Eating disorders are psychological problems and those suffering from this disease find it difficult or impossible to control their eating habits, leading to obesity and other health issues.
These patients usually have poor self-esteem, distorted perception of their body size and shape and an inherent lack of ability to control internal emotions. Such people will be very conscious about their weight and feel guilty after consuming food.
Most of the people with eating disorder might overeat, but in order to control their weight, they exercise too much, purge after overeating and even use drugs to keep their weight low. Women are more prone to get this disorder and usually it develops in adolescence and if unattended cause many health problems.
There are different types of eating disorders such as anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, drunkorexia, binge eating, compulsive overeating and food addiction. Irrespective of its type, eating disorder leads to kidney, heart, liver and respiratory problems, digestive problems, social problems and relationship problems.
Hence, eating disorders should be addressed as soon as possible and an ideal treatment involves the mix of medical care, psychotherapy, nutritional therapy and cognitive behavior therapy. A support team comprising of dietician, psychiatrist, psychologist and other medical experts would be ideal for treating eating disorder.
Different Types Of Eating Disorder Therapies
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
Cognitive behavioral therapy is counseling, with one session per week till the patient learns the skill. During this therapy, patients learn about their illness, various symptoms and their recurrence, relaxation techniques and healthy weight management. Also, experts teach the patients to change their perception of the symptoms of this disease.
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They also help the patient to tide over the self-defeating thoughts and rather rebuilds it up with motivating thoughts, recognize emotional triggers and ways to avoid or combat with them. During this therapy, health care provider also provides medications to get over the mental health issues.
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Nutritional Therapy
During nutritional therapy, dietician will analyze patient’s eating habits and help him/her to develop a well-balanced diet plan. Here, the patient will be made to understand about different types of food and their role in bodily functioning and also on portion control, need for regular exercise as well as on nutritional supplements.
Support Groups
Since eating disorder is a psychological issue, such patients require support from friends and family. Never keep yourself isolated from your true and supportive friends and family, who can help you to avoid relapse.
There are even support groups, where patients can join and talk about their feelings and problems without any embarrassment and can avail support and advice from the group members who are also passing through similar phase.
Stick to a proper eating plan and avoid dieting, rather go for a healthy eating plan to reduce the weight gain. This is because dieting increases the craving for food and finally you lose control and may overeat. Follow regular exercise, which not only helps to burn calories but also helps to reduce the stress.
In order to get relief from stress and anxiety, patients can take chamomile tea, practice yoga, massage, acupuncture etc. Moreover such people should boost their self-esteem by getting involved in activities or their favorite hobbies that makes them enthusiastic and energetic.
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Caution: Please use Home Remedies after Proper Research and Guidance. You accept that you are following any advice at your own risk and will properly research or consult healthcare professional.