There is a lot of confusion about the seriousness of eating disorders in today's society. People often joke around by telling their underweight or dieting friends that they must have an eating disorder. Or, they perceive very thin people as anorexic. This annoyance is no laughing matter. In fact, it can be life threatening. If you are concerned that you or someone you know is showing symptoms of an eating disorder, you need to seek help as soon as possible. Learn how to identify the disorder, seek help, and maintain your healing in the long term.
Step
Method 1 of 3: Seeking Help for an Eating Disorder
Step 1. Tell someone you trust
The first step towards healing from an eating disorder is to talk about it often. Doing this can be intimidating, but you'll be truly relieved when you finally share your story with someone else. Choose someone who will always give you non-judgmental support, maybe a friend, coach, clergyman, parent, or school counselor.
- Take the time to be able to talk to the person privately without any distractions. Try to be patient. Your loved one may be surprised, confused, or hurt to learn that you have been suffering all this time.
- Describe some of the symptoms you have and when they started. You can also discuss the physical or emotional effects of your eating disorder, such as missing periods or suicidal thoughts.
- Give the person some ideas how he or she can help you. Do you want him to keep you eating right? Would you like him to accompany you to see the doctor? Let your loved ones know how you can feel most supported.
Step 2. Choose a specialist
After sharing the news with your loved ones about your condition, you will feel more confident and supported in seeking professional help. Your best hope for a full recovery depends on selecting a healthcare team experienced in treating eating disorders.
You can find an eating disorder specialist by asking for a referral from a doctor, contacting a hospital or medical center, contacting your school advisor, or calling the Ministry of Health's Directorate of Mental Health Services at 500-454
Step 3. Decide which treatment program is best for you
Work with a doctor or counselor to find out what type of treatment will suit your situation. There are a variety of effective treatment options for eating disorders.
- Individualized psychotherapy allows you to work one-on-one with a therapist to find the causes of your condition and develop healthier ways to deal with the triggers. One effective therapeutic approach is cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), which focuses on changing unhelpful thought patterns that affect your relationship with food and your own body.
- Family therapy helps guide parents in the proper way of caring for teens with eating disorders and brings healthier lifestyle habits into the home for long-term recovery.
- Medical supervision is needed so that the doctor can examine you physically to ensure you are regaining bodily function as you progress through treatment. Your doctor may record your weight and perform routine tests.
- A nutrition consultation includes seeing a certified dietitian regularly to ensure that you are consuming enough calories and macronutrients to maintain or restore a healthy weight. This expert will also work with you in turning your relationship with food into a positive and healthy one.
- Medications are often prescribed when an illness co-occurs with an eating disorder, such as depression. Common medications prescribed to help with eating disorders include antidepressants, antipsychotics, anti-anxiety medications, and mood stabilizers.
Step 4. Try a combination of different approaches to get the best results
Your best hope for a long-term and successful recovery from an eating disorder is to combine several types of therapy and medical care with nutritional counseling. Regardless, your treatment program should be tailored to your specific needs, taking into account other illnesses you also have.
Step 5. Find a support group
In your healing process, it can be comforting to know that you are not alone. Finding a support group through a treatment center or therapist's office can help you converse with others going through a similar experience and provide you with a source of support.
Method 2 of 3: Maintaining Your Healing
Step 1. Fight negative thoughts about your body
Negative thoughts can feel in control of your life when suffering from an eating disorder. You may hurt yourself when you gain weight or criticize yourself for eating the whole meal instead of half. Overcoming this mindset is essential to your healing.
- Take a few days to realize what you're thinking. Name certain thoughts as negative or positive, beneficial or unwholesome. Consider how such thoughts might affect your mood or behavior.
- Fight negative and unhelpful thoughts by identifying whether they are realistic thoughts. For example, if you find yourself thinking, “I will never reach a healthy weight,” you might ask yourself how you came to know such a thing. Can you predict the future? Certainly not.
- Once you've identified your unproductive thoughts, you can replace them with more helpful and realistic versions such as, "Gaining a healthy weight will take time, but I can do it."
Step 2. Learn how to fight stress effectively
Stress often works as a trigger for unhealthy behavior patterns that lead to eating disorders. Therefore, developing positive methods for managing stress can help you maintain your recovery. A number of great ways to fight stress include:
- Do exercise regularly.
- Get at least 7 to 9 hours of sleep every night.
- Find a hobby.
- Listen to music and dance.
- Spend time with positive and supportive people.
- Take your dog for a walk.
- Take a long and relaxing bath.
- Learn how to say "no" when you have too much going on.
- Eliminate perfectionist tendencies.
Step 3. Develop a balanced diet and exercise program
Eating and physical activity are an important part of overall health. However, people with eating disorders have an unhealthy relationship with them. You will need to work closely with your doctor and dietitian to determine the right balance of exercise and a complete diet that will allow you to maintain optimal health.
Step 4. Wear clothes that make you feel comfortable
Make the feeling of being happy with the clothes you wear a goal. Choose items that embellish and feel comfortable for your current size and shape instead of choosing clothes for your “ideal” body, or wearing clothes that completely cover your shape.
Step 5. Give it time
Recovering from an eating disorder is a process. You may experience an eating disorder again several times before successfully overcoming the negative behavior pattern that triggered the disorder. Keep doing it. Do not give up. You can get healing if you are strong willed.
Method 3 of 3: Identifying Eating Disorders
Step 1. Find out about eating disorders
For information on the risks and seriousness of eating disorders, it can be helpful to do a quick look at these conditions online. Only a doctor or mental health provider can officially diagnose your eating disorder, but learning more can help you understand how these conditions can be life-threatening, and motivate you to seek help. Learn about the most common types of eating disorders.
- Anorexia nervosa characterized by obsessive attention to size and weight. A person suffering from this condition may be afraid of gaining weight and believe that he is overweight when in fact he is very underweight. Sufferers can refuse to eat and eat in a very strict pattern. Some people with anorexia may expel food (vomit) or take laxatives to lose weight.
- Bulimia nervosa involves periods of binge eating-that is, eating large amounts of food uncontrollably-then compensating for the overeating by expelling the food, taking laxatives or diuretics, exercising excessively, fasting, or a combination of these.. This condition can be difficult to identify because many people with bulimia maintain an average weight.
- Binge eating disorder characterized by eating large amounts of food even when the person is not actually hungry. People who suffer from bulimia can eat quietly and cannot control themselves when they overeat. Although similar, people with binge eating disorder (BED) do not take compensatory measures such as expelling food or exercising excessively. People who have BED can be overweight or obese.
Step 2. Observe and record your symptoms
As you learn more about eating disorders, you may recognize a number of symptoms that explain your own behavior. Paying attention to your symptoms and your thoughts and feelings can help when seeking professional help. You can keep a journal of your symptoms to help you and your doctor better understand your eating disorder.
- Try keeping a daily journal, as this can help you identify the link between your thought patterns and behavior, which can be helpful for your healing treatment.
- For example, you may note an overeating behavior. Then, think back to what happened just before that incident. What do you think? How do you feel? Who are you around? What are you talking about? Then write down how you feel afterwards. What thoughts and feelings arise in you?
Step 3. Look for signs of how your disorder is developing
Thinking about when and how your symptoms started can be helpful. Finding such details can help your doctor diagnose your condition and other conditions that occur, such as anxiety or depression. Thinking about the cause can also help as you begin to make lifestyle changes during treatment.
The exact cause of eating disorders is not known. However, the researchers found that many sufferers had a parent or sibling who suffered from an eating disorder, and may have been raised in a strong social and cultural ideology of being slim. They may also have low self-esteem and a perfectionist personality, as well as being fed a slim body image because of friends or the media
Tips
- Realize that this is a process and takes time.
- Know that you are doing good for your body, mind, and spirit by undergoing treatment.
- Don't give up on yourself.
- Stay away from things that trigger yourself to return to old patterns.
Warning
- This is just a guide and a start.
- If you have ever had suicidal thoughts, contact your doctor or therapist immediately.
