Mental Health
Mental Health
Mental Health
By Admin| 2023-05-03 18:35:46How To Help Someone With an Eating Disorder
Are you concerned that a friend or a family member has an eating disorder like bulimia or anorexia? Using these suggestions, you can support your child, family, or friend.
The best chance for your friend or relative to recover is to seek medical attention from a doctor, practice nurse, or a school or college nurse. But for someone with an eating disorder, this can be among the most challenging tasks, so try to persuade them to get assistance or offer to attend with them.
By learning more about eating disorders and how to try to support them, you're already doing a wonderful job of demonstrating your concern for them and gaining an understanding of how they could be experiencing them.
What is an eating disorder?
Eating disorders are severe, complicated mental conditions that can be fatal. They are characterized by alterations in eating, body weight, or shape behaviors, beliefs, and attitudes characterize them. A person's life is negatively impacted by eating disorders, which also have serious medical, psychological, and psychosocial repercussions.
The frequency of eating disorders is rising and is widespread. The projected lifetime prevalence for men is 2.2%, while for women, it is 8.4%.
It's crucial to remember that food-related sentiments do not solely cause eating disorders. Even if a person isn't conscious of why they are turning to harmful behaviors to cope with difficult emotions, how they handle the food may help them feel more capable or in control. Anyone with an eating problem needs prompt and compassionate therapy to recover because the condition is never the fault of the person who has it.
Types of eating disorders
A person may be diagnosed with any of the various eating disorders. Since there is sometimes a lot of overlap between various eating disorders, people may switch diagnoses if their symptoms alter.
These are the most prevalent eating disorders:
Anorexia nervosa: Someone with anorexia nervosa tries to regulate their weight by not eating enough, exercising excessively, or doing both.
Bulimia: Someone with bulimia will overeat and force themselves to vomit or use laxatives to rid their food from their body.
Binge eating disorder (BED): A person with a binge eating disorder (BED) consumes large amounts of food until they are full.
Avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder: A person with an eating condition known as avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder (ARFID) avoids particular foods, controls their diet, or does both.
Other specified feeding or eating disorders: For people who do not match the diagnostic requirements for other eating disorders, Other Specified Feeding and Eating Disorder (OSFED) is the most common analysis.
Get your help from NHS eating disorder support services.
What causes an eating disorder?
It is doubtful that there is a single cause of an eating disorder. It typically results from numerous elements, incidents, emotions, or stresses. Unknowingly, a person may use food to cope with unpleasant experiences or emotions.
High academic expectations, low confidence, concerns about sexuality, problems with friends or family relationships, and issues in school, university, or the workplace are a few of these causes.
An eating disorder can be set off by traumatic events, including the death of a loved one (grief), bullying, abuse, or divorce. A person with a chronic illness or handicap (such as diabetes, depression, eyesight, hearing loss, or diabetes) may also experience eating issues.
What are the symptoms of eating disorders?
Since people may attempt to hide their eating disorders out of shame or guilt, it is not always simple to determine whether someone has one. Yet, a few of the actions linked to eating disorders include:
Dieting: involve obsessive eating routines, fasting, skipping meals, avoiding specific food groups, or tracking calories (or kilojoules).
Binge eating includes keeping excessive quantities of food in the kitchen or hoarding food.
Purging: getting rid of food from the body by vomiting or using laxatives. Those who purge frequently visit the restroom during or after meals.
Excessive exercise: a person may refuse to change their exercise program for any reason, insist on performing a specific amount of monotonous exercises, or grow upset if they cannot exercise.
Social withdrawal: the person may stay away from social gatherings and eating-related settings, or they may prefer to eat by themselves.
Body image: Individuals can be preoccupied with their weight and body type.
Change in clothing style: There may be a change in the person's wardrobe style, such as start wearing baggy clothes.
Additionally, there are physical indicators of an eating disorder, such as:
Changes in weight
Disturbance in the menstrual cycle
Fatigue
Dizziness
Not able to concentrate
Sensitivity to cold weather
How can you help a person overcome an eating disorder?
It takes time to recover from an eating disorder. If you know someone who is recovering, think about taking the following steps:
Educate yourself about eating disorders
To better understand what your loved one is experiencing, look for books and articles authored by medical experts and organizations like the National Eating Disorders Association.
Monitor the way you speak about eating disorders and body image
You might not be aware of how your words might impact someone overcoming an eating issue. Try to be careful about how you discuss food and body size. If at all possible, could you refrain from discussing it?
Listen without being judgmental
When you disagree with what they say about themselves and what they consume, it might be difficult to listen to them, give them your time, or refrain from offering criticism or advice. Try to keep in mind that you don't need to be an expert in all areas. What matters is that you let them know you're there for them. This is especially the case when you feel your friendship is being rejected.
Be patient
Being patient and compassionate with your loved one is essential since recovering from an eating disorder takes time and perseverance. Avoid putting them under strain by demanding that they meet unreasonable goals or make progress. Don't fight, bargain, shame, or manipulate them into changing their eating habits. Instead, give them inspiration and motivation, acknowledge each tiny improvement in their health, and maintain your optimism despite any difficulties they may encounter.
Pick a suitable time
Pick a time when there won't be any interruptions or restrictions so you can talk to the person alone. You don't want to have to break off the conversation to fulfill other commitments. Additionally, it's crucial to have a conversation while your emotions are at their lowest. Avoid attempting to have this discussion immediately following a blowup.
Justify your worries
To avoid making your loved one defensive, be careful not to lecture or criticize. Instead, discuss particular instances and actions you've observed along with your concerns. Your objective at this stage is to express your concerns about the person's health, how much you love them, and your want to assist rather than offer solutions.
Do not ignore yourself
Don't let your attention be drawn away from your needs because of your loved one's eating condition. Ensure that you are supported and have the means to assist them. It's critical to have a channel to express your emotions and refuel emotionally, whether that channel is a close friend, a support group, or a therapist. Additionally, it's crucial to allocate time in your day for leisurely pursuits.
Build up their self-esteem
Low self-esteem can be a challenge for someone with an eating issue. By complimenting them on their character and expressing your gratitude for having them in your life, you could try to mend the relationship.
Help them look for assistance
Opening up to family and friends can be quite beneficial, even though it might be frightening. Anyone battling an eating problem can connect with others who understand their situation through online and offline support groups. Eating disorders are only preserved and reinforced by secrecy and shame. Encouragement, support, and remembering to care for your own needs are all important when helping someone with an eating issue.
Connect them to an expert
The assistance of a qualified team can significantly improve a person's quality of life while coping with an eating disorder. Encourage the person you're assisting to discuss their symptoms with their doctor so they can keep track of their general health.
A dietician can assist in creating a food plan that is specific to their needs. At the same time, psychologists can address the cognitive and emotional processes that underlie and maintain disordered eating.
Treatment for eating order
There can be long-term health effects for those with persistent eating disorders, so it's crucial to begin treatment as soon as possible.
Since every patient is unique, there is no "one size fits all" strategy for treating eating disorders. An individual's treatment frequently involves a group of medical specialists, such as a psychologist, dietician, and doctor.
Among the available treatments are the following:
Counseling
Regular sessions with a psychologist, psychiatrist, or other mental health counselor are required. Counselors assist those with eating issues using a variety of techniques. Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is a popular approach that enables patients to recognize and alter the ideas, feelings, and behaviors connected to their eating disorder.
Nutrition advice
An eating disorder patient can get their weight under control and form healthy eating habits with the help of a dietitian. This is crucial for someone with anorexia nervosa and may involve learning about nutrition, organizing meals, creating regular eating routines, and techniques to avoid dieting.
Family approach
The family approach is most frequently used when treating young patients with eating disorders. The goal is to cure the eating issue while educating and supporting the entire family, improving family ties. The family learns how to support the sufferer of the eating disorder properly.
Medication
There is no specific medication to treat eating disorders. To treat other symptoms, a person with an eating disorder may receive a prescription for medication. Antidepressants can occasionally be used to help with anxiety and depressive symptoms. Drugs should be taken in addition to other forms of therapy.
Stepped, person-centered care
Person-centered, "stepped care" is a therapy customized to the patient's condition, needs, and sickness. Stepped care acknowledges that individuals with eating disorders may need to transition "up and down" through several levels of care throughout their illness.
A person with an eating disorder can recover with the correct professional, social, and emotional assistance.
Useful Links
The following links can assist you in fighting eating disorders.