Eating Disorders

Having an eating disorder is not simply about eating too little or too much on occasion – it goes deeper than that. If your life is centered around and controlled by food, and you either have negative thoughts and strong fears about food and the possibility of weight gain, or you treat food as a tool to feel comforted and soothe your feelings, you may have an eating disorder.

An eating disorder is a seriousillness that distorts a person’s eating behavior, making them obsess about food, their body weight, and shape, or it makes people turn to food to alter their mood. This leads to people either consuming too much food or too little of it, with emotional, physical, and mental ramifications.

Eating food to alter one’s mood can lead to poor emotional health while consuming more food than you need can lead to physical health issues such as heart disease and diabetes. On the other hand, consuming too little food means that the body is not getting all the nutrients it needs to be healthy and function well. As a result of malnutrition, the body begins to break down because it simply cannot cope.

The exact causes of eating disorders are not fully known or understood at present, but the existing research suggests that a combination of social, biological, genetic, behavioral, and psychological factors all play a role and can increase the risk of a person developing an eating disorder.

A variety of eating disorders can afflict a person, but the most common types of eating disorders include bulimia nervosa, anorexia nervosa, and binge-eating disorder. Depending on the type of eating disorder and the underlying cause, the treatment and intervention applied will differ.

Bulimia nervosa. Also known simply as bulimia, a person with bulimia nervosa may be able to maintain a normal weight, or they may be overweight. The person with bulimia may find themselves trapped in a vicious cycle of overeating and then feeling out of control when they do so. These episodes of binge-eating are followed by compensatory behaviors such as forced vomiting, excessive exercise, fasting, the use of laxatives and diuretics, or a combination of these practices to rid themselves of the excess food consumed and potential weight.

Anorexia nervosa. Also known simply as anorexia, this eating disorder can be fatal because it leads to a person developing complications associated with starvation and malnutrition as their body doesn’t get what it needs to remain healthy and function. They may experience thinning of their bones, muscle wasting and weakness, damage to heart function and structure, dry and sallow skin, brain damage, infertility, and multi organ failure.

There are two broad subcategories of anorexia: restrictive and binge-purge. The restrictive subtype of anorexia is when a person places severe restrictions on the amount and type of food that they consume. The binge-purge type of anorexia also causes a person to place severe restrictions on the type and amount of food that they eat, and they may also engage in binge-eating and purging behaviors such as forced vomiting and using diuretics and laxatives.

Their perception of their bodies and reality don’t match, and consequently, even though they think they are overweight and weigh themselves repeatedly, they become dangerously underweight. Some of the signs of anorexia nervosa include an intense fear of gaining weight and a distorted body image, as well as the physical symptoms of malnourishment listed earlier.

Binge-eating disorder. The binge-eating disorder often brings about feelings of shame, distress, and guilt about eating. A person with binge-eating disorder can find themselves eating large amounts of food over a short period such as an hour or two, eating secretly, even when they’re full, or not feeling hungry at all.

Thus, they often struggle with maintaining a healthy weight and are overweight or obese. Unlike with bulimia, the person with binge-eating disorder loses control over their eating and binge-eats but does not follow those binge-eating episodes with compensatory purging behaviors such as exercise, vomiting, or fasting.

OSFED (Other specified feeding or eating disorders). When a person’s symptoms don’t fit tidily into any of the above eating disorders, but they have unhealthy attitudes and behaviors concerning food, they may be diagnosed as having an OSFED. As situations vary greatly from case to case, there isn’t a specified treatment for OSFED, but the treatment team you and your doctor bring around you will work with you to achieve your goals and meet your needs effectively. Your doctor will adjust your therapy and treatment plan to address the eating disorder your symptoms most closely match.

One pervasive myth about eating disorders is that only some people are affected by them. The compulsive thoughts, fears, and behaviors that constitute an eating disorder affect both men and women alike. Eating disorders do not discriminate. Around thirty million Americans of all genders, social backgrounds, ethnicity, and ages suffer from an eating disorder at some point in their lives.

We are all susceptible to feeling unhappy or dissatisfied with our bodies and our lives, whether due to a comment someone makes about us or because of feeling overwhelmed and like our lives are out of control. Sometimes this lack of contentment develops because we hear and believe the false narratives that try to tie our sense of well-being,happiness, and success to our body shape or weight.

As noted earlier, an eating disorder can be triggered by any number of factors including environmental, genetic, mental, emotional, or social factors.If you feel like your life is controlled by and centered around food, whether you turn to food to feel comforted or harbor strong fears and have negative thoughts about food because of possible weight gain, you may be struggling with an eating disorder.

Eating disorders can wreak havoc in a person’s life, but the outlook for anyone struggling with an eating disorder is good. There is hope. The treatment options available for eating disorders include therapy, nutrition education, and medication, or a combination of these. The treatment for you or your loved one’s eating disorder will depend on the disorder and its attendant symptoms.

The road to recovery from an eating disorder requires personal investment by the person with the eating disorder along with the involvement of others. The group of people you gather around you for the journey will help you not only by being your support but also by providing accountability. This group – your treatment team – can include a dietitian, a psychotherapist, your family members, and friends.

Therapy for eating disorders can last anything from a few months to a few years, depending on the situation. Your counselor will listen to your story, and in concert with the dietitian or nutritionist, they will develop a treatment plan geared toward your unique needs to help you set attainable goals. Your counselor may set goals for your therapy such as rebuilding your self-esteem, restoring a healthy body image, exposing, and addressing the underlying triggers of your eating disorder, and achieving a healthy body weight. Some of the effective therapies for eating disorders include:

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT),which develops one’s awareness of how thoughts, feelings, and actions may contribute to the eating disorder, and helps to replace negative perceptions with healthy ones, building capacity to identify and address the distorted thoughts that may lead to eating disorders.

Family-based Therapy, where family members learn to help a person to re-establish healthy eating habits. This form of therapy is particularly suitable for those in close-knit family units or for parents learning to help their child who has an eating disorder.

Group Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, in which a group of 5-8 individuals with eating disorders is led by a trained therapist in sessions where they acquire skills to manage the symptoms of the eating disorder and develop tools to tackle negative feelings, thoughts, and behaviors.

In addition to therapy, your doctor or therapist may deem it necessary to prescribe medications. While there are no medications that cure eating disorders, they can help in treating conditions such as anxiety and depression that accompany them. The eating disorder may also have caused physical health problems, and medication may be necessary to treat these.

Furthermore, a nutritionist can help you develop a plan to attain and sustain wholesome eating habits, and this may include planning meals, eating regularly, and remedying any health problems that may have resulted from either obesity or malnourishment.

Christian counseling offers you a safe space, using both spiritual resources such as Scripture and prayer, as well as proven therapeutic techniques that address the health of the whole person – body, mind, and spirit. As an association of Christian counselors, whatever your situation, the counselors at Orange County Christian Counseling are compassionate and empathetic, offering you a safe space to find rest in the Lord and for healing. They will help you establish a healthy relationship with food, reclaiming your health, your zest for life, and your sense of worth as animage-bearer of God.

If you are ready to begin your journey toward a healthier lifestyle, self-image, healing, and peace, contact us today to find out more about counseling for eating disorders at Orange County Christian Counseling or to book your risk-free initial assessment.