Eddie Lamb asked:


Although trite and irreverent, the above “attention grabber” is technically correct. For anyone suffering from Anorexia Nervosa, Bulimia Nervosa, and Binge Eating Disorder, an accredited eating disorder program is essential and life-saving. Without recovery, these people will probably die from the medical complications of their condition. The primary obstacle to recovery via an eating disorder program is the secrecy that always prevails in these disorders.

Sufferers are extremely reluctant to change their pathological eating behavior. Denial of the problem is pervasive and they very rarely seek professional help through an eating disorder program. Most sufferers enter treatment either at the insistence of friends and family, or by physicians when they experience a heart attack, kidney failure, or another medical complication of eating disorders.

How can an Eating Disorder Program Help Me?

The first and most essential step is to stop denying that you have a problem and admitting to yourself and trusted others that you need professional help. An eating disorder is not something you can “fix” by yourself. You need a very structured, on-going eating disorder program, most likely an in-patient program. You need to be hospitalized for maximum benefit from the eating disorder program; being treated as an out-patient gives you ample opportunity to not follow the instructions of the program and thereby failing to recover.

Hospitalization is definitely indicated if your weight is so low from anorexia, it’s life-threatening, or if you are binging and purging (vomiting) several times a day due to bulimia.

Eating disorder programs are very comprehensive. Since the great majority of people who suffer from eating disorders also suffer from depression and/or anxiety, you will be evaluated by a psychiatrist to determine if antidepressant and/or an antianxiety medication would benefit you. All eating disorder programs provide intensive nutritional counseling.

You will, simply, learn how to eat in a normal and healthy manner. You will receive extensive medical treatment for the medical complications, often severe, caused by anorexic and/or bulimic behaviors. If you’re bulimic, you’ll have your teeth evaluated by a dentist. Constant vomiting causes the enamel on your teeth to erode from stomach acids, leading to massive tooth decay and loss.

No eating disorder program is complete without intensive psychotherapy by a team of therapists who habitually treat eating disorders. Individual therapy helps you express the distressing feelings of fear, loneliness, anger, sadness and others that you’ve been self-medicating with food or self-starvation. Your program will include daily group therapy sessions.

You need to know that you’re not alone in your troubles, and receive help and support from others who have “been there.” In group, you can speak rather than remain silent about your disorder. Family therapy is also important in eating disorder programs especially for teenagers.

Parents want to understand your disorder and help you overcome it. With adults, your spouse or relationship partner can also be a tremendous source of support. Most important, in a recovery program that involves friends and/or family, they will learn to immediately recognize the signs that you’ve relapsed back into anorexia and/or bulimia and assist you in seeking aftercare support to get back into recovery.

After you’re discharged from the hospital, eating disorder programs strongly recommend your participation in support groups. These support groups for anorexia, bulimia and binge overeating are run by those who are in long-term recovery, not by professionals. Your continuation of aftercare services is vitally important to prevent relapses. Your in-patient program can help you find a support group that is effective for you.



Gregory

Cynthia Marshall asked:


Recovering PeRfeCtly

For many people suffering from eating disorders ‘perfectionism’ is a central underlying issue. Healing from the demands of needing to be ‘perfect’ (perfect eater, perfect body, perfect diet) takes time sometimes can feel elusive. The critical voice of the ED can be heard long after other symptoms of the disorder have reduced. For many, the critical voice inside that demands perfection becomes even louder the more they move away from their disordered eating patterns.

Angie Harmon a psychotherapist at Woodleaf eating disorder treatment in San Francisco, CA believes these feelings may be a good sign: “as painful as the internal demand for perfection can be, it also signals us that we are reaching the very root of what prompted the disorder in the first place.”

For most people these feelings of perfectionism are paired with self hatred, low self esteem and self criticism. When asked to remember when these feeling began many say early childhood, long before the eating disorder developed: “Understanding the origin of these feelings and the context in which they developed is a very important part of the healing process. Exploring this ‘critical voice’ is vital to the healing process.” Harmon states.

The all or nothing mentality that so afflicts ones eating can also create unrealistic expectations about recovery. Before recovery, the eating disordered person believed they must “look perfect” “diet perfectly” and now once in recovery they may similiarily expect themselves to “recover perfectly.” Giving themselves permission to struggle, ask for help or have a moment of relapse can be very hard for them to bear.

What many people with ED do not realize is that recovery from eating disorders is fundamentally “imperfect” and is a process, not a destination. Recovery can be feel easy some days, difficult others and just like life can be diverse and bring the unexpected. There are bad days, good days, boring days and a variety of differing experiences. Just like life feelings and experiences change from day to day. For many people with eating disorders like anorexia and bulimia learning to be ‘imperfect” is the very core of healing. Beginning to accept with compassion the peaks and valleys recovery can bring is where we find freedom. Beginning to allow ourselves to be human and to stop judging our every move as our worst enemy takes time and practice. Recovery does not happen overnight, and that really is okay. There is no perfect “recovery” and letting go of this illusion can be the most liberating thing of all.

Harmon gives us an example: “A female client in her early twenties comes to me to treat her symptoms of Bulimia. She explores her feelings, begins to identify certain triggers to her ED behaviors and greatly reduces her binging and purging behavior. A week comes where she finds out her stepfather is terminally ill, she is laid off her job and within days she finds herself on a two day binge. She comes to therapy beating herself up and announcing she has ” failed” and had been doing so well until she “messed everything up again.” I point out to her how very stressful the last few days have been and how harshly she is treating herself. She agrees full-heartedly and then goes on to say “Oh my GOD your right, I am beating myself up, what the hell is wrong with me!!” Now the client has found a way to beat herself up about beating herself up!”

This kind of self imposed perfectionism and self criticism is all too common. I cannot tell you how many clients I have worked with IN TREATMENT who beat themselves up over not doing recovery “perfectly”. It is important for people in recovery from eating disorders to learn that there is no perfect recovery. Recovery is an individual as people are and the process is different for everyone.

“I have to say that as a therapist who has been treating eating disorders of all kinds for years I still wish I could just magically take the self hatred and perfectionism away from my clients” Harmon tells us, “I know I can’t but to watch them from outside beat themselves up for normal recovery experiences can be difficult.”

Recovery mean there will be hard days, painful days, challenging days as well as liberating, joyous and happy days. Life contains both and so will our recovery. The important thing is that we begin to learn to support ourselves in our recovery no matter where we are at. Hitting a bump in the road does not mean we should beat ourselves up, but that we need support more than ever because we are having a hard time. Opening ourselves up to the idea of self compassion is not easy, but can be done, and once we learn to accept our human-ness, our lives become brighter than ever before.



Francis

Nishanth Reddy asked:


Preventing eating disorders can be possible with some preventive measures. However, there was a query that rose among many health professionals and eating disorder patients whether preventing eating disorders is possible or not.

According to latest investigations, there are a number of preventive measures that can be taken so as to preventing eating disorders. Preventing eating disorders measures are needed to adopt by those family members where there are past records of eating disorders or behaviors of compulsive eating.

Measures To Be Taken For Preventing Eating Disorders

Here are five preventive measures that can perform in order to keep eating disorders at bay.

1. Decline to diet for preventing eating disorders. Eating disorder experts found that dieting is typically the primary step in developing an eating disorder. It is been found in a research that a woman who tends to have extreme dieting is eighteen times more at risk of raising an eating disorder. If someone in your family may be susceptible of developing an eating disorder, they should abstain from dieting. As a replacement, the individual need to consult a physician in order to learn about the ways that are safe and effective in losing weight.

2. Parents should act as positive and healthy role models in preventing eating disorders. A researcher states that parents play a very significant role in tracing out whether children are ultimately developing an eating disorder or not. Most of the parents automatically project their unhealthy viewpoints and approaches regarding their own bodies that their children pick up on. Parents with a high value about being thin or other features of one’s physical appearance may be transferring the point to their children with a belief that physical appearance plays a vital role than being happy and healthy.

Parents have to struggle in order to develop a positive attitude about their own bodies and need to offer a safe, caring and non-judgmental atmosphere to their children. This atmosphere can be achieved by preparing a nutritious meal along with enjoyable activities that involves total family.

3. Family dynamics can set up means to preventing an eating disorder. Families should strive to spend quality time together. Plan to eat dinner together, and participate in outdoor activities that give pleasure. Criticism and competition need to be avoided so as to generate a secure and loving environment where children feel cherished.

4. Prefer exercises as a means of preventing eating disorders in order to have a good health, not a thin body. In general you will have a negative attitude towards exercise and think of exercise as just a task that is boring, hard, and even painful. Changing the opinion regarding exercise can definitely help you in preventing eating disorders. Repossessing the sense of the unadulterated pleasure of movement can become a measure in preventing eating disorders. Try to make every effort in those activities in which you have interest and thrill you.

5. Eat a multiplicity of foods in moderation. Eating food in moderation is a way where you can eat even your favorite guilty pleasures. In order to cultivate a healthy attitude towards food try preventing eating disorders. Remember that it is a safe way to eat anything you want, as long as you balance your eating behaviors.



Ronald

Lisa Collins asked:


Eating disorders are complex conditions that arise from a combination of prolonged behavioral, emotional, psychological, interpersonal, and social factors. It is a condition where food and the control of food are used in an attempt to compensate for feelings and emotions that may otherwise seem irresistible. People with eating disorder usually start dieting, bingeing, and purging as a way to cope with painful emotions and to feel in control of one’s life, but in due course, these behaviors damage a person’s physical and emotional health, self-esteem, competency and control over situations.

Among these disorders, the most common is the binge eating disorder. This refers to losing control over your portions, i.e. overeating in some cases. The characteristic of binge eating is consuming large quantity of food within a discrete period of time and not being able to control oneself or stop eating. People with binge-eating disorder experience frequent episodes of out-of-control eating; eating until feeling uncomfortably full; eating large amounts of food when not feeling physically hungry; tendency of eating alone because you are embarrassed about how much you eat; feeling disgusted with oneself, depressed, or very guilty after overeating. Research are carried out to know the exact causes leading to binge eating and some foresee genetic link or insecurities involving body shape and weight as the possible reason. Binge eating disorder can also be triggered by excessive dieting, depression, anxiety, or even tension, which is believed to be calmed with binge eating. Unfortunately food binges usually come in the form of fatty snack foods like chips, pizza or cookies. Gorging yourself on said foods will likely lead to weight gain and obesity; dissatisfaction and a feeling that you lack discipline.

Individuals suffering from binge-eating disorder do not purge their bodies of excess calories. Therefore, many with the disorder are overweight for their age and height. Feelings of self-disgust and shame associated with this illness can lead to bingeing again, creating a cycle of binge eating creating space for chronic diseases like obesity and related complications, as well as depression. Treatment for binge eating disorder includes psychotherapy and sometimes medications, such as antidepressants. People with eating disorders often do not recognize or admit their sickness. As a result, they may strongly resist getting and staying in treatment. Family members or other trusted individuals can be helpful in ensuring that the person with an eating disorder receives needed care and rehabilitation. Then there are also whimsical cases, which appreciate eating disorder and proclaim to be pro eating disorder. The moment they find people that will justify their actions they will begin the slide down into a habit-forming psychological disorder that will overtake their lives. So be practical in life and stay away from these bad eating habits to get on the fast track to a healthier life.



Harry

David Karlson asked:


 

If you overeat on a regular basis in order to cope with stress or negative feelings then it is quite possible that you suffer from a binge eating disorder. In addition, the over eater feels even worse after they have finished their binge. An important point to note is that this condition is treatable. Therefore, please consult a physician as soon as possible if you suffer from this condition.

A binge eating disorder is seen as compulsive overeating where the person eats a large amount of food without being able to stop eating or control their eating. These episodes can last for a couple of hours at a time. In some cases, the individual will eat off and on all day long. They will eat when they are not hungry and will not stop eating even when they are completely full. Another symptom is that they could eat so fast that they do not even register what they have just eaten.

As you can see, a binge eating disorder can be extremely harmful. It leaves the person with feelings of guilt and feeling depressed. These negative feelings just add to the problem of over-eating. This eating disorder affects both men and women. Whereas, other eating disorders such as bulimia and anorexia affect mainly women. For most people, the only way out of it is professional help. The first step to get out of this downward spiral is to tell someone that you have a problem.

Another tip to help overcome a binge eating disorder is not being so hard on yourself. Do not beat yourself up. Learn from your mistakes and move on. In addition, do not keep so much food at home. Try to figure out what causes you to overeat. What are the triggers that cause the overeating? Of course the most important step is to seek professional help, you cannot do it all on your own.

Binge eating disorder is the most common eating disorder in the United States. However, it does not receive as much attention as the purging disorders like anorexia nervosa and bulimia. These conditions are likened to substance abuse. They all involve obsessive thoughts and an overwhelming compulsion to over consume. The individual feeling overwhelmed by different feelings such as guilt and shame usually follows this.

Only recently have researchers and scientists discovered a number of brain messengers that are involved in the hunger, eating and satiation. This will allow doctors to develop better methods for treating people with a binge eating disorder. When a person with this form of addiction seeks help, the goal is for them to be able to eat when they are hungry, and not when there is something in their life that is causing stress. Treatment will also teach the individual when to stop eating when they are full. Changes in eating habits will not happen overnight. It is important to stay positive and trust your doctor or therapist. If you do not have the trust in the person treating you then it is highly advisable to change therapists. Trust is important in treating any form of eating disorder.

In conclusion, a binge eating disorder is treatable. However, anyone suffering from any kind of eating disorder should consult with a therapist or a physician to help solve the eating problem.



Rita

Chris Marshall asked:


If you or someone you know has an eating disorder, then the most important thing to do right away is to find eating disorder treatment; eating disorders are often life-threatening and so you need to do something about the problem before it is too late.

An eating disorder is basically characterized by that of a person and an abnormal relationship with food and body; the pattern involved here truly and substantially affects health, relationships, and socialization, with significant emotional and medical complications.

Finding Help For An Eating Disorder

If you or someone you know has an eating disorder, then you should know that the first thing you need to worry about is getting help. Eating disorder treatment is crucial, and this means as soon as you even think that you might have a problem. Eating disorders are an incredibly dangerous disease, and should be taken with the utmost seriousness and consideration, and you should know that there is eating disorder treatment available.

Where to Find Eating Disorder Treatment

There are many places that have at least some form of eating disorder treatment available, and if you are looking for eating disorder treatment, the best thing you can really do is use the Internet as your searching tool so that you can find a place closest to you in order to have convenience.

Many people who have an eating disorder feel ashamed or disappointed with themselves, and this is the most primary reason as to why people with eating disorders so often do not want to get help.

There are many places in the world today where you can find eating disorder treatment; the primary reason as to why it is so easily attainable is because of how much of an epidemic eating disorders are truly becoming.

One eating disorder treatment center in particular is the Avalon Eating Disorder Treatment Center, which is a company that is earnestly committed to providing a state of the art program of specialized treatment for the purpose of helping those people who are suffering with eating disorders.

Rebecca’s House is another great treatment center, and this is a center which provides that of affordable transitional living for women who are recovering from eating disorders. As well, they provide a safe and comfortable homelike setting where women are able to learn life skills and heal emotional wounds while establishing healthy lifestyles.

Then yet another option is the Top of the World Ranch Treatment Center, which is a center whose mission is to provide the finest treatment facility possible, and they holistically address the biological, psychological, social, and spiritual intentions of their clients.

Remember that the most important thing is that you get better, and so if you or anyone you know is suffering from any kind of eating disorder then you should make sure to get help before it is too late. Recovery can be a long and hard road, but will absolutely be worth it in the end, especially when you consider that all eating disorders can be life-threatening.



Dora

bellachick asked:


I mean in the begining stages, before she starts to quit eating. What are beginning thoughts she thinks before the actual disorder happens? What causes eating disorders? What are outward signs?

Donald

James Hunaban asked:


There are three main types of eating disorder; these are Anorexia Nervosa, Bulimia Nervosa and Binge Eating Disorder. The term eating disorder is used to describe any eating patterns that are obsessive and long lasting. In the last 20 to 30 years or so there has been a marked increase in the amount of people troubled by these disorders. Let’s have a brief look at the three variants.

Anorexia nervosa

Anorexia is an eating disorder where individuals starve themselves of food, because they have an obsessive longing to be thin. This disorder tends to affect mainly teenage girls, but can also affect men, and it is serious and sometimes even fatal. About half of the people with anorexia who have hospital treatment still struggle with the disorder and have symptoms for a long time afterwards. One trait of sufferers seems to be a lack of self-esteem.

Bulimia nervosa,

Bulimia nervosa, usually shortened to bulimia, is an eating disorder where individuals have a binge-eating session; this is usually then followed by them making themselves sick. This self-induced vomiting is because of feelings of guilt at having eaten so much. People with bulimia tend to suffer from an unnatural preoccupation with their own body, and as with anorexic patients they have a fear of gaining weight. Individuals who suffer with bulimia will devour huge quantities of food in an attempt to reduce stress, and help them deal with feelings of anxiety.

Binge eating disorder

Binge eating disorder involves bouts of overeating high calorie foods on a regular basis, but unlike bulimia sufferers, they don’t make themselves vomit. People with this disorder not surprisingly, are usually overweight. This disorder was first recognized about 45 years ago; but it is only in recent times that it has been seen as a widespread problem. Studies have shown that binge eating disorder seems to run in families, so it looks like there is a genetic link.

The rather worrying news is that the big three eating disorders – anorexia, bulimia, and binge eating disorder, are reported to be on the rise all around the world.



Denise

Juliet Cohen asked:


Eating disorders are serious behavior problems. Eating disorders can cause heart and kidney problems and even death. Eating disorders are not a sign that a person has a problem with food, rather eating disorders are actually only the symptoms of underlying problems in that person’s life. Eating disorders involve serious disturbances in eating behavior, such as extreme and unhealthy reduction of food intake or severe overeating, as well as feelings of distress or extreme concern about body shape or weight. Researchers are investigating how and why initially voluntary behaviors, such as eating smaller or larger amounts of food than usual, at some point move beyond control in some people and develop into an eating disorder. Dieting to a body weight leaner than needed for health is highly promoted by current fashion trends, sales campaigns for special foods, and in some activities and professions. Eating disorders frequently co-occur with other psychiatric disorders such as depression, substance abuse, and anxiety disorders. These are also the three most common eating disorders. All three have severe consequences to a person’s immediate and long-term health and can cause death.

Eating disorders are characterized by an abnormal obsession with food and weight. Eating disorders are much more noticed in women than in men. Environmental factors have a large influence on developing eating disorders but more research is being performed on hormonal imbalances, brain lesions and their effects on eating disorders. Many types of eating disorder such as , anorexia nervosa , starvation diet ,binge eating disorder , bulimia nervosa , diabulimia and night eating syndrome. Girls and women are 10 times more likely than boys and men to suffer from anorexia or bulimia. However, eating disorders do seem to be getting more common in boys and men. Anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa are more commonly known as anorexia and bulimia. The two disorders can be difficult to distinguish from each other because they have similar characteristics. Anorexics consider themselves to be fat, no matter what their actual weight is. Often anorexics do not recognize they are underweight and may still “feel fat” at 80 lbs. Anorexics close to death will show you on their bodies where they feel they need to lose weight.

Most people with eating disorders will try to avoid conflicts at all costs, so they usually don’t express negative feelings and try to wear a happy face all the time to try and please people. Treatment can include medical supervision, nutritional counseling, and therapy. Treatment of anorexia calls for a specific program that involves three main phases: (1) restoring weight lost to severe dieting and purging; (2) treating psychological disturbances such as distortion of body image, low self-esteem, and interpersonal conflicts; and (3) achieving long-term remission and rehabilitation, or full recovery. These medications also may help prevent relapse. The treatment goals and strategies for binge-eating disorder are similar to those for bulimia, and studies are currently evaluating the effectiveness of various interventions. Many parents worry about how to get their kids a healthy diet, and prevent them from becoming obese or overweight without giving them anxiety about food that might lead to an eating disorder. Take an active role in creating a healthy lifestyle for your child. Involve your child in the preparation of healthy, nutritious meals on a regular basis.

Eating Disorders Treatment Tips

1. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) – emphasizes the relationship between thoughts and feelings by focusing on a person’s thought processes.

2. Interpersonal therapy – focuses on addressing difficult relationships with others

3. Rational Emotive Therapy – focuses on a person’s unhelpful beliefs

4. Psychoanalytic psychotherapy – focuses on a person’s past experiences.

5. Family therapy usually involves those who live with the person with the eating disorder, such as parents, siblings, and partner or spouse.

6. Group therapy provides a supportive network of people who have similar eating disorders.

7. Support groups are led by trained volunteers or health professionals.



Alex

the boy you love to hate asked:


Okay. I have the opposite of the norm of eating disorders. I eat too much. I never feel hungry, so I just keep eating and eating and eating, yet I never feel satisfied. How can I get rid of my eating disorder and lose some weight?

P.S.
I’m in high school, and I’ve been stressed, with college applications and homework and social stuff, etc. Does stress cause people to eat?

Gordon