Eating Disorder

An eating disorder is an illness that can cause a person to take on a pattern of harmful eating habits.  Often they are associated with other psychiatric disorders including depression and anxiety disorders.  Many patients suffering from an eating disorder face significant obstacles in eating in a healthy manner that are psychological in nature.  These issues must be resolved with psychological help in order for any form of success to occur.  Without professional psychologist’s help, individual’s suffering from an eating disorder will continue to struggle with their eating until the proper help is received.  Due to the poor nutrition associated with these disorders, the organs in the body can be harmed and in severe cases ultimately lead to death.

Eating disorders take many forms, but anorexia nervosa and bulimia Nervosa are the two most common types of these illnesses.  These two illnesses center around the fact that an individual uses food control as a means of trying to control the psychological pain and discomfort they experience.  In almost all cases, simply asking a person suffering from an eating disorder will not improve their condition.  Professional help will ultimately prove necessary in guiding these individuals in a path of recovery and toward healthy eating.  Binge eating disorder is another type, which like Bulimia Nervosa involves eating huge amounts of food; however the drives and motives differ somewhat.  In all cases, help from professional support systems is necessary.

Bulimia eating disorder involves purging of the system by vomiting.  Binge eating disorder, on the other hand, involves a somewhat different drive which is out of control compulsory eating without the discipline to stop, although one may wish too.  As with anorexia and bulimia, which have been approved as a formal psychiatric diagnosis, the binge associated form, although not approved yet for psychiatric diagnosis, does however have root symptoms (i.e. anxiety, depression, etc.) which may benefit from therapeutic treatment methods such as cognitive-behavioral therapy, interpersonal psychotherapy and drug therapy.

Most individuals will realize, once seeking psychological help that their lives are unmanageable and that recovery is possible.  Generally speaking, to reach this understating many persons need to speak with a psychological professional or others versed in the nature and dynamics of eating disorders.  Until this awareness of their disorder is found, individuals fighting eating disorders will continue to dwindle away in misery while fighting their disease.

An eating disorder can be extremely harmful to your health.  If you feel you or someone you know suffers from an eating disorder, contact a professional psychologist today!

Read more on other mental health topics such as: Drug Abuse, Anorexia, Counseling, and Bipolar Disorder