An eating disorder is a mental health disorder that causes disturbances in your eating and view of food.
There are several kinds of eating disorders, including binge eating disorder, anorexia nervosa, and bulimia nervosa, each of which causes different symptoms. Depending on the type of eating disorder they have, a person may eat too much or too little or become obsessed with their body shape and weight. Because these conditions can have a huge impact on a person’s life, many who have them often wonder, “can eating disorders be cured?” The short answer is yes, but our drug rehab in Philadelphia is going into more detail.
Is an Eating Disorder Curable?
The short answer? Yes, eating disorders can be cured, but it’s not that simple. People in the midst of recovering from anorexia or bulimia may find the idea of a full recovery difficult to believe. Some therapists who have been in this field for a long time have patients who have sadly passed away from their eating disorders and others who have recovered from them and thrived.
However, although the eating disorders can be cured in the sense that their associated behaviors won’t return, the psychological aspect of these conditions isn’t that easily overcome. Part of recovering from an eating disorder is developing a positive body image, learning effective coping skills for stress and anxiety, and resolving any underlying trauma that may have contributed to the condition. As you can imagine, this takes time and effort.
Additionally, eating disorders often coexist with substance abuse or other mental illnesses, such as depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). This adds a layer that therapists and patients have to sift through to get to the core of their condition and find relief. Co-occurring disorders are multifaceted and non-linear conditions that intensify the need for comprehensive treatment. In other words, effective treatment is key to curing an eating disorder.
How Can You Treat Eating Disorders?
Where to Start
Whether you start by seeing your primary physician or some type of mental health professional, it’s important to speak to a team of professionals who specialize in treating eating disorders, such as the treatment specialists at our drug rehab in Philly. If you’re interested in how to cure a binge eating disorder, below are some tips on where to begin.
- Meet with a mental health professional to discuss the possibility of psychological therapy.
- If you’re not in a treatment center like Banyan Philadelphia, then you may have to seek out the help of a registered dietitian.
- Seek dental health from dental specialists, as eating disorders that involve purging or vomiting will often damage dental health.
- Tell your loved ones. For younger people who still live with their parents, parents should actively be involved in their children’s treatment.
Finding Treatment
At Banyan Treatment Centers Philadelphia, we offer different eating disorders treatment options to help patients who have conditions including anorexia, bulimia, BED, and more. Our treatment is offered on intensive outpatient, outpatient, and partial hospitalization levels of care. However, there are a variety of treatment options available for people with eating disorders, depending on the severity of their condition. Keep reading to find out which one is right for you.
Intensive Outpatient/Outpatient
An intensive outpatient program for eating disorders means it allows you to return home after a treatment session. This level of care is usually best for people who don’t need to be monitored daily; are functioning well in school, work, or social settings; and are continuing to make progress in their recovery.
Outpatient programs may vary in intensity and frequency of sessions depending on the person’s needs and condition. Some people may have sessions a couple of times a week, while others may require more programs with longer or more frequent sessions.
Partial Hospitalization
Otherwise referred to as “day hospital” programs, partial hospitalization treatment for eating disorders is more intensive than intensive outpatient programs. They’re usually recommended to people who need to be monitored daily, have a disorder that impacts their ability to function, and engage in binging, purging, or fasting daily. Sessions in a partial hospitalization program usually involve sessions that can last for several hours, multiple times a week.
Residential or Inpatient
A residential treatment program for eating disorders is one in which patients temporarily live in the facility, where they can receive round-the-clock monitoring and care. These programs are aimed towards people who need longer-term care for their eating disorders, require monitoring every day, and haven’t responded to out forms of treatment, such as outpatient or partial hospitalization.
Inpatient Hospitalization
The inpatient hospitalization level of care usually involves a stay at a hospital. It’s mostly catered for individuals with eating disorders who are experiencing medical emergencies like:
- Unstable vitals (such as blood sugar levels, blood pressure, and heart rate)
- Symptoms that have worsened in a short period
- Complications or other underlying health conditions caused by their eating disorder
- Suicidal thoughts, behaviors, ideations, or attempts
Inpatient hospitalization aims to stabilize the individual’s condition, and they may switch to one of the other programs mentioned after they’re deemed stable.
If you’re searching for treatment for your eating disorder, we can help. Banyan Treatment Centers offers eating disorder treatment in Philadelphia on different levels of care that also includes a variety of therapy approaches to tackle each aspect of the individual’s needs. We can help you overcome your eating disorder.
Do I Need Eating Disorder Treatment?
Oftentimes, people don’t know when to seek help for eating disorders or what treatment is right for them. They may not even realize that they have an eating disorder until it’s disrupted their life. If you suspect that you or a loved one has an eating disorder, but aren’t entirely sure, below are some signs to watch out for:
- Rapid weight loss or weight gain
- Loss of or irregular menstrual cycle
- Decreased libido
- Fatigue and lethargy
- Fainting or dizziness
- Signs of damage caused by vomiting (purging), including swelling around the cheeks or jaw, calluses on the knuckles, tooth damage, and bad breath
- Feeling cold often, even in warm weather
- Being preoccupied with eating, food, and your body shape or weight
- Feeling anxious or irritable during meal times
- Feeling like you’re not in control around food
- Distorted body image
- Using food as a source of comfort (eating when you’re sad, stressed, or depressed)
- Using food as punishment (refusing to eat for emotional reasons)
- Constant dieting behavior (counting calories, fasting, avoiding food groups like sugars and carbohydrates)
- Eating in private
- Hoarding food
- Wearing baggy clothes to hide your body
- Changing your food preferences (suddenly claiming to not like what were once your favorite foods, being preoccupied with healthy eating, replacing meals with fluids)
- Using diuretics or laxatives for weight loss
- Rapid weight loss or weight gain
- Loss of or irregular menstrual cycle
- Decreased libido
- Fatigue and lethargy
- Fainting or dizziness
- Signs of damage caused by vomiting (purging), including swelling around the cheeks or jaw, calluses on the knuckles, tooth damage, and bad breath
- Feeling cold often, even in warm weather
- Being preoccupied with eating, food, and your body shape or weight
- Feeling anxious or irritable during meal times
- Feeling like you’re not in control around food
- Distorted body image
- Using food as punishment (refusing to eat for emotional reasons)
- Constant dieting behavior (counting calories, fasting, avoiding food groups like sugars and carbohydrates)
- Eating in private
- Hoarding food
- Wearing baggy clothes to hide your body
- Changing your food preferences (suddenly claiming to not like what were once your favorite foods, being preoccupied with healthy eating, replacing meals with fluids)
- Using diuretics or laxatives for weight loss
So, do eating disorders ever go away? Yes, they do, but it takes time, commitment, and effective treatment. If you’ve recognized one or more of these signs in yourself or someone else, you should seek help immediately. Call Banyan Treatment Centers Philadelphia today at 888-280-4763 to speak to one of our specialists about our eating disorders help.
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