Eating Disorder Treatment
Eating Disorder Treatment is a Disorder having irregular or abnormal eating habits. It is the severe and extreme distress about body weight gain or lose or shape. A person focuses on inadequate or excessive food intake which affects a person’s physical and mental health. It occurs mostly in teen age and in adolescents.
Types of Eating Disorder:
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Anorexia Nervosa:
Anorexia means self starvation and lack of appetite. It is a fear of gaining wait, extreme desire to be thin or slim. A person with anorexia Nervosa consider himself as overweight but in reality he is not, so it can be a life threatening eating Disorder. People suffering from this disorder are suffering from extremely low body weight.
Types of Anorexia Nervosa:
There are two types of Anorexia Nervosa.
- Binge/Purge Type:
The person restricts their food intake on their own and does not engage in binge-eating or purging behaviour
- Restricting Type:
The person self-induces vomiting after eating something.
Signs & Symptoms of Anorexia Nervosa:
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- Obsession with calories and fat contents of food.
- Hair fall or thin hair.
- Avoiding of social gatherings of friends and family.
- Thin appearance
- Dizziness or fainting
- Absence of menstruation
- Dry or yellowish skin
- Extreme weight loss
- Low blood pressure
- Swelling of arms or legs
- Constipation and abdominal pain
- Reduced interest in sex
- Social withdrawal
- Flat mood /lack of emotion
- Frequent checking in the mirror for perceived flaws
- Restricting food through dieting or fasting.
Causes of Anorexia Nervosa:
It causes when a person is having an extreme drive of perfectionism. Some of more causes are given below.
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- New school, home, job
- Relationship breakup
- Death
- Illness of a loved one
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Bulimia Nervosa:
Bulimia nervosa, often referred to as just bulimia, is an eating disorder and a mental health condition. There is no single cause of bulimia nervosa. It is thought to develop from a combination of genetic and environmental influences. Eating Disorder Treatment in Cary
This is an eating disorder characterized by binge eating followed by purging. Binge eating refers to eating a large amount of food in a short amount of time.
Mostly people having Bulimia are having normal body weight but they want to get more thin and slim.
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Signs and Symptoms
- Chronic gastric after eating.
- Unhealthy/dry skin, hair, nails and lips
- Fatigue, or exhaustion
- Compulsive or excessive exercise
- Frequent occurrences involving consumption of abnormally large portions of food
- Depression, anxiety disorders and sleep disorders
- Regular trips to the bathroom, especially soon after eating
- Suicidal tendencies
- An irregular menstrual cycle in women.
- A fixation on the number of calories consumed
- A fixation on and extreme consciousness of one’s weight
- Low self-esteem and/or self-harming
- Constipation or diarrhea
- Hypotension
Causes of Bulimia Nervosa
Before bulimia nervosa begins there is often a period of excessive dieting. However, the wrong kind of dieting can cause uncontrollable hunger and lead to binge eating. Feelings of guilt and shame after binge eating then cause the person to try and compensate by purging (inducing vomiting or using laxatives). Eating Disorder Treatment in Cary.
These are some of the factors that can increase someone’s risk of developing bulimia nervosa:
- Genetic factors: having a parent or sibling with an eating disorder
- Childhood trauma: such as physical or sexual abuse
- Personality: low self-esteem, perfectionism or impulsiveness
- Stress: life events or chronic stress can trigger the onset of bulimia
- Mental disorders: such as depression, personality disorder or addictions.
Bulimia nervosa usually starts with a feeling of unhappiness about body image and weight. This is very common in today’s world and many people feel pressure from society and the media to be thin.
Before bulimia nervosa begins there is often a period of excessive dieting. However, the wrong kind of dieting can cause uncontrollable hunger and lead to binge eating. Feelings of guilt and shame after binge eating then cause the person to try and compensate by purging (inducing vomiting or using laxatives).
Eating Disorder Treatment
Suicide Risk
Suicide risk is elevated for individuals with bulimia nervosa, particularly with a co-occurring mood disorder.
Symptoms of major depressive disorder increases the risk of suicide. The essential feature of major depressive disorder is a period of two weeks during which there is either depressed mood most of the day nearly every day or loss of interest or pleasure in nearly all activities. Other potential symptoms include:
- Significant weight loss when not dieting or weight gain and changes in appetite
- Insomnia or hypersomnia nearly every day
- Psychomotor agitation or retardation nearly every day
- Fatigue or loss of energy nearly every day
- Feelings of worthlessness or excessive guilt
- Impaired ability to think or concentrate, and/or indecisiveness
- Recurrent thoughts of death, recurrent suicidal ideation without a plan, or a suicide attempt or suicide plan. 7
Eating Disorder Treatment the symptoms of major depressive disorder cause significant distress or impairment in social, occupational, or other areas of functioning. Suicide is always a risk when an individual experiences a major depressive episode. It is very important that individuals discuss their depressive symptoms with their health care providers when seeking help for bulimia nervosa, as a more than one treatment approach might be necessary.
Treatment of bulimia nervosa and depression
Treatment of bulimia can be complicated. Effective treatment addresses the underlying emotional issues that contribute to low self-esteem and negative self-perception.
Treatment of bulimia nervosa and depression is most effective with a team approach. Your treatment team includes you, your family, your primary care doctor or health practitioner, your mental health practitioner, and a dietitian experienced in treating eating disorders.
Treatment can include:
- Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) to help you identify unhealthy, negative thought patterns that contribute to disordered eating and replace them with positive ones
- Family therapy (this is particularly important with adolescents)
- Interpersonal therapy to help work through issues related to self-esteem, communication, and problem solving
- Medication management – some antidepressants can be effective for treatment of bulimia nervosa when combined with psychotherapy. 8
- Nutrition education to design a healthy eating plan
- Hospitalization – if you have significant health complications from bulimia nervosa, hospitalization might be necessary
Finding help for bulimia nervosa and depression
There is no simple answer for treating bulimia nervosa and depression. The best first step to take is to ask your primary care physician for a referral to an eating disorders specialist. From there, your specialist can lead your team to help you find the treatment plan that works best for you.