Eating Disorders Treatment

Not just a matter of dieting or self-control, eating disorders have deep roots that cause distorted thoughts and harmful behaviors.
Eating Disorders Therapy
Eating disorders affect people of all races, ages, and genders and if left untreated can be life-threatening.

What are Bulimia, Anorexia, & Eating Disorders?

Eating disorders are serious psychiatric conditions that are characterized by severe disturbances in eating, thoughts, and behaviors. At least 28 million people in the United States suffer from eating disorders of all types. Eating disorders do not discriminate. They can affect people of all races, ages, and genders.

Eating disorders can be life-threatening if not identified and treated appropriately. In fact, eating disorders have the highest mortality rate of any mental illness. About 28 percent of people with eating disorders attempt suicide. More people die of eating disorders each year than of depression, bipolar disorder, and psychotic disorders.

Types of Eating Disorders

The major types of eating disorders include anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, binge eating disorder, and avoidant restrictive food intake disorder. Here is an in-depth look at these eating disorders, including the symptoms and risk factors.

Anorexia Nervosa

Anorexia is perhaps one of the most well-known eating disorders. It is characterized by excessive weight loss from self-starvation. People with this disorder have an intense fear of gaining weight and a distorted self-image. They perceive themselves as being overweight in spite of overwhelming evidence to the contrary. Here are some of the most common symptoms of anorexia:

Psychological signs:

  • A distorted body image
  • An intense fear about gaining weight
  • Anxiety especially around meal times
  • Low self-esteem
  • Perfectionism
  • Depression
  • Trouble concentrating
  • Sensitivity to comments about body image, weight or size

Physical Signs:

  • Unable to maintain a normal sized body weight
  • Feeling cold a lot of the time
  • Absence of a menstrual period in girls over the age of 12
  • Dizziness or fainting
  • Low energy or fatigue
  • Difficulty sleeping
  • Fine hair all over the body

Behavioral Signs:

  • Preoccupation with food
  • Significant changes in food preferences (a sudden dislike of foods that they previously enjoyed)
  • Obsessive rituals around food prep and eating (taking elaborate steps to prepare food, eating very slowly)
  • Compulsive or excessive exercising (spending hours at the gym each day)
  • Self-harm or suicidal thoughts or behaviors

Bulimia Nervosa

Bulimia is another common eating disorder that is characterized by a cycle of binge eating and compensatory behaviors designed to undo the binge. During a binge, a person with bulimia will eat an extremely large amount of food in a short time. For instance, they may eat up to 11,000 calories over a period of just a couple of hours. The person experiences a loss of control during the binge. People with bulimia often feel like they can’t stop eating once they binge. After binging, the person will attempt to compensate for the binge by vomiting, using laxatives, fasting, or other behaviors, such as excessive exercise. It is a myth that all people with eating disorders are thin. People with bulimia are often normal to overweight. Here are some of the symptoms of bulimia.

Psychological Signs:

  • Having a distorted body image
  • Feelings of self-loathing
  • A preoccupation with food
  • Feeling preoccupied with weight and size
  • An obsessive need to control
  • Irritability or depression
  • Secrecy surrounding food and meal times

Physical Signs:

  • Frequent weight loss or weight gain
  • Damage to the teeth
  • Bad breath
  • Puffy cheeks
  • Feeling tired or fatigued
  • Trouble sleeping
  • Gastrointestinal problems related to laxative use

Behavioral Signs:

  • Vomiting or laxative use
  • Excessive exercise
  • Frequent dieting
  • Obsessively counting calories, weighing food, etc.
  • Frequent trips to the bathroom right after meals
  • Insistence on eating alone
  • Secrecy surrounding eating

Orthorexia

You might not have heard of orthorexia. However, this eating disorder is increasing in the United States. Part of the reason for the increase may be due to the emphasis in social media on “clean eating” and other extremely restrictive diets. Family and friends may never know that a person has it because they appear to eat very healthily.

Orthorexia is an unhealthy obsession with eating healthy. People with this disorder have very restrictive eating habits. They may eat only raw food or foods that are “clean.” People with orthorexia may avoid eating entire groups of foods. They may avoid gluten or artificial purposes.

So, you might be wondering “what is the difference between healthy eating and orthorexia?” Orthorexia goes well beyond healthy eating. People with orthorexia may develop obsessive rituals about food and have no medical reason for intake restriction. Orthorexia sufferers may develop significant anxiety if they cannot control what they eat. They will experience shame, panic or guilt if they do not follow their “diet.” Thoughts about food and eating often consume them and impact their daily functioning. Orthorexia can lead to social isolation, depression, and malnutrition.

Psychological Signs:

  • Severe anxiety over food choices and health concerns, such as diabetes, asthma or digestive issues
  • Feelings of guilt when deviating from food preferences
  • Thinking critical thoughts about “unhealthy foods”

Physical Signs:

  • A person with orthorexia may seem exceptionally healthy

Behavioral Signs:

  • Avoidance of foods with GMOs, pesticides, dairy, animal products, fat, sugar, salt and other ingredients considered to be unhealthy
  • A drastic reduction in the types of foods eaten
  • Noticeable increase in the intake of supplements, herbal remedies, and vitamins
  • Irrational fear of food prepared by others

Binge Eating Disorder

Binge eating disorder is an illness that is characterized by episodes of binge eating. Unlike people with bulimia, those with binge-eating disorders do not use compensatory behaviors to negate the consumption. As a result, many people with binge-eating disorder are overweight or obese. Binge eating disorder affects both females and males at a similar rate. Binge eating disorder includes the following signs and symptoms.

Psychological Signs:

  • Feelings of guilt, embarrassment, and self-disgust related to binges.
  • Poor self-image
  • Depression
  • Anxiety
  • A preoccupation with food and eating

Physical Signs:

  • Bloating and stomach ache
  • Not sleeping well

Behavioral Signs:

  • Eating large quantities of food even when full
  • Eating when full
  • Frequent dieting with no weight loss
  • Hoarding food
  • Hiding food wrappers and boxes

Risk Factors For Eating Disorders

Eating disorders affect people of all ages, races, and genders. Risk factors for eating disorders include a range of psychological, biological and environmental factors. Here are some of the most common:

  • Having a close relative with an eating disorder
  • Having a close relative with another mental disorder
  • Perfectionism
  • Body image dissatisfaction
  • History of trauma
  • History of being bullied
  • Depression and other mental health issues

Diagnosis Of Eating Disorders

Eating disorders are serious mental disorders that should be diagnosed by an eating disorder therapist or specialist. The first step in getting a diagnosis is to visit your doctor. They will perform a physical exam and ask you about your eating behaviors. Then, they will most likely refer you to an eating disorder therapist.

Treatment For Eating Disorders

Eating disorders are not just a matter of dieting or self-control. They have far deeper roots than that and require specialized treatment to address both the distorted thoughts and harmful behaviors. Additionally, eating disorders frequently occur with other mental illnesses, such as depression, anxiety disorders, and substance abuse. Professional treatment usually addresses all of these issues.

Here are some of the most common treatments for eating disorders.

Psychotherapy

A commonly-used type of psychotherapy for treating eating disorders is cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). CBT involves teaching a person to notice their negative or distorted thoughts and self-talk. In learning to catch your destructive thoughts, you will then learn strategies for challenging and changing them. This does not mean putting an unnecessarily positive view onto your life but instead aims to teach people to see themselves more realistically.

The goal of psychotherapy is to help people with eating disorders live a relatively normal life, free from harmful behaviors. Another important goal is self-acceptance. Through therapy, a person with an eating disorder can learn to develop a more healthy mindset.

Inpatient Hospitalization

People with eating disorders may require inpatient hospitalization if the disorder is severe. Generally, an eating disorder specialist can recommend inpatient treatment when it is needed.

Residential Treatment

After inpatient treatment, many people with eating disorders participate in residential treatment for a period of time. This is a long-term treatment that provides 24-hour care in a non-medical setting.

Medications

Although there are no medications that are specifically used to treat eating disorders, medications are often used to treat co-occurring conditions, such as anxiety and depression, as these frequently occur in people with eating disorders.

Self Help Tips

For many people struggling with eating disorders, self-care can be difficult. However, part of recovery involves learning to practice self-care. Here are some tips:

  • Meditation and mindfulness – Practicing meditation and mindfulness during recovery can help you learn to calm. There are plenty of apps for meditation. One of our favorites is Calm.
  • Social media breaks – Taking a break from social media is a great way to practice self-care during eating disorder recovery. Social media can be a helpful tool to find compassion and support from others. However, it can also encourage eating disorder behaviors. It is important to recognize when social media is negatively impacting your thoughts and behaviors and take breaks, as needed.
  • Feel the music – Listen to uplifting music. Dance like nobody’s watching.

How to Find Help For Eating Disorders

If you or someone that you love has signs of an eating disorder, it is important to seek treatment from a therapist with experience in eating disorders. They will be the most effective at giving you the guidance you need to manage eating disorder symptoms and develop healthier behaviors.

Post-Pandemic Update 

The pandemic has resulted in an alarming rise in eating disorders globally. According to eating disorder experts, people with eating disorders have significant difficulty with unpredictability, uncertainty, and inconsistency, all of which resulted from the pandemic. This is likely what led to the increase in hospitalizations for eating disorders. In addition, staying home, being lonely, and having little to do also lead to increases in binge eating behaviors, as well. 

Treatment for eating disorders is crucial because it can help people with eating disorders cope more effectively during times of stress like during the pandemic. To find an eating disorder therapist in your area search the TherapyTribe therapist directory.

References

  1. American Psychiatric Association: Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders: Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition. Arlington, VA: American Psychiatric Association, 2013.
  2. ANAD. (2021). Eating Disorder Statistics | General & Diversity Stats | ANAD. National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders. https://anad.org/eating-disorders-statistics/ 
  3. Katella, K. (2021, June 15). Eating Disorders on the Rise After Our Pandemic Year. Yale Medicine. https://www.yalemedicine.org/news/eating-disorders-pandemic 
  4. Mayo Clinic. (2018, May 10). Bulimia nervosa – Symptoms and causes. Mayo Clinic. https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/bulimia/symptoms-causes/syc-20353615 
  5. Mayo Clinic. (2018, February 20). Anorexia nervosa – symptoms and causes. Mayo Clinic. https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/anorexia-nervosa/symptoms-causes/syc-20353591 
  6. Post-COVID-19 rise in eating disorders tackled with new guidelines. (2022, May 24). Www.medicalnewstoday.com. https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/new-guidelines-aim-to-combat-alarming-rise-in-eating-disorders-post-covid-19#Effect-of-the-COVID-19-pandemic 
  7. Scarff, J. R. (2017). Orthorexia Nervosa: An Obsession With Healthy Eating. Federal Practitioner : For the Health Care Professionals of the VA, DoD, and PHS, 34(6), 36–39. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6370446/ 
  8. Solmi, M., Radua, J., Stubbs, B., Ricca, V., Moretti, D., Busatta, D., Carvalho, A. F., Dragioti, E., Favaro, A., Monteleone, A. M., Shin, J. I., Fusar-Poli, P., & Castellini, G. (2020). Risk factors for eating disorders: an umbrella review of published meta-analyses. Brazilian Journal of Psychiatry, 43(3). https://doi.org/10.1590/1516-4446-2020-1099