Counseling for Eating Disorders in San Diego

Eating Disorders continue to plague Western civilization as the “ideal” body continuouslybecomes smaller and smaller. Men and women of all ages are striving to have the “perfectbody”, with a significant percentage taking extreme measures such as fasting, excessiveexercising, and other purging behaviors in a desperate attempt to control their weight. What

may start out as a seemingly harmless diet can

quickly become an obsession with weight and body shape, and eventually take the form of afull-blown eating disorder such as Bulimia Nervosa (BN), Binge-Eating Disorder (BED), andEating Disorder Not Otherwise Specified (EDNOS). The societal pressures to obtain theunrealistic, unattainable “perfect” standard are making eating disorders a more prevalentdiagnosis in the mental health field nowadays, affecting individuals as young as 6 years old.While eating disorders traditionally affect more females than males, we are now also seeing arapid increase in the number of males seeking treatment for extreme bodily dissatisfaction andBody Dysmorphic Disorder (BDD) as well as other forms of eating disorders.

The notion that eating disorders are uncommon psychological disorders is a myth. In fact,approximately 8 million Americans are affected by some type of eating disorder and about halfof all Americans personally know someone with an eating disorder (South Carolina Departmentof Mental Health, 2006). If you live in the San Diego area and think you may be suffering froman eating disorder or a body image disturbance, please give my office a call today. As alicensed Social Worker and Counselor, I can offer you counseling for your eatingdisorder and help you reclaim your life that was once free of the tight hold food and body imagehas over it.

About Bulimia Nervosa (BN):

Bulimia Nervosa (BN) is one type of eating disorder that is characterized by a cycle of bingeeating and purging. A ‘binge’ varies from person to person, but is typically defined asconsuming a large quantity of food (usually high in fats and sugars) in a relatively short period oftime (usually less than an hour). During an average binge episode, a person may consume

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anywhere from 3,000 to 5,000 calories in one sitting.Purging, on

the other hand, is the act of ridding one’s body of the food and calories consumed during abinge. The most common purging behavior, self-induced vomiting, is done in a desperateattempt to prevent weight gain from the food consumed during the binge. Other forms of purgingbehavior include excessive exercising, fasting, and the use (and abuse) or diuretics andlaxatives. It is important to note that purging does NOT work for weight loss. This is a myth.Nearly immediately after the food has been consumed, the body begins absorbing and breakingdown its components, including the calories and fat contained in the binge-food. Purging mayprovide temporary relief from the guilt a bulimic feels after a binge, and may also rid the body ofthe weight of the food itself, but the damage has already been done. This is yet another reasonwhy bulimia is harder to diagnose than other eating disorders, since the sufferer is usually of anaverage weight and therefore does not appear to be “ill”. Furthermore, purging behaviors suchas abusing laxatives or inducing vomiting can be lethal if performed frequently, since thesemethods dehydrate the body and cause an electrolyte imbalance. By purging this way on aregular basis, a person with bulimia may feel dizzy, weak, and lethargic. In severe cases, thevital organs of the body may fail, leading to death.

About Binge-Eating Disorder (BED):

Binge-Eating Disorder (BED) is an eating disorder that is similar to Bulimia Nervosa (BN), butwithout the purging behavior. In other words, BN and BED share the bingeing component of thedisorder, but not the purging aspect. BED is also known as “compulsive overeating”, assufferers tend to binge-eat in response to negative events and emotions. While it is normal forpeople to occasionally over-indulge, persons with BED do this more often than most. Binges

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occur daily and sometimes even multiple times per

day. A person with this disorder will eat when they aren’t hungry and continue to eat after theirstomach is full. One of the fundamental characteristics of BED (and all eating disorders) isfeeling out of control. The person feels as though it is impossible to stop bingeing, despite theoverwhelming negative emotions that accompany the binge. The sufferer may becomeextremely upset and disgusted with themselves either during or immediately after a bingeepisode, and are constantly at battle with themselves to be able to stop eating. The viciouscycle of overeating to feel better and then subsequently feeling worse after bingeing only beginsto repeat itself over and over until the individual feels so trapped and depressed that they thinkthere’s no way out. Persons with BED are usually overweight and sometimes obese due to theconstant bingeing, and this further fuels the self-loathing and in turn, the use of food for comfort.

About Body Dysmorphic Disorder (BDD):

While this is a disorder that receives a lot less attention than some of the other psychologicaldisorders, Body Dysmorphic Disorder (BDD) is rapidly becoming one of the most frequentlydiagnosed body image disorders, particularly in the male population. Persons with BDD arepreoccupied with body image and have a severe dissatisfaction with their own body.

BDD sufferers misperceive the appearance of their bodies,and often complain about either certain aspects of their body or their body as a whole to the

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point where it causes extreme psychological distress and the urge to alter their appearance.Male sufferers often report excessive exercising in an attempt to achieve the “ideal male body”– images which they are bombarded with in magazines, television programs, movies, andadvertisements. It was once believed that these types of images only affected females, drivingtheir desire to be as thin as possible. However, we now know that males too can suffer fromeating disorders and body image disturbances that negatively impact their lives in the same waythat images of rail-thin supermodels can negatively influence females. BDD usually coincideswith other psychological disorders, such as depression and anxiety and normally begins inadolescence, when the body undergoes many physical and hormonal changes. A person withthis disorder does not typically adapt well to these changes, and often compares him/herself tothe perceived “ideal” body that society deems as “perfect”. No matter how much they diet orexercise, a person with BDD feels as though he/she never measures up to the societal pressurethat dictates what is ideal. The discrepancy between one’s personal perception of the self andthe socially-perpetuated standard causes persons with BDD to become extremely anxious,depressed, and dissatisfied with his/her body. This obsession with trying to attain theunattainable inevitably becomes discouraging, and for some BDD sufferers the inability toachieve the “ideal body” is enough to send them into a downward spiral of debilitatingdepression and suicidal ideation.

About Eating Disorder Not Otherwise Specified (EDNOS):

A diagnosis of Eating Disorder Not Otherwise Specified (EDNOS) means that the individual isclearly suffering from an eating disorder, but does not fit neatly into any of the establishedcategories because he/she fails to meet all of the diagnostic criteria. For instance, a femalecould be diagnosed with EDNOS if she engages in binge-eating and purging behavior once aweek, because the diagnostic criteria for Bulimia Nervosa (BN) requires bingeing and purging atleast twice per week. Regardless of the diagnosis (EDNOS vs. BN), the person with the eatingdisorder is still suffering from a dangerous and potentially life-threatening condition if leftuntreated. A diagnosis of EDNOS does not mean that you are “less sick” than someone who isdiagnosed with BN. Remember, these are textbook definitions using a diagnostic manual. Thismeans that for each diagnosis, there are particular criteria one has to meet in order to have thespecific disorder. Aside from the physical complications associated with all eating disorders, thepsychological and emotional turmoil are also present and require treatment.

Eating Disorder Counseling:

As you can see, there are many different types of disordered eating – perhaps some that youweren’t even aware of. Eating disorders continue to plague North America, taking countlessnumbers of lives each year and disturbing the lives of millions. If you think you may have aneating disorder, you must reach out and ask for help. Eating disorders are dangerous and

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life-threatening – especially if left untreated. Call

my San Diego office for a free consultation on eating disorder counseling today. With myhelp, you can finally break free from those inner voices of torment that are telling you you’reimperfect. You will finally live a life where numbers no longer dictate your mood and gauge yourself-worth. You will begin to realize that recovery from an eating disorder – no matter howsevere – is possible with the right help. And over time, you will learn to accept yourself the wayyou are and love yourself. Remember, no ‘body’ is “perfect”, and nobody’s perfect either.“Perfection” is unattainable and does exist. We all have things we’d like to change about ourappearance, but we have to accept what we cannot change and always put our health first. Ifyou’re jeopardizing your health for your outward appearance, you may have an eating disorderor be on the verge of developing one. Please reach out for help and call my San Diegocounseling office today.

San Diego Therapist for Eating Disorders

Copyright ©2012 Jan Rakoff. All Rights Reserved.

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