Eating, Drinking, Overthinking: The Toxic Triangle of Food, Alcohol, and Depression--and How Women Can Break Free

Susan Nolen-Hoeksema

Jul 2013 · Sold by Henry Holt and Company

About this eBook

From the author of Women Who Think Too Much, a groundbreaking book that uncovers a hidden source of depression in women today
Depression is a common and debilitating problem among women, though it rarely occurs in a vaccum. As Susan Nolen-Hoeksema's original research shows, overthinking—a tendency to ruminate on problems rather than to seek solutions—often co-exists with unhealthy eating habits and/or heavy drinking. In fact, 80 percent of women who report suffering from one of those also suffer from another. This groundbreaking book, written in a vivid narrative style that captures the complexities of women's lives today, explains how the three core problems of the Toxic Triangle reinforce one another, wreaking havoc on women's emotional well-being, physical health, relationships, and careers.
Escape is possible, Nolen-Hoeksema assures us, for those who are already aware that they suffer from a serious problem as well as for the hundreds of thousands of others who have not yet examined the role that bingeing and purging—on negative thoughts, food, or alcohol—plays in their lives. Nolen-Hoeksema shows women how to harness their emotional and interpersonal strengths to overcome the stress caused by a destructive relationship with food, alcohol, and overthinking so that they can fashion effective, healthier strategies for living the life they deserve.

Ratings and reviews

Ultimately I made it halfway through this book and that took me MONTHS. I was looking for more information on these subjects and while the author does talk about them it is really a book about case scenarios. The entire book is filled with stories about Ann or June or Peggy and how they were stressed and how they coped badly. It really isn't a self help book as much as it is an I helped them book. There's a difference. Finally I got bored with chapter after chapter of stories and no real help offered to ME

About the author

Susan Nolen-Hoeksema, PhD, is the author of the bestselling Women Who Think Too Much, Eating, Drinking, Overthinking, The Power of Women, and Women Conquering Depression. A professor of psychology at Yale University, she has conducted award-winning research on women’s mental health for twenty-five years. She and her research have been profiled on the Today show and in The New York Times. She lives in New Haven, Connecticut.