Eating Disorder Rehab Centers
Eating disorder rehabilitation is a serious issue. In this page we will investigate symptoms, causes, effects, and treatment options for eating disorders. If you or someone you know has an eating disorder, we urge you to seek out eating disorder rehab centers in your area to find a rehabilitation center near you. Clinics, programs, and treatment options are readily available in your area.
Eating Disorders
Eating disorders can be marked by extreme disturbances in eating behavior such as eating entirely too much all the time (binge eating), limiting food intake to the extreme (anorexia), or having extreme anxiety or stress over body weight or body shape. An eating disorder will frequently appear during young adulthood or adolescent ages when appearances are usually more important.
Likely one of the most complex disorders and also a very common problem, eating disorders plague millions of individuals and their loved ones. Statistics show that more than 6 million women or girls struggle with some sort of eating disorder and more than a million boys or men also suffer from an eating disorder. Additionally, many eating disorder cases are never reported due to shame or embarrassment.
There are two very common types of eating disorders known as bulimia nervosa and anorexia nervosa. Additionally, there is a third category of eating disorders which is known as eating disorders not otherwise specified or EDNOS. The EDNOS category includes all other variations of eating disorders including binge eating.
Who Suffers from an Eating Disorder?
Most eating disorders will appear during young adulthood or more frequently during adolescence. Unfortunately, even very young children have suffered from eating disorders as have older adults. Having an eating disorder is a condition that can develop in anyone of any age or sex. Both men and women, boys and girls suffer from eating disorders but women and girls do have a higher likelihood of developing an eating disorder.
Males make up about 10% of the bulimia or anorexia eating disorder population and approximately 35% of the binge-eating disorder population. The remainder of eating disorder cases tend to plague women and girls of all ages. Statistics show that about 3% of all females will suffer from bulimia at some point during their lifetime and about 2% will suffer from anorexia at some stage of life. Overall, an estimated 5% of the American population will suffer from binge eating at some time in life.
Effects of Eating Disorders
The negative effects of eating disorders are seen both physically and psychologically in the individual. Some of the most common illnesses that can be associated with eating disorders such as anorexia or bulimia include depression, drug abuse, heart problems, slowed growth, neurological disorders, dehydration, anxiety, obsessive behaviors and death.
Symptoms of Eating Disorders
There are a number of symptoms that can be associated with eating disorders depending on the eating disorder, the individual, and the severity of the condition. Some people will show immediate psychological signs of an eating disorder while others may go many years before the symptoms are prevalent enough for friends, family members and loved ones to notice.
Common symptoms of an eating disorder include:
- being obsessed with weight or with staying thin
- being over conscious about eating (ie obsessive about times, amounts, and types of food to eat)
- dieting excessively
- exercising excessively
- binging and purging (eating lots of food and then vomiting to expel it from the body)
- fear of weight gain
- intense unhappiness with body size, shape or appearance
Every eating disorder (anorexia, bulimia, and EDNOS) has it’s own complications associated with it as well as it’s own set of symptoms and side effects. The above list is just some of the more common symptoms that there may be a problem or eating disorder condition present.
Eating Disorder Rehab Centers and Eating Disorder Treatment
Eating disorders are illnesses that can be treated with medical and psychological help. Eating disorder rehab centers offer a number of programs to help the individual who suffers from an eating disorder to learn how to effectively recover from the condition. Most eating disorder rehab programs will require inpatient treatment for the condition followed by outpatient therapy sessions. These therapy sessions can be an ongoing process to assist the individual with the eating disorder and help prevent possible relapse.
Eating disorders are still a very misunderstood condition but researchers, clinicians, doctors and eating disorder rehab professionals are working round clock to better understand the causes of these conditions so that better treatment can be developed for eating disorders. Currently, eating disorder rehab professionals and staff know that eating disorders are a mental illness that requires psychological care in order to resolve the problem. The big question for many of these professionals is how to provide treatment for the various types of eating disorders.
Some eating disorder rehab centers will provide meal plans, supervised eating, and nutrition counseling in conjunction with psychological therapy or counseling to help the individual suffering from an eating disorder to better understand the root of the problem and how to fix it. Sometimes, those with an eating disorder want to stop the problem but just don’t have the tools to do so. This is another time when an eating disorder rehab center comes in.
Eating disorder rehab centers will tailor treatment for each individual based on their specific eating disorder, routines and rituals. For many who suffer from eating disorders, food and the process of eating becomes a ritualistic affair that requires psychological help to stop. Common treatments provided by eating disorder rehab centers include but are not limited to medication, counseling, individual psychotherapy, group or family psychotherapy, medical care and monitoring, and in severe cases, hospitalization.
