Eating Disorder Treatment

How common are Eating Disorders?

In the US, about 1 in 10, or 29 million people, have an Eating Disorder at some point during their life. Eating Disorders are twice as prevalent in females as males, but rates of Eating Disorders are increasing faster in males. People who are overweight are 2.5 times more likely to have an Eating Disorder than people who are normal weight or underweight, but half as likely to be diagnosed or treated. Members of the LGBTQIA+ community, particularly transgender people, are at especially high risk for Eating Disorders.

Why should I seek treatment for Eating Disorders?

Eating Disorders cause persistent negative thoughts about the body’s appearance, dangerous dysfunction in eating behaviors, and severe emotional distress. Eating Disorders affect people of all genders, races, ethnicities, ages, sexual orientations, body shapes, sizes, and weights. People with Eating Disorders frequently have other co-occurring mental health disorders such as mood disorders, anxiety disorders, substance use disorders, PTSD, OCD, and personality disorders. Eating Disorders have the highest death rate of any psychiatric disorder other than opioid abuse, and someone dies from an Eating Disorder every 52 minutes. Fortunately, effective treatment for Eating Disorders is available. With treatment, people with Eating Disorders can improve their relationship with food and develop healthier feelings toward their bodies. 

What causes Eating Disorders?

Eating disorders have the following risk factors:

1. Heredity. If one of your blood relatives has an eating disorder, you are more likely to have one too.
2. Trauma and adverse experiences. People who have experienced traumatic events such as abuse, neglect, violence, or food insecurity are at higher risk of eating disorders.
3. Media influence. The media portray extremely thin, lean, and muscular body types as ideal, but these body types are unrealistic for most people. Frequently, photos are edited to make models’ bodies even more “ideal” and unattainable. Social media can be particularly damaging to body image. The more time spent on social media, the higher the risk of poor body image and eating disorders.
4. Diet Culture. Fear of weight gain, idealizing thin bodies, dieting to lose weight, and guilt about eating are risk factors for eating disorders. In a study of women, those who diet are 5 times more likely. and those who follow very restrictive diets are 18 times more likely to develop eating disorders.

What are the types of Eating Disorders and their symptoms?

Anorexia nervosa causes intense fear of weight gain, self-esteem tied to thinness, unwillingness to maintain a healthy weight, compulsively weighing self, and continuing to believe self to be overweight even when severely underweight. It has two subtypes:  

     Restrictive:

• only eating certain foods
• severe restriction of food intake
• avoidance of eating

     Binge-Purge:

• severe restriction of types and amount of food
• episodes of binge eating followed by efforts to get rid of what they ate by vomiting, use of laxatives or diuretics, or compulsive exercise

Secondary effects of anorexia nervosa include fatigue, low body temperature, low blood pressure, slowed heart rate and breathing, anemia, dry skin, brittle hair and nails, growth of fine hair on the body, muscle wasting, bone thinning, heart damage, brain damage, infertility, organ failure, and death.

Anorexia nervosa has a very high death rate, due to starvation, medical complications, and suicide.  

Bulimia nervosa causes frequent episodes of uncontrolled, compulsive eating followed by efforts to get rid of or make up for what was eaten by purging, either by vomiting, fasting, over-exercising, or use of laxatives or diuretics. Secondary effects of bulimia nervosa include dehydration, GI distress, sore and inflamed throat, swollen salivary glands, worn tooth enamel, and electrolyte imbalance which can cause heart attacks or strokes.

Binge-eating disorder causes frequent attempts to diet and repeated episodes of rapid, uncontrolled, compulsive eating of very large quantities of food, without compensatory purging. Binge eating disorder also causes people to eat until uncomfortably full, eat in secret, and feel ashamed of eating. People with binge-eating disorder are usually overweight or obese.

Avoidant restrictive food intake disorder (ARFID) causes people to develop aversions to certain foods, loss of appetite, progressive restriction of types or amounts of food, GI problems, and extreme weight loss. Unlike other eating disorders, people with ARFID do not have distorted body image or fear of weight gain.

Atypical Eating Disorders cause people to restrict eating, binge eat, and/or purge to the point where they are malnourished, but they remain overweight or obese. People with atypical eating disorders can suffer the secondary health effects of anorexia nervosa or bulimia nervosa without losing weight. This can be especially distressing because if they seek treatment, medical professionals may not believe that they have an eating disorder. 

How are Eating Disorders treated?

At Owl & Eagle Health and Wellness, our team of board certified psychiatric nurse practitioners and psychotherapists treat eating disorders with understanding and expertise. Our holistic approach combines cutting edge medical treatments, psychotherapy, and integrative care to maximize treatment efficacy. We will perform a thorough diagnostic evaluation to identify eating disorders and other co-occurring mental health disorders. We will work with you to create a treatment plan that can include medications, specialized psychotherapy, nutritional planning, stress management, sleep hygiene, vitamins, supplements, yoga, meditation, and breathwork.

Medications used for eating disorders and co-occurring conditions include antidepressants, anxiolytics, mood stabilizers, antipsychotics, addiction medications, sleep medications, and for binge eating disorder, medications to help with cravings and impulsivity. Medications usually have very manageable side effects, and most resolve in the first weeks of treatment. Genetic testing can help identify which medications are more or less likely to be effective and well tolerated for you. If you have co-occurring depression or OCD that doesn’t improve sufficiently with initial treatment, transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) can be very helpful. Treatment of eating disorders requires specialized psychotherapy, especially when there are other co-occurring mental health disorders. Our psychotherapists use multiple modalities including CBT, Psychodynamic therapy, Interpersonal therapy, DBT, Somatimotor therapy, EMDR, Supportive therapy, and Motivational Interviewing. Ketamine Assisted Therapy can also be very helpful for eating disorders and co-occurring depression, anxiety, PTSD, and OCD. Treatment of eating disorders can be challenging, but recovery is possible. We will be with you every step of the way.

If you would like to learn more about assessment and holistic psychiatric treatment for Eating Disorders for teens and adults at Owl & Eagle Health and Wellness, Contact Us with questions or Book Now to request an intake appointment today. Appointments are available either in-person in our offices in Golden or Denver, Colorado, convenient to the Denver Metro area, or via telehealth anywhere in Colorado. We look forward to meeting you!

Sources:

https://www.nami.org

https://www.nimh.nih.gov/

https://www.samhsa.gov/

https://www.mentalhealth.gov/basics/mental-health-myths-facts

https://mhanational.org/mentalhealthfacts

https://www.nationaleatingdisorders.org/statistics/

https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/eating-disorders#part_2267

https://www.nationaleatingdisorders.org/how-to-help-a-loved-one/

https://bulimia.com/eating-disorders/

https://centerfordiscovery.com/blog/relationship-trauma-eating-disorders/

https://www.nami.org/About-Mental-Illness/Mental-Health-Conditions/Eating-Disorders