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Minding Your Body: How to Treat Eating Disorders

It has become a popular joke. They say it's a model's sickness, eating then throwing up in order to "stay in shape". Well, it's a lot more serious than that, and it definitely won't keep you "in shape". It isn't cool at all because if you've seen Lindsay Lohan or Nicole Richie's recent photos, you'd be afraid. Very afraid. But eating disorders can come in different sorts and varieties. There are some that will desiccate you and leave you stick-thin. Others can inflate you to a bloated mass. All just spells one word: Lethal. Eating disorders can kill, and in a mean, torturous way. Eating disorders will wreak havoc on both body and mind, both on the individual and his loved ones. They joked about it in Zoolander. Some of the more famous eating disorders are Anorexia Nervosa, Bulimia. There is also binge eating. The former two share a lot of signs and symptoms, the latter being almost the opposite. But an undeniable, common pattern emerges. Anorexia in layman's terms would translate to "the relentless pursuit of being thin" or "proper size". Some eating disorder signs include the person's ultra-rigid diet regimen which entails eating meals with almost no nutritional value, or skipping meals entirely just to lose weight. In women, menstrual periods stop, young girls do not begin to menstruate at the appropriate age. In men, levels of sex hormones fall. The person denies the dangers of low weight and is terrified of becoming fat. He/she is also terrified of gaining weight even though markedly underweight and interestingly enough, even reports feeling fat even when very thin. Bulimia Nervosa is known as the "diet-binge-purge" eating disorder. It is a bit different to Anorexia; the person binge eats and feels out of control while doing it. Bulimics resort to vomiting, misuse of laxatives, exercises, or fasts to get rid of the calories. Diets when not bingeing but when hunger comes, binges again. Binge eating is quite self-explanatory. The victim binge eats, period. Unlike Anorexia or Bulimia, there is no release. The person binge eats frequently and repeatedly and feels out of control and unable to stop. Intake continues rapidly and secretly, like snacking and nibbling all day long. Usually the person afflicted has a history of eating disorder and diet failures and tends to be depressed and obese. Changes like these can heavily impair the chemical balance of one's body. We all know that the body and mind should co-exist harmoniously, simply because the brain is a part of the body and is affected physically. In this case, it is an unhealthy mind which causes an unhealthy body which perpetuates an unhealthy mind (follow?). Studies have shown that anorexics and bulimics usually equate thinness to self-worth, and binge eaters eat to drown their emotional pains. These people undergo traumatic experiences that affect their mental, emotional and physical states that it should only be fitting to give each one proper treatment. Most people with eating disorders, especially in the beginning, will resist treatment and behavior change. Just like drug addiction, it will be difficult process of rehabilitation. After a while, however, they begin to understand that the supposed benefits of thinness or overeating are only an illusion that will never bring them happiness. Starving, stuffing, purging, and other self-destructive behaviors will never lead to peace and a meaningful life. When people get to this point, and when they begin to look for better ways to build meaningful lives, recovery from eating disorders becomes a real possibility. Eating disorders are certainly treatable, and lots of people recover from them. But recovery is a difficult process that can take seven to ten years or even longer. Some people do better than others and make faster progress. The folks who do best, work with physicians and counselors who help them resolve both the medical and psychological issues that contribute to, or result from, disordered eating. About 80 percent of people with eating disorders who seek treatment either recover completely or make significant progress. Sadly, the rest remain chronic sufferers or die. Because many factors contribute to the development of an eating disorder, and since every person's situation is different, the "best treatment" should be custom tailored for each individual. The process begins with an evaluation by a physician or counselor. A lot of studies agree upon several things. Of course, attention to the patient's physical is prioritized to alleviate the situation. Hospitalization is required to prevent death, suicide, and medical crisis. A weight restoration program for eating disorder patients is carried out to improve health, mood, and cognitive functioning. Medication is also given to relieve depression and anxiety. Individual counseling is also needed to develop healthy ways of taking control of one's life. Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) has proved effective in treating bulimia and binge eating disorder. Counseling of choice for anorexia is determined by individual and family circumstances. Some specifics steps include group counseling, family counseling, nutrition counseling and support groups. Still, everything relies on the effort and persistence of the patient. If his mind and body is dedicated to pursue the road to recovery from eating disorders, then already half the battle is won.

• New center for eating disorders opens in Austin (Austin Business Journal)
  
  Austin's first residential treatment center for eating disorders is open.
  


• Celebrities Who've Suffered From Eating Disorders (WNBC)
  
  As many as 24 million people in the United States suffer from eating disorders, according to the Refrew Center. See which celebrities are among those.
  


• 'Rachael Ray Show' Overrun By Litigious Aneroxics [Annals Of Workplace Eating Disorders] (Defamer)
  
  In what will easily go down as the Most Insane Legal Filing of the Long Weekend, a male employee at The Rachael Ray Show has named producer CBS and several other staffers in a legal filing seeking...
  


• Youth eating disorders as bad as cancer, conference told (Canada.com)
  
  VICTORIA - Youth with eating disorders sometimes end up worse off than children with leukemia, but people still aren't treating the issue seriously, delegates at the 85th annual Canadian Paediatric Society conference were told Thursday.
  


• Let's See Some Hustle Out There! (SF Weekly)
  
  We have not read local author Jennifer Sey's book Chalked Up: Inside Elite Gymnastics' Merciless Coaching, Overzealous Parents, Eating Disorders, and Elusive Olympic Dreams. But we did see Stick It, a movie on the same theme whose tagline is "It's not called gym-nice-tics," so we feel like we know w ...