Body image is so subjective, yet it can rule our lives.

One suspects the underlying motivation to achieve a certain look has less to do with aesthetics and more to do with self-esteem.

It is common to feel inadequate compared to media images of perfection and almost impossible to find a person who genuinely accepts their own body - warts and all.

Who do you find more attractive - a perfectly sculpted plastic surgery devotee, or someone who is completely unaware of how they measure on the Richter scale of general attractiveness?

Nevertheless, most of us do continuously strive to improve our looks, with weight loss being our biggest aim. Rather than honouring food as essential for life and health, food issues have become an endless debate, a source of competition and a means to an end.

For people with eating disorders, however, the compulsion to under or overeat goes much deeper than the desire to look thin, even if losing weight was once a precipitating factor.

An obsession with food and calorie counting has taken over but the underlying need to control every morsel indicates a high degree of emotional pain.

The Eating Disorders Association states that more than a million people suffer from anorexia, bulimia or compulsive binge eating. Women between the ages of 15 and 25 years appear most vulnerable, although anyone may develop an eating disorder regardless of age, race, gender or background.

Sufferers are often bright and sensitive, with the potential to be high achievers. The treatment of eating disorders is a complex challenge and requires a new approach, not least because the patient believes they are completely rational and in control of their eating habits.

Anorexics may respond to offers of help with denial, depression and self-harm and it may take too long for them to realise the eating disorder is the one in control, not themselves.

The biochemistry of the brain and body has been altered to such an extent that self-perception and view of the world have become distorted. This is why anorexia sufferers look in the mirror and still believe they are overweight.

I visited Eileen Murphy, Psychotherapist and clinical director of an innovative rehabilitation centre for those suffering with eating disorders.

Pondtail House, near Uckfield, is in the final stages of registration and should open soon.

It provides a safe and comfortable environment for the recovery of residents between the ages of 16 and 30. Eileen's team includes a consultant psychiatrist and several complementary therapists. It provides a care programme with a strong emphasis on the psychological and spiritual aspects of the individuals.

Therapies such as writing, art, crafts, music and yoga are encouraged to assist in increasing assertiveness, self-acceptance and self-understanding.

Eileen explained the ethos behind the care programme: "Investing in the process of recovery rather than the end-goal is important for those with any eating disorder.

"Investing in self-esteem has to be worthwhile and although the end result may not necessarily be what you expect, it will invariably be positive."

The holistic approach is slow and gentle and addresses body chemistry and blood sugar balance, showing how binges create cravings.

Compulsive eaters are taught to separate emotional hunger from physical hunger and anorexics learn to separate their anorexic personality from their own essential identity. This is achieved in a communal setting without fear of judgement or prejudice.

Eileen says: "People with eating problems are experts at berating themselves and do not need others to assist them in this task."

Eileen Murphy can be contacted at Pondtail House, Horsted Green, Uckfield. Telephone 01825 761282 or visit www.nexuscare.com If you have a question for Martina, email features@theargus.co.uk
Martina is a qualified nutritional therapist at the Crescent Clinic of Complementary Medicine and the Dolphin House Clinic, Brighton.

For more details. visit www.thehealth bank.co.uk