Today, eating disorders is becoming a popular problem in every society. There are many reasons why this kind of disorder has been came about. The pressure from society as depicted on the media is one of the most powerful reasons why an individual experiences eating disorders. Most of the time, the society sets standards of beauty. This is then seen in the media. Being thin is one of the prerequisites to called beautiful based on this standards. Eating disorders could also be an individual’s way of coping up from negative emotions.
One’s family is always a factor why an individual develops an eating disorder. These families usually shows too much control and requires perfection. This kind of family does not allow the expression of negative feelings. Moreover, it has also been studied that eating disorders can be a gene problem. It is as well significant that some women who has eating disorders have histories of sexual abuse. As we all know, most psychological problems has been rooted from sexual abuse.
Eating disorders are popularly known to be a woman’s disorder but it does not mean that the male is a safe group. It only means that in standards of beauty, the women is always the most pressured. But in up to date studies, an increasing importance has been for men to have a super-fit look. This super-fit look means having lean and strong bodies. However, there are still differences between men and women with eating disorders.
There is a great danger in when one gets tied to an eating disorder. It encompasses about 5-8 percent of death rates in some countries. With the dangers it bring, it is important to have an eating disorder treatment. Before going for a treatment, we should first understand all about eating disorders. There are actually two known types of eating disorders: anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa.
A kind of eating disorder that keeps people from maintaining a healthy and normal body weight relative to their age and height by starving themselves is called anorexia nervosa. They eat little or no food for extensive periods of time but they still believe that they still need to lose more weight. Anorexia nervosa has two types. One is the restricting type where the individual does not eat to prevent gaining weight. The other one is the bing/purge type where the individual eats but engages in purging behaviors such as the use of laxatives or diuretics.
Bulimia nervosa is another type of eating disorder where the individual engage in overeating but behaviors such as purging and fasting follows after. Bulimia nervosa also has two types. The first one is the purging type where the compensation of overeating is by means of self-induced vomiting. The second one is the non-purging type which uses fasting and excessive exercise.
A reliable eating disorder treatment has been on a progress recently. There are different treatments for every type of eating disorder. For anorexia nervosa, the patient is institutionalized and is forced feed to avoid death by starvation. It also uses behavior therapy by means of giving rewards to the patient upon gaining weight. Cognitive-behavioral therapy and interpersonal therapy is being used for bulimia nervosa. In cognitive-behavioral therapy, the patient is made aware and tackled about maladaptive conditions of eating while in interpersonal therapy, the patient is being aided in recognizing interpersonal problems associated with bulimic behaviors.
There are still more eating disorder treatments suitable for the needs of every individual. There are many available options. One can always consult a specialist for further information.
Eating Disorder Treatments have been there for long that people who have eating disorders should not be afraid to call for help.