Eating disorders
What is an Eating Disorder?
Eating disorders are a complex area of mental illness. Despite extensive research, the biological, behavioral and social roots of these conditions are not very well understood. However, there are psychological and medicinal treatments that have been proven effective in most cases.
An eating disorder is present when a person’s eating behavior is disturbed to an extreme – either eating too much, or eating very little. Eating disorders also involve a person’s extreme anguish with regard to her (or his) body image.
There are two main types of eating disorder – anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa. A third type is ED,NOS (Eating Disorders Not Otherwise Specified), which includes several variations of anorexia and bulimia. One such variation is binge-eating disorder, an illness now receiving increased media attention and research.
What are the symptoms of an Eating Disorder?
According to the NIMH, people suffering from anorexia nervosa often exhibit these symptoms:
• Constantly trying to lose weight (by some combination of dieting, excessive exercise, self-induced vomiting, misuse of laxatives, diuretics or enemas)
• Refusing to maintain a healthy body weight
• Body image distortion (thinking they are overweight when they’re clearly emaciated)
• Obsessively reducing and controlling their intake of food, often restricting their diets to only specific foods
• Eating, food and weight control are obsessions
Over time, other symptoms of anorexia can develop:
• Dry, yellowish skin
• Brittle hair, nails
• Feeling exhausted
• Feeling cold all the time, due to a lower internal body temperature
• Growth of fine hair over body (lanugo)
• Mild anemia
• Bone thinning (osteopenia, osteoporosis)
• Muscle weakness, loss
• Constipation
• Low blood pressure, slowdown in breathing/pulse
People suffering from bulimia often exhibit these symptoms:
• Eating unusually large quantities of food (binge-eating), and accompanying feelings of guilt
• “Making up” for the binge by purging (misuse of laxatives or diuretics), vomiting, dieting, excessive exercise or fasting
• Like anorexia, bulimics are intensely fearful of gaining weight and have a distorted body image
• Severe dehydration from constant fluid loss (purging)
• Chronic sore throat
• Worn tooth enamel; sensitivity due to exposure to stomach acids
• Often bulimics are within normal weight ranges for height and age
• Swollen glands in the neck and below jaw
• Irritated intestinal tract – from laxative abuse
• Kidney problems – from diuretic abuse
• Gastroesophageal reflux disorder\
How can The Treatment Center Help?
With our full staff of dedicated, experienced mental health professionals, The Treatment Center is equipped to treat your eating disorder. Whether you’re suffering from anorexia, bulimia or have an eating disorder not otherwise specified (ED,NOS), we can prescribe medications and provide you and your family with psychotherapy and/or cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT).
And, perhaps most importantly, we can walk with you on your journey toward improved mental health.
We can help you.
Please contact us at 877-392-3342 for a free confidential assessment and discussion of the different options available to you.
