Stalking the Feast Beast (click link at left to read paper) ... synopsis below
This paper discusses the use of Rational Recovery (RR) as a counseling technique in treating people who feel fat, particularly women. Fatness is viewed as a philosophy, not a physical condition. Cultural influences defining and stressing ideal femininity come down hard on women whose physiques or appearances do not measure up. RR gives people simple information and then encourages people to take responsibility for independently solving their own problems. Recovery from fatness may be achieved by learning dietary discipline. The Addictive Voice Recognition Technique (AVRT) is a stand-alone method for losing weight on any well-chosen diet. In RR the sole cause of food addiction is the Addictive Voice, called the Feast Beast, which is of mid-brain origin, animal-like, and survival oriented. The AVRT proposes that instead of being "in denial," overeaters are of two minds about eating. Among addicted people, the Addictive Voice is dominant, while the "true self" is a faint background awareness. AVRT helps people dissociate from the Addictive Voice through the use of intelligence, self-monitoring, dissociation, and neocortical authority. RR does not encourage a one-day-at-a-time struggle toward a weight goal, rather it encourages a permanent plan for eating correctly, "I will never eat incorrectly." (JBJ)
