Eating Disorders present a major challenge to mental health professionals. The number of persons diagnosed with eating disorders has risen steadily over the last twenty years, and there tends to be a pronounced resistance to treatment among persons who suffer from eating disorders. In fact, only 40% to 50% of individuals with an eating disorder experience a full recovery from their condition.
The two most common eating disorders are Anorexia Nervosa and Bulimia Nervosa. Other less common eating disorders, such as Binge Eating Disorder (BED) and Purging Disorder are also on the rise. Both anorexia and bulimia tend to plague teenagers and young adults. While the overwhelming majority of eating disorder sufferers are female, eating disorders are on the rise among males.
Persons with anorexia engage in extreme and prolonged dieting in an effort to lose weight. The dieting is often paired with excessive exercise, and can often be so severe that it parallels starvation. Physical problems, such as dehydration, constipation, and internal organ damage can occur. Death can possibly result if anorexia remains untreated.
In contrast to anorexia, bulimia is characterized by repeated binge eating, followed by purging of the consumed food. Self-induced vomiting and the use of laxatives are the trademark symptoms of persons with bulimia. As in the case of anorexia, physical health problems can result in patients with bulimia. Persons with bulimia may experience stomach cramps, erosion of tooth enamel, and chronic sore throat from repeated vomiting. Death is also a possible outcome among persons whose bulimia remains untreated.
One of the greatest challenges in helping people with an eating disorder relates to the difficulty in detection of the disorder. People with bulimia will often binge or purge privately in an effort to hide their disorder from friends and loved ones. Likewise, individuals suffering from anorexia will often avoid eating in public or in front of others in order to conceal their disorder from others.
Such avoidant behaviors can often make it difficult for family or friends to discover a problem in their loved one. This lack of early detection can unfortunately hinder the benefits of early intervention and treatment. Once symptoms of the eating disorder are discovered, the individual with the eating disorder will frequently avoid intervention and treatment. This treatment resistance can hinder chances for a full recovery from the disorder.
For the reasons outlined above, early intervention and prompt treatment from a psychotherapist and dietician are therefore extremely valuable tools that will increase the chance of a full recovery from an eating disorder. Once an eating disorder has been diagnosed, it becomes extremely important to constantly monitor the eating behaviors and weight of loved ones to prevent a relapse.
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