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Public Relations and Public Education |
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Marketing |
John L. Caccavale, Ph.D., M.S. Clinical Psychopharmacology |
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This month’s feature integrates two unlikely but timely topics and is a guaranteed practice builder! Within 48 hours of our media pitch on weight and war, we had two national pickups (the Columbus Dispatch and the Eagle Tribune). To build your practice, simply transfer the following pitch letter to your professinal stationery, edit out the fourth paragraph that refers to specific dates, and add your name and telephone number. Do let us know when the interview requests come in! Dear Medical/Health Reporter: Some people overeat when they are under stress. After 9/11 many Americans went on a national binge. Some 15% of Americans confessed they were turning to comfort foods while another 14% reported eating more sweets. Two months following the terrorist attacks, one in 10 Americans had gained weight. Psychologists have long known that there is a connection between “mood and food.” The source of the stress may be extraordinary or ordinary. Many Americans are feeling the stress of the daily threat of war with Iraq. Others are dealing with the everyday pressures of life. Whatever the reason, some individuals use food to fill emptiness, provide good feelings, and soothe job pressures and family conflicts. Often eating has nothing to do with being hungry. Instead it is a response to anxiety or depression. This is emotional overeating and it can be controlled. Emotional overeating is of increasing concern because half of America is already fighting the battle of the bulge. Over half of all adults in the U.S. are overweight and a third are obese. February 23 - March 2 is Eating Disorders Awareness Week. It is a good time to stop thinking of eating disorders as limited to anorexia or bulimia since obesity is the issue facing many more people these days. Your readers can go to www.division42.org for a copy of Tips for Coping with Stress-Related Eating. Many people need psychological help, however, to confront the reasons for their recourse to food. The American Psychological Association’s (APA) Psychologists in Independent Practice would like to offer a psychologist in your area to speak with you on this subject. APA’s Psychologists in Independent Practice represents independent psychologists, each of whom is a doctoral level professional licensed by his or her particular state. When you need to talk to someone who can help, you need an experienced, licensed psychologist. I look forward to speaking with you. Sincerely, |
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