Eating disorders are often associated with teenage girls; however, eating disorders affect all populations and types of people. The most common types of eating disorders are anorexia nervosa and bulimia. Anorexia is characterized by low body weight, extreme caution of gaining weight, and unhealthy thoughts about body image. Individuals struggling with anorexia often take extreme measures when wanting to lose weight or keep weight off, such as extreme exercise, starvation, or frequent use of diet pills or purging. Bulimia is most often characterized by binge eating and purging. Purging comes in the form of self induced vomiting, laxatives, diuretics, and more. Individuals struggling with bulimia often have little or no control during periods of binge eating and are extremely concerned with body image causing a purge of all nutrients in the body.
In extreme cases, individuals with anorexia and bulimia are best treated by voluntary or involuntary hospital treatment, especially when the need for weight gain is a high priority. Another effective treatment for eating disorders is therapy. The Lotus Group offers an Eating Disorders Intensive Group for those struggling with an eating disorder like anorexia or bulimia. Support from others struggling with the same disorder intensifies the effectiveness of the therapy. Narrative therapy is often effective when treating eating disorders as the client learns how to separate the disorder from themselves.
Treating eating disorders can be complicated, especially when an individual’s physical, mental, and emotional health are being affected at the same time. The first priority in treating an eating disorder is to evaluate if the individual is healthy enough to receive outpatient therapy or if he/she needs to be hospitalized as an inpatient until weight can be stabilized. Once stable, an individual can seek outpatient therapy to assist in the treatment of the disorder. The Lotus Group has specialized therapists for treating eating disorders. If you feel you may be struggling with an eating disorder, please contact Lotus Group to set up an appointment or discuss treatment options for eating disorders available to you. Our priority is to care effectively for the community around us or find others in the community that will help assist your need.