Eating disorders involve persistent disturbances in eating behavior, an intense fear of becoming overweight and/or an intense pursuit to be thin, which can sometimes be deadly.
This involves an intense fear of gaining weight, which is accompanied by behaviors that affects weight gain. The person restricts food intake, which leads to a significant low body weight. Also, there is a distorted perception of one’s body weight and lack of awareness about the seriousness of one’s condition.
This has two subtypes: the restricting type and the binge-eating/purging type. In the restricting type, people make intense efforts to reduce the amount of food that they eat. They also avoid eating in front of people. However, in the binge-eating/purging type, people binge and/or purge. A binge means that the person eats food whose quantity is more as compared to what people eat normally. After a binge, there may be an attempt to purge the food that one has eaten, that is, they try to remove the food that they have eaten from their bodies through the means of vomiting or misusing laxatives.
This involves repeated episodes of binge eating. Binge eating involves eating a larger amount of food as compared to what people eat normally, and a sense of lack of control is also present during this. This is followed by inappropriate behaviors to reduce the weight gain, through the means of using laxatives, medications, excessive exercise or self-induced vomiting.
The difference between binge-eating/purging type of anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa is that the person with anorexia is severely underweight, whereas this is not the case with those who have bulimia nervosa.
This involves episodes of binge-eating, and involves eating large amounts of food when one is not hungry, eating faster than usual and/or being distressed about binge-eating. However, no compensatory behavior of purging, exercise or laxatives are used. As a result, people with this disorder tend to be overweight or obese.
The treatment process for anorexia nervosa involves the use of medications as well as family and individual therapy. Since people with anorexia don’t see it as a problem, they are extremely reluctant to seek treatment. For those in treatment, the first aim is to restore their weight to a healthy level. Along with this, psychological treatment is also required to address their distorted beliefs and thoughts related to food, weight, and themselves as well.
For bulimia nervosa, the treatment approach involves the use of cognitive-behavior therapy or dialectical behavior therapy. The behavioral aspect involves providing nutrition education, planning meals and ending the binge-purge cycles. The cognitive aspect challenges the dysfunctional thought patterns that perpetuate the binge-purge cycle.
The treatment approach toward binge-eating disorder can involve the use of medications as well as counselling. The effort is to address the behavioral and cognitive aspect of the disorder that make the person engage in the binge-eating behavior.
Long-term treatment is required to address the concerns of people with eating disorders, but with proper support and guidance, recovery is possible. If you or your loved ones are showing signs of eating disorders, please reach out to Veda Rehab and Wellness Center at +918151830000 for counselling and support.
Written by:
Monalisa Kar
In-house Psychologist
Veda Rehab and Wellness Center
