Battle for Control: A Memoir of Anorexia, Exercise Bulimia and Other Compulsions

by Doug Erlandson

Anorexia. Binge eating. Exercise addictions. Obsessive-compulsive behaviors. In his memoir, Battle for Control, Doug Erlandson has written the compelling story of his lifelong battle with the demons that have sought control of his life.

Born into a highly ordered household dominated by a father who displayed obsessive-compulsive behaviors of his own, Doug had seemingly outgrown many of his youthful compulsions by the time he was in high school, and during his college years he seemed headed for a normal adulthood. While in graduate school he lost more than one hundred pounds through diet and exercise, and by the time he became a member of the philosophy department faculty of the University of Nebraska at age twenty-five he was in excellent physical condition.

But the dieting and exercising that had brought him to this point soon were out of control, and within two years of becoming trim his life was dominated by both food and exercise addictions. Although he eventually conquered his anorexia and his subsequent binge-eating disorder, other food and exercise addictions such as rigid eating habits and excessive running continued to plague him through more than four decades.

In addition to these addictions, other compulsions, some amusing, others tragic, have dominated his life. For example, Doug has kept a journal obsessively for more than fifty years. At one point he was writing entries more than a year in advance to make sure that he would not miss a day of writing. He also details how excessive concern about spending money caused him to set the thermostat at sixty in the winter and eighty-five in the summer despite having ample funds to live far more comfortably.

Doug’s addictions and compulsions have continued despite a religious conversion in his early thirties and being nearly killed by a ruptured aneurysm in his late fifties. While the latter, along with knee-replacement surgeries (necessitated because he destroyed his knees through excessive running), have forced him to modify his exercise regimen, seemingly nothing to date has broken his addictions and compulsions.

Doug makes it clear that he is not condoning or glorifying his behavior. He is honest about his struggles and the inner voices that are sending him the negative messages to which he continues to listen. He is also brutally frank concerning the effect his behavior has had over the years on his wife and children and how his compulsions have produced anxiety when faced with activities (such as travel) that might upset his routines.

Although Battle for Control is primarily descriptive, Doug also discusses the personality traits that underlie his obsessions and compulsions and shows how his having a highly sensitive and conscientious nature have played a contributory role in his personality disorder. However, as he is quick to admit, these natural bents do not exonerate his conduct.

In an extensive “Epilogue,” Doug argues that despite his ongoing compulsions, he has reason for optimism. His own greater awareness of his issues and their underlying causes has allowed him to modify his behavior so that his various compulsions are no longer as debilitating as they once were. Moreover, through a greater awareness of his underlying tendencies, he is learning to channel them in a way that is positive rather than negative.

Battle for Control is a must read not only for those who suffer from food and exercise addictions or from obsessive-compulsive tendencies but also for their family members and friends. It will also be of interest to psychologists and other healthcare professionals who specialize in treating individuals with food and exercise addictions or Obsessive-Compulsive Personality Disorder. Anyone with an ongoing interest in these issues will find it a fascinating case study.

(Above description from Amazon.com)

218 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2012

About the author

Doug Erlandson was born in Chicago, Illinois in 1946. He received his B.A. from Wheaton College (Ill.) and his doctorate in philosophy from Johns Hopkins University. Doug was an assistant professor of philosophy at the University of Nebraska, Lincoln 1972-1980 and since 1994 has been an adjunct instructor of philosophy at Southeast Community College in Lincoln.

Doug is the author of 19 books, including the popular Kindle book, How to Think Clearly: A Guide to Critical Thinking; the Jargon-Free Guide Series, including Philosophy Basics: A Jargon-Free Guide for Beginners; Faith Reborn; Spiritual Anorexia: How Contemporary Worship is Starving the Church; Godly Contentment: Kingdom Living in an Age of Economic and Social Uncertainty.

Doug and his wife are co-owners of the online candy store Licorice International, which is located in the Historic Haymarket District in Lincoln, Nebraska.

Reviews

[Michele Wier · Rating 1 out of 5]

First, and I think most importantly, this man is SELF DIAGNOSED. Had I realized that, I would NOT have purchased the book. Second, I agree with other reviewers on his boorishness. I don't care for his writing style and overall he comes across as a completely loathsome individual who mistreats his wife and children, behaves reprehensively to others, engages in wildly inappropriate relationships with his students and blames it on his obsessions. Ugh. While there were a few unintentional gems (such as a good reminder that I do NOT want to treat people this way) this was not a book I would recommend.

[K · Rating 1 out of 5]

Doug Erlandson paints himself as a boorish, narcissistic man-child while describing his life from shy childhood to his career in academia in christian ministry which has been uncomfortably balanced for decades with his untreatreated OCD, binging, starving and compulsive exercising, not to mention the emotional abuse he subjects his family to. Yes, it's a bare-faced and honest account of his ED and related disorders, spanning decades but there is little or no insight here. Towards the end he diagnoses himself with a personality disorder but even that isn't really explored. His compulsions wax and wane but are never really dealt with. It is exactly what the title says, a memior. Of one man's life, with a focus on his compulsions and disordered eating.
Good to see any book that deals with EDs as experienced by a mature man (one of the demographics often overlooked in ED literature), during times when EDs were little understood/diagnosed. But as I say, this book offers little insight and I suspect may be highly triggering for a lot of eating disordered readers with it's frequent mentions of weight, distances run, food rituals etc. I must commend the author's honesty in baring his flaws but I found it a difficult book which left me feeling neither I nor the author had learned much about the subject matter.

[Valene Hill · Rating 3 out of 5]

I felt this book was more like an autobiography with very few mentions of the thoughts about anorexia. Was the exercise bulimia more a part of compulsions? I think so. I think that this man is so full of himself and found this to be a very boring and time consuming read, rather than a read about eating disorders or exercise disorders. This book is more about a mans life and his personality disorders, that's how it should be titled.

[Liz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good reminder for me of the pains caused by some of his compulsions. Hilly recommend for obsessive overexercisers. Otherwise, it might not make a lot of sense.