Influence of the Sixties by Sharon Klayman Farber explores the hunger for ecstatic experience that can lead people down the road to self-destruction. In an attempt to help mental health professionals and concerned individuals understand and identify the phenomenon and ultimately intervene with patients, friends, and loved ones, Farber discusses the different paths taken on the road to ecstatic states. Hungry for Ecstasy explores not only the neuroscientific processes involved but also the influence of the sixties in driving people to seek these states. Finally, Farber draws from her own personal and professional experience to advise others how to intervene on behalf of the person whose behavior puts his or her life at risk.

Why Getting a New Handbag Makes Me Crazy

I don’t think men will understand this. Women will. I finally broke down and bought a new handbag.The old one had gotten shabby after using it so long. It was time. Each time I look for something in it, it is like learning to walk all over again. I know the old one’s sections and compartments like my own body. I know whereto find whatever I’m looking for. With the new one, it’s like being a stranger in a strange land. I don’t know where anything is.I hope my brain gets used to it soon.

New Stalking Presentation

Mental health professionals are more likely to be stalked than the average person but we receive little or no training in the concept of stalking or its management. I was stalked by a patient for ten months. and learned this the hard way. The experience is forever engraved in my brain. If I am stalked again, I will know better what to do. I want to tell you what I have learned so that you will not have to go through what I did. Mental health professionals can learn why the nature of our work can invite being stalked by a patient, and what we can do to stop it when it occurs, and some tips to prevent it.

I will be doing a presentation on this subject on Saturday, May 7 2011 from 8am-4 pm at the New York State Society for Clinical Social Workers Annual conference, held at The Nightingale-Bamford School, 20 East 92 Street, New York, NY 10128. T

THE MULTIPLE DIMENSIONS OF NARCISSISM AND HOW TO SURVIVE THEM

My presentation will be held from 1:45 to 3:45 pm.

I may well be offering a teleseminar on this subject at some future time. If you would be interested in this, please send me an email at Sharonkfarber@gmail.com to let me know

My New Book--Hungry for Ecstasy

I have a new book that will be published this year, Hungry for Ecstasy: Trauma, the Brain, and the Influence of the Sixties.It is about people who cannot live comfortably in their own skin, who look for ways to get out of it, often taking life-threatening risks along the way to attain a state of ecstasy.You 'll read about just what kind of state of mind ecstasy is,the difference between the quieter ecstatic states, mystical states that are not sought but come to one nonetheless, and the more frenzied ecstasies that are sought. You'l read about the various means by which people get there, and my speculations on what happens in the brain along the way. You'll read about religious ecstasies, ecstasies of pain, murder and other ecstasies from hell, and creative ecstasies. You can also read about what you can do to deter someone you know who is on this dangerous addictive path, whether they your friend, family member, patient or cllient. The last chapter is specifically for psychotherapists.

Stalking As An Occupational Hazard of Psychotherapists

Mental health professionals are more likely to be stalked than the average person but we receive little or no training in the concept of stalking or its management. I was stalked by a patient for ten months. and learned this the hard way. The experience is forever engraved in my brain. If I am stalked again, I will know better what to do. I want to tell you what I have learned so that you will not have to go through what I did. Mental health professionals can learn why the nature of our work can invite being stalked by a patient, and what we can do to stop it when it occurs, and some tips to prevent it.

I will be doing a presentation on this subject on Saturday, October 3, 2009 at the Westchester Chapter of the Clinical Social Work Society. It meets at the Mental Health Association, 29 Sterling Avenue, White Plains, NY. It is open to mental health professionals. The meeting starts at 10. My presentation will start at 10:30.There is no charge.