therapy for eating disorders
Have you ever thought to yourself that your sense of value would increase if you lost weight? Have you ever been preoccupied with avoiding sugar, carbohydrates, and/or protein? Have you ever felt shame or guilt following a meal, which then compelled you to purge? Answering ‘yes’ to these questions might indicate that you have an eating disorder.
Eating disorders are clinical problems where, fundamentally, people are at risk of serious physical injury or death due to their maladaptive eating behaviours. Even though individuals may be logically aware of their problematic behaviour, it’s not uncommon for them to feel that they are unable to control or eliminate the serious threat to their health. An example of this could be that of an individual suffering from anorexia nervosa. Logically, this person might know that water does not contain calories. However, a part of their psyche believes, in fantasy, that if they were to consume any water, then they would gain weight. Even though one part of the person’s mind is grounded in logic & reality, another part confuses and distresses the mind, believing in the fantasy that water indeed has calories.
It is important to note that not all maladaptive eating behaviours are considered clinical. An assessment would have to be made in order to determine if someone’s symptoms are moderate to severe. Peers are not able to diagnose an eating disorder. However, observations from loved ones can be noted pertaining to body image issues, unhealthy fantasies about losing weight, and/or the desperate need to “fit in” to a social group or setting. If you have these concerns for yourself, or a loved one, please schedule a no-charge consultation with The Mind People team so that one of our highly educated & clinically trained professionals can guide you towards a healthy & positive outcome.
Not everyone who exhibits maladaptive eating behaviours suffers from an eating disorder, with some people their restrictive eating behaviour could be the result of a pubescent phase. However, in other cases, maladaptive eating behaviours are the onset to a more problematic and severe eating disorder. This is why a consultation with a professional is crucial to accurately assess your important concerns.
For teenagers struggling with an eating disorder it would be most beneficial to engage in individual and family therapy as a means to help bridge the gap between one’s intrapersonal (relationship with the self) and interpersonal relationships (relationships with others).
For adults struggling with an eating disorder, it would be beneficial to engage in individual therapy, such as psychoanalytic psychotherapy, as a means to process the unconscious driving factors behind the individual’s symptoms. For instance, psychoanalytic psychotherapy aims to account for the unconscious factors that drive the individual’s symptoms. By exploring the individual’s unconscious part of the mind, the individual has the opportunity to unlock the mysteries within it, identify their barriers to achieving their goals, and process their conscious and unconscious distress. Professionals who specialize in eating disorder treatments are not common in Canada. Furthermore, practitioners who are trained in psychoanalytic psychotherapy, who’d be able to provide a psychoanalytic perspective on eating disorder treatment, are also quite limited. Fortunately however, The Mind People specialize in this and can effectively provide this type of outpatient treatment. Seeking the help of a specialized clinician is the best way to address distressful eating behaviours. After all, mental health is health.
