Eating Disorder Treatments
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EATING DISORDERS If you are suffering from an eating disorder, the first step is acknowledging the problem and realizing that help is available. Therapy can help you to get to the root of the problem, to begin healing, and to reach your personal goals. How does an eating disorder develop, and why–these are the central questions that begin to point to a way out. In many of those who struggle with issues of weight and control over eating, poor self-esteem is central to the problem. Somewhere along the way, self-esteem gets inextricably bound to one’s weight. “Success” in controlling one’s weight is likely perceived as a measure of one’s inherent worth. On the flip side, “failure” in this regard usually results in self-recrimination and feelings of guilt or shame. Unfortunately, our society fosters these attitudes and thereby lends strength to these tendencies. For those who binge or compulsively overeat, food is often used as a way of both avoiding and comforting oneself when having negative feelings (“emotional eating”). Also, it is used to companion oneself when lonely or bored. Some people find that having a weight problem serves the purpose of keeping other people from getting too close. Those who starve themselves or go to extreme lengths to keep weight down strive to meet their perfectionistic standards for body image, which may be quite distorted (severely underweight). |
