Eating, sleep, and sexual disorders

‘Eating, sleep, and sexual disorders’ covers these three areas of psychiatry, all of which are characterized by disturbances of bodily functioning. The section on eating disorders includes recent developments in how these conditions are classified, and improvements in their treatment. Disorders of sleep and circadian rhythm are increasingly recognized to be important in psychiatry beyond the involvement of sleep disturbance as a symptom, and their recognition and management are discussed at greater length than in previous editions of this book. The extent and nature of psychiatric involvement in sexuality and sexual disorders has also changed markedly in recent years, and this section has been revised accordingly; for example, with regard to how gender identity disorders are conceptualized and managed.