Overview
Life
is painful for the overeater. It is equally painful
to deny the need to eat. Eating disorders are
serious illnesses that cannot be cured by willpower.
The most common element
surrounding ALL eating disorders is the inherent
presence of a low self-esteem.
Quite often the eating
disorder is a unique reaction to an array of external
and internal conflicts, such as stress, anxiety,
and unhappiness.
Our programs are designed
to provide emotional healing for those suffering
from anorexia, bulimia or compulsive eating.
Anorexia
Nervosa
Some of the behavioral signs can be: obsessive
exercise, calorie and fat gram counting, starvation
and restriction
of food, self-induced vomiting, the use of diet pills,
laxatives or diuretics to attempt controlling weight,
and a persistent concern with body image.
The inherent trait of
a person suffering anorexia is to attempt to maintain
strict control over
food intake.
It is not uncommon for
people suffering with anorexia to waver through periods
of bulimia (bingeing and purging) as well.
Bulimia Nervosa
Men
and women who live with bulimia seek out binge and
purge episodes -- eating large quantities
of food in a relatively short period of time followed
by behaviors such as taking laxatives, exaggerated
exercise or self-induced vomiting.
This is a result of feeling overwhelmed by the stress
of coping with their emotions, or to punish
themselves
for something they unrealistically
blame themselves for. This can be in direct relation
to how they feel about themselves, or how they feel
over a particular event or series of events in their
lives.
Those suffering with bulimia
may seek episodes of bingeing and purging to avoid
and let out feelings
of anger, depression, stress or anxiety.
It is important to realize
that what makes a person bulimic -- as opposed to
anorexic
-- is not the purging, but the cycle of bingeing and
purging. It is not uncommon for a man
or woman suffering with bulimia to take diet pills
in an attempt to keep from bingeing or to use diuretics
to try to lose weight. One who suffers with bulimia will often hide
or "store" food for later binges, will
often eat secretly and can have large fluctuations
in their weight.
Compulsive Overeating
People suffering with
compulsive overeating have what is characterized
as an "addiction" to
food, using food and eating as a way to hide from
their emotions,
to fill a void they feel inside, and to cope with daily
stresses and problems in their lives.
People suffering with
this eating disorder tend to be overweight, are usually
aware
that their eating
habits are abnormal, but find little comfort because
of society's tendency to stereotype the "overweight" individual.
Words like, "just go on a diet" are as emotionally
devestating to a person suffering compulsive overeating
as "just eat" can be to a person suffering
anorexia.
A person suffering as
a compulsive overeater is at health risk for a heart
attack, diabetes, stroke,
high blood-pressure and cholesterol, kidney disease
and/or
failure, arthritis
and bone deterioration.
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Common
Symptoms of Eating Disorders
Always feeling fat.
Intense fear of becoming
fat.
Feeling of loss of control
when eating.
Weight determines self-esteem.
Feeling guilt or shame
after eating.
Repeated and unsuccessful
attempts at dieting.
Bingeing (eating large
amounts of food in a short period of time).
Feeling self-conscious
about eating, sneaking food or lying about eating
habits.
Strict dieting or fasting.
Self-induced vomiting.
Laxative and/or diuretic
abuse.
Compulsive exercise.
Eating for emotional comfort
or to relieve stress or depression.
Looking forward to eating
alone.
Eating when not hungry.
Eating sensibly in front
of others and then making up for it when alone.
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