|
Eating Disorders Are Treatable--
But First You Have To Ask For Help
Eating is controlled by many factors, including
appetite, food availability, family, peer, and cultural practices,
and attempts at voluntary control. Dieting to a body weight leaner
than needed for health is highly promoted by current fashion trends,
sales campaigns for special foods, and in some activities and professions.
Eating disorders involve serious disturbances in eating behavior, such
as extreme and unhealthy reduction of food intake or severe overeating,
as well as feelings of distress or extreme concern about body shape
or weight.
Researchers are investigating how and why initially voluntary behaviors,
such as eating smaller or larger amounts of food than usual, at some
point move beyond control in some people and develop into an eating
disorder. Studies on the basic biology of appetite control and its alteration
by prolonged overeating or starvation have uncovered enormous complexity,
but in the long run have the potential to lead to new pharmacologic
treatments for eating disorders.
Eating disorders are not due to a failure of will or behavior; rather, they are
real, treatable medical illnesses in which certain maladaptive patterns of eating
take on a life of their own. The main types of eating disorders are anorexia
nervosa and bulimia nervosa. A third type, binge-eating disorder, has been suggested
but has not yet been approved as a formal psychiatric diagnosis. Eating disorders
frequently develop during adolescence or early adulthood, but some reports indicate
their onset can occur during childhood or later in adulthood.
Eating disorders frequently co-occur with other psychiatric disorders such as
depression, substance abuse, and anxiety disorders. In addition, people who suffer
from eating disorders can experience a wide range of physical health complications,
including serious heart conditions and kidney failure that may lead to death.
Recognition of eating disorders as real and treatable disorders, therefore, is
critically important.
Treatment Strategies:
Eating disorders can be treated and a healthy weight restored. The sooner these
disorders are diagnosed and treated, the better the outcomes are likely to be.
Because of their complexity, eating disorders require a comprehensive treatment
plan involving medical care and monitoring, psychosocial interventions, nutritional
counseling and, when appropriate, medication management. At the time of diagnosis,
the clinician must determine whether the person is in immediate danger and requires
hospitalization.
Emotional Support Can Be Critical to Successful Treatment:
People with eating disorders often do not recognize or admit that they are ill.
As a result, they may strongly resist getting and staying in treatment. Family
members or other trusted individuals can be extremely helpful in ensuring that
the person with an eating disorder receives needed care and rehabilitation. For
some people, treatment may be long term.
Source: National Institute of Mental Health |
|
