Eating Disorders

DEFINITION

What are Eating Disorders?

One is using food as ‘fuel’ if they eat when they are physically hungry. However, if a person restricts their food intake or turns to food in order to avoid uncomfortable emotions, then they are using food as ‘means to an end.’ If you are using food as a ‘tool’ as an attempt to regulate an undesired emotion, you might be suffering from an eating disorder.

How would you know that you are using food as a coping mechanism to deal with such feelings as stress, anxiety, sadness or feelings of joy? You would find yourself ordering food for delivery or opening your fridge and snacking on food when you are not physically hungry. Have you ever found yourself at the bottom of a newly opened pint of ice cream because you were feeling sad or found yourself devouring a large pizza because you were feeling stressed or eating a big bowl of pasta because you were feeling lonely? If you can relate to these situations, then you are not using food as ‘fuel’ anymore and have started using food as a ‘tool’ to cope with your emotions.

Eating disorders need to be taken seriously as they have the highest mortality rate of any mental illness.  Eating disorders affect all races and ethnic groups. A person with an eating disorder needs to seek professional help from a mental health provider like me who specializes in treating eating disorders.

I utilize cognitive behavioral therapy, which is the most effective treatment for eating disorders. If you think that you are suffering from an eating disorder, do not hesitate to contact me and ask for help. Instead of your eating disorder taking the control, it’s time for you to take charge of your own life…

TYPES OF EATING DISORDERS

Anorexia Nervosa (AN)

Anorexia Nervosa is characterized by self-starvation and excessive weight loss.

Symptoms include:

• Refusal to maintain body weight or above a minimally normal weight for height, body type, age, and activity level
• Intense fear of gaining weight or becoming fat
• Feeling fat or overweight despite dramatic weight loss
• Loss of menstrual periods for at least three consecutive months
• Extreme concern with body weight and shape

Bulimia Nervosa (BN)

Bulimia Nervosa is characterized by a secretive cycle of binge eating followed by purging.

Symptoms include:

• Repeated episodes of bingeing and purging
• Feeling out of control during a binge and eating beyond the point of comfortable fullness
• Purging after a binge, such as self-induced vomiting, misuse of laxatives, diuretics, diet pills, fasting or excessive exercising
• Extreme concern with body weight and shape

Binge Eating Disorder (BED)

Binge Eating Disorder is characterized by period of uncontrolled, impulsive, or continuous eating beyond the point of feel comfortably full.

The binge eating episodes are associated with three or more of the following:

• Eating much more rapidly than normal
• Eating until feeling uncomfortably full
• Eating large amounts of food when not feeling physically hungry
• Eating alone because of feeling embarrassed by how much one is eating
• Feeling disgusted with oneself, depressed, or very guilty afterward

TREATMENT MODEL

How to treat Eating Disorders?

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is the first line and the most effective treatment for eating disorders. As an empirically supported treatment, CBT aims to teach the individual to adopt healthy eating patterns to cope with their undesired emotions instead of turning to food for comfort.

My Treatment Goals while utilizing Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)

• Change maladaptive eating behaviors by adopting healthy eating habits

1. 1. Teach a patient to adopt healthy and regular eating pattern
   2. Teach a patient to rely on internal hunger and satiety cues as opposed to emotional or external cues
      1. Emotional Cues: feelings of sadness, loneliness, anger, stress, boredom and etc.
      2. External Cues: seeing or smelling food, observing people eating, watching or seeing advertisements
   3. Teach a patient to tolerate stress and regulate emotions, which can reduce the desire to turn to food when not physically hungry

• Help promote self-esteem and a positive body image