Book excerpt: In this book, Charles Stewart discusses how the positive affects of the life instinct such as interest and joy, and the crisis affects such as fear, anguish, rage, shame and contempt, condition and can even dissociate the hunger drive, thereby contributing to either positive or negative attitudes toward eating. New Ideas About Eating Disorders presents clinical case studies of individuals from infancy to adulthood suffering from various eating disorders, a new theory as to their etiology, and suggestions for treatment and prevention. This book will be essential reading for all professionals engaged in caring for patients experiencing an eating disorder and for those developing theories to deepen our knowledge of these disturbances. It will also be of interest to those in the field of analytical psychology, as well as anyone wanting to know how contemporary affect theory can help us understand eating and its disorders.