Causes and Treatments for Eating Disorders

                                                                                         

Eating disorders are devastating diseases for those who suffer from them. They do not suffer alone, however. Parents, siblings, loved ones, friends and other family members also struggle when someone they care deeply about is affected by an eating disorder. They experience concern, sadness and even anger about the self-destructive path that they are watching this person take- and worst of all they feel helpless to stop the eating disorder from destroying someone they love. When a family finds itself in this situation, the best thing they can do is learn as much as they can about the eating disorder and present the person with an opportunity to get help. Help may come in the form of therapy or even time spent in an inpatient facility where they can receive the treatment that they need.

There is no easy answer as to what causes eating disorders. It is often a complex series of events or beliefs adopted by a person that are clearly not to their highest good. For some, the media assault of what beauty is can have a catastrophic effect. The media presents images of people who spend many hours a week, not to mention thousands of dollars, creating an image that is actually achievable by a small percent of the population. What starts as an effort to achieve this look can spiral into an obsession driven by body hatred and other negative emotions. Anorexia, bulimia and binge eating are almost always accompanied by emotional issues.

Control is often a driving issue. With anorexia you often find individuals obsessed with their ability to control certain aspects of their lives which usually plays out in strict or excessive control over their diet. In bulimia and binge eating you are far more likely to find that control is an issue, only it's often the inability to control one's eating that becomes the problem. Many times people experience emotional eating in which they find themselves consuming large quantities of food in order to eat away their emotions rather than dealing with them. This can also be present in terms of one's ability to tell the difference between physical hunger and emotional hunger. It is through treatment that the difference is learned. Knowing how to eat when your body is hungry and stop when the body is full- not stuffed- but sated and full, can be a long journey with a very large emotional component.

About the author:

Written by Melissa Bryson. Since 1999, edreferral.com has been the most comprehensive source for information on eating disorders. Search their database for treatment professionals specializing in anorexia, bulimia and binge eating.


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