1978Emma
Full Member
Eating disorders and eating disorder therapy:
I am sure that on the minimins site there are many people with diagnosed and undiagnosed eating disorders and I think its so important to discuss this issue and the need for professional eating disorder therapy.
I know from personal experience that eating disorder therapy is extremely useful, now when I say that I don't mean some diet counsellor who works with something like LL or such I mean a properly trained therapist who specializes in eating disorders be that anorexia, bulimia, binge eating , compulsive eating etc. It is important to see a "proper" therapist not some Joe Bloggs who has done a short course in it as eating disorders are serious and have often taken over a persons life for years, the wrong help can be at best not useful and worst bordering on dangerous.
VLCDs should not be used if you have a diagnosed eating disorder :-
If you have been diagnosed with an eating disorder you would not be advised ever to do any VLCD as it makes things ten times worse, VLCDs can of course work for many people I know but for someone with an actual eating disorder and the obsessive thoughts around food and weight etc that go with that eating disorder, a VLCD just leads to those thoughts increasing and getting worse in the long run, even those people who are used to eating lots of food can go the other way to getting obsessed with the feeling of having very little inside them, I did that prior to getting proper help!.
My story :
I have been diagnosed with a binge eating disorder myself which began as a young child, I have almost no memories of my childhood that aren't food connected, for me it was a source of comfort, a friend I could rely on but eating disorders have a way of getting out of control and years on when I ended up being sexually abused by a man I knew over a two year period my binge eating got way out of hand and has resulted in me weighing a massive amount and feeling horrid about myself. My days were basically complete starvation for most of the day and then a massive binge in the evening.
An eating disorder is not about food!
Far too often people think eating disorders are about food, food is not really the issue, we all concentrate with eating disorders on eating too much or too little but again I say its nothing to do with food, its purely a way of dealing with unwanted emotions, its a way of self soothing, you could use food or lack of it, alcohol, drugs anything really its all about avoidance of emotions and being able to avoid those emotions / feelings by doing what is termed maladaptive behaviours now for me thats binge eating and severe OCD for others it could be binge eating and making themselves sick or drugs and alcohol etc etc. The key to recovering from an eating disorder is first getting the right help, secondly the realisation that its your emotions that you need to face and thirdly that you need to learn new ways of coping with those emotions rather than relying on avoidance behaviours.
Therapy :
I am going through intense eating disorder therapy at the moment and its so hard, it drains me emotionally but you know what for the first time in years I am not having to binge as I am facing those difficult emotions and learning other ways of handling them, its not easy and its a very long process but it is so rewarding and anyone with a true eating disorder needs this help.
Think about looking into DBT (dialectical behaviour therapy) on eating disorder grounds?, its not an easy form of therapy to get or complete but its often used to deal with things like eating disorders and well worth looking into. I know you would need a full diagnosis and full assessment to get such a service, I had to have both but if you then get it on the NHS or through an eating disorder charity organisation etc it will be your saving grace.
Also DBT is a very practical therapy which often is better for those with eating disorders than purely talking therapy , talking therapy alone can help but is often not enough if you have a serious eating disorder you need to learn new skills as well and that is where DBT really comes into its own.
I am sorry to have written so much its just something I have quite a lot of insight into and experience of and thought it might help to point people in the right direction. I am having help from an eating disorder charity who run DBT individual therapy and group sessions and its helping me so much.
Em x
I am sure that on the minimins site there are many people with diagnosed and undiagnosed eating disorders and I think its so important to discuss this issue and the need for professional eating disorder therapy.
I know from personal experience that eating disorder therapy is extremely useful, now when I say that I don't mean some diet counsellor who works with something like LL or such I mean a properly trained therapist who specializes in eating disorders be that anorexia, bulimia, binge eating , compulsive eating etc. It is important to see a "proper" therapist not some Joe Bloggs who has done a short course in it as eating disorders are serious and have often taken over a persons life for years, the wrong help can be at best not useful and worst bordering on dangerous.
VLCDs should not be used if you have a diagnosed eating disorder :-
If you have been diagnosed with an eating disorder you would not be advised ever to do any VLCD as it makes things ten times worse, VLCDs can of course work for many people I know but for someone with an actual eating disorder and the obsessive thoughts around food and weight etc that go with that eating disorder, a VLCD just leads to those thoughts increasing and getting worse in the long run, even those people who are used to eating lots of food can go the other way to getting obsessed with the feeling of having very little inside them, I did that prior to getting proper help!.
My story :
I have been diagnosed with a binge eating disorder myself which began as a young child, I have almost no memories of my childhood that aren't food connected, for me it was a source of comfort, a friend I could rely on but eating disorders have a way of getting out of control and years on when I ended up being sexually abused by a man I knew over a two year period my binge eating got way out of hand and has resulted in me weighing a massive amount and feeling horrid about myself. My days were basically complete starvation for most of the day and then a massive binge in the evening.
An eating disorder is not about food!
Far too often people think eating disorders are about food, food is not really the issue, we all concentrate with eating disorders on eating too much or too little but again I say its nothing to do with food, its purely a way of dealing with unwanted emotions, its a way of self soothing, you could use food or lack of it, alcohol, drugs anything really its all about avoidance of emotions and being able to avoid those emotions / feelings by doing what is termed maladaptive behaviours now for me thats binge eating and severe OCD for others it could be binge eating and making themselves sick or drugs and alcohol etc etc. The key to recovering from an eating disorder is first getting the right help, secondly the realisation that its your emotions that you need to face and thirdly that you need to learn new ways of coping with those emotions rather than relying on avoidance behaviours.
Therapy :
I am going through intense eating disorder therapy at the moment and its so hard, it drains me emotionally but you know what for the first time in years I am not having to binge as I am facing those difficult emotions and learning other ways of handling them, its not easy and its a very long process but it is so rewarding and anyone with a true eating disorder needs this help.
Think about looking into DBT (dialectical behaviour therapy) on eating disorder grounds?, its not an easy form of therapy to get or complete but its often used to deal with things like eating disorders and well worth looking into. I know you would need a full diagnosis and full assessment to get such a service, I had to have both but if you then get it on the NHS or through an eating disorder charity organisation etc it will be your saving grace.
Also DBT is a very practical therapy which often is better for those with eating disorders than purely talking therapy , talking therapy alone can help but is often not enough if you have a serious eating disorder you need to learn new skills as well and that is where DBT really comes into its own.
I am sorry to have written so much its just something I have quite a lot of insight into and experience of and thought it might help to point people in the right direction. I am having help from an eating disorder charity who run DBT individual therapy and group sessions and its helping me so much.
Em x
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