How to get rid of an eating disorder

Content

To step
Method 1 of 3: Get help with an eating disorder
Method 2 of 3: Hold on after you recover
Method 3 of 3: Recognizing an eating disorder
Tips
Warnings

There is much confusion about the severity of eating disorders in today's society. People often joke to friends who are underweight or always on a diet that they seem to have an eating disorder. Or they refer to someone who is really skinny as an anorexia patient. These disorders are no laughing matter. The fact is, they can be deadly. If you are concerned that you or someone you know may have an eating disorder, you should seek help as soon as possible. Learn about identifying eating disorders, getting help, and sustaining your recovery over the long term.

To step

Method 1 of 3: Get help with an eating disorder

Confide in someone. Often the first step to overcoming an eating disorder is to talk about it. This can be scary, but you will feel tremendously relieved when you finally share this with someone else. Choose someone who has always supported you, without making an immediate judgment (perhaps a best friend, coach, pastor, parent, or the school mentor).
- Set a time when you have a private conversation with this person, without interruptions. Try to be patient. Your loved one may be shocked, confused, or hurt that you have had to carry this burden alone all this time.
- Explain some of the symptoms you noticed and when they started. You can also discuss the physical or emotional consequences of your eating disorder, such as no periods or suicidal thoughts.
- Give this person an idea of how he / she can help you. Do you want the person to stick to the agreements you made about good food? Do you want this person to go to the doctor with you? Let your loved one know what you consider the best support.
Choose a specialist. After sharing the news of your condition with a loved one, you will feel more confident and supported in seeking expert help. Your best hope for a full recovery lies in choosing a healthcare team experienced in treating eating disorders.
- You can find eating disorder specialists by getting a referral from your doctor, by calling local hospitals or medical centers, by asking your school counselor, or by calling the National Eating Disorders Association's helpline at: 1-800- 931-2237.
Determine which treatment plan is best for you. Work with your doctor or counselor on a treatment plan that suits your situation. There are a variety of effective treatment options for eating disorders.
- Individual psychotherapy offers you the opportunity, in a one-on-one situation, to work with a therapist to identify the causes of your condition and to develop healthier ways of responding to triggers. An effective therapeutic approach is cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), which focuses on changing negative thinking patterns that affect your relationship with food and your body.
- Family counseling is helpful in supporting parents, providing helpful resources in caring for a teen with an eating disorder, and introducing healthier lifestyle habits into the household for a lasting recovery.
- A medical check-up is required so that your doctor can examine you to make sure you are regaining vital bodily functions as you progress as a result of treatment. Your doctor can track your weight and run regular tests.
- Nutritional counseling involves regular consultations with a dietitian to make sure you are getting the calories and macronutrients needed to maintain or return to a healthy weight. This expert will also work with you to help you build a positive, healthy relationship with food.
- Medicines are often prescribed when an illness, such as depression, occurs in addition to the eating disorder. Common medications prescribed for eating disorders are antidepressants, antipsychotics and anti-anxiety drugs, and mood stabilizers.
Try a combination of approaches for best results. Your best hope for a long-term and successful recovery from eating disorders is a combination of therapy, medical care and nutritional counseling. Regardless, your treatment plan will need to be tailored to your unique needs, taking into account any concomitant illness.
Find a support group. During recovery, it can be good to know that you are not alone. Finding a local support group through your treatment center or therapist can give you an opportunity to talk to others who have similar experiences and can offer you support.

Method 2 of 3: Hold on after you recover

Challenge negative thoughts about your body. Negative thoughts can take over your life when you are ravaged by an eating disorder. You may hate yourself for gaining an extra pound or you may be criticizing yourself for eating a whole meal as opposed to a portion of it. Overcoming these thought patterns is essential to your recovery.
- Use a few days to check what you think. Mark certain thoughts as negative or positive, useful or useless. Think about how such thoughts can affect your mood or behavior.
- Fight negative, useless thoughts by checking if they are unrealistic. For example, if you find yourself thinking, "I'll never get a healthy weight," you might be wondering how to know for sure. Can you predict the future? Of course not.
- Now that you've identified the unproductive thoughts, you can replace them with more useful, more realistic versions, such as, "It takes me a while to get to a healthy weight, but I'll get it done."
Learn how to fight stress effectively. Stress can often act as a trigger for unhealthy behavioral patterns that spur eating disorders. Therefore, developing positive stress management practices can help you maintain your recovery. Some great ways to fight stress:
- Get regular exercise.
- Sleep at least 7 to 9 hours a night.
- Take up a hobby.
- Listen to music and dance.
- Spend time with positive, supportive people.
- Take your dog for a walk.
- Take a long, relaxing bath.
- Learn how to say "no" when you have too much on your plate.
- Let go of perfectionist tendencies.
Create a balanced diet and exercise plan. Food and exercise are an important part of overall health. However, people with eating disorders often have unhealthy relationships with them. You will need to work closely with your doctor and dietitian to find a safe balance between exercise and a well-rounded diet that will help you maintain optimal health.
Wear clothes that make you feel comfortable. Strive to feel good about the clothes you wear. Select items that suit you with a comfortable fit instead of choosing clothes for the "ideal" body, or clothes that completely hide your figure.
Give it time. Recovering from an eating disorder is a process. You can relapse several times before successfully overcoming the negative patterns of behavior that fuel your condition. Keep holding on. Do not give up. You can recover if you persist.

Method 3 of 3: Recognizing an eating disorder

Research eating disorders. To educate yourself about the risk and severity of eating disorders, it may be helpful to do a cursory Internet search for these conditions. Only a doctor or psychotherapist can officially diagnose an eating disorder, but learning more can help you understand how life-threatening these conditions can be and motivate you to ask for help. Learn about the most common types of eating disorders.
- Anorexia nervosa is characterized by an obsessive preoccupation with body size and weight. A person with this condition may fear gaining weight and believe that she (or he) is overweight, even when severely underweight. Individuals can refuse to eat and adhere to very restrictive diets. Some people with anorexia may start purging (vomiting) or taking laxatives to lose weight.
- Bulimia nervosa involves periods of overeating - that is, uncontrolled consumption of large amounts of food - and then compensating for this by purging, using laxatives or diuretics, excessive exercise, fasting, or a combination of these methods. This condition can be difficult to spot because many people with bulimia maintain an average weight.
- Binge Eating Disorders are characterized by eating large amounts of food even when a person is not hungry. People with bulimia can eat secretly and may not have control over themselves during a binge. Although similar, individuals with binge eating disorder (EBS) do not engage in compensatory behaviors such as purging or excessive exercise. People with an EBS can be overweight or obese.
Observe and document your own symptoms. Once you learn about eating disorders, you will see different symptoms that describe your own behavior. Paying attention to your symptoms, as well as your thoughts and feelings, can be helpful when seeking professional help. You can record your symptoms in a journal to help yourself and your doctor better understand your eating disorder.
- Write in your journal daily as this can help you recognize connections between your thought patterns and your behavior, which can be helpful for your treatment.
- For example, you may have just documented a binge. Then think back to what happened just before the binge. What were your thoughts? Feelings? Who were with you? What were you talking about? Then keep track of how you felt afterwards. What thoughts and feelings came to you?
Look for clues about how your disorder developed. It may be helpful to think about when and how your symptoms began to manifest. Identifying such details can help your doctor diagnose your condition and any other conditions, such as anxiety or depression. Thinking about the causes can also help with lifestyle changes during treatment.
- The exact cause of eating disorders is unknown. However, researchers have found that many of these people have parents or siblings with eating disorders, and were raised with strong social or cultural ideals about being thin. They may also have a sense of inferiority and a perfectionist personality, and are subject to the images of slim colleagues or the media.

Tips

Realize that this is a process and takes time.
Know that you are trying to take good care of your body, mind, and spirit by seeking treatment.
Don't give up on yourself.
Stay away from things that might tempt you to fall back into your old patterns.