Eating Disorders - Therapy for Anorexia and Bulimia

Mike Hussey of the American Chronicle
September 28, 2007
Many of those suffering from anorexia and bulimia are high-functioning adults coping with stress, anxiety, and depression. They may have tried many different solutions to their problem. This article explores the typical experiences of a few people suffering from such eating disorders. Most therapists today deal with these disorders by first treating the underlying causes of the body-image problems. These causes are assumed to be past experiences and how they may have affected us.
Women and men who suffer from these illnesses may have to overcome deeper issues ranging from poor self-esteem to childhood abuse. Effective therapy can help improve their professional and family lives as well.
Therapy for anorexia and bulimia
Anorexia, bulimia, and eating disorders are a way of coping when stress and anxiety seem unbearable.
With the encouragement of a therapist, an anorexic or bulimic client can learn to face the sources of her stress or anxiety, and find healthier means of reacting to stressful situations.
One woman who had overcome eating disorders several years earlier consulted a psychotherapist in Austin when her problems recurred. This woman had recently moved into Austin, and she was without the support of family and friends while working at a new job. She had reverted to her old methods of coping with stress, namely food. Food is a form of self-treatment for many people, as it was in this woman's case.
Her therapist helped her to see her need for developing new relationships, and she also participated in group therapy to meet people.
By the end of therapy, she made new friends and was excelling in her new job. Her eating disorder no longer affected her.
Eating disorders and treating depression
Depression can be another cause of eating disorders too. Of course, eating disorders can cause someone to be depressed, so determining cause from effect is difficult.
A depressed person may overeat, or not eat enough, and so either gain or lose a lot of weight. This will affect their physical health. A therapist will help her concentrate on her strengths and regain her sense of balance.
One woman in Houston was depressed because her husband had had an affair and left her. She blamed herself and her recent weight gain for this, but was not able to lose weight. She tried everything she could but the weight remained. Therapy helped her see several other contributors to her depression. She explored some of the events in her past that were causing her a great deal of distress.
She was able to take responsibility for her eating habits, and find a warm and supportive relationship.
Eating disorders, PTSD and victims of sexual abuse
Post-traumatic Stress Disorder may happen because of one-time traumas likes being the victim of an accident or a crime, and also because of long-term abuse like childhood sexual or physical abuse.
PTSD often goes hand in hand with eating disorders.
Victims of childhood abuse sometimes keep the abuse secret, and the therapist may be the first person they confide in. Sometimes when childhood abuse has been blocked out, a reaction may be triggered in adult life by seemingly unrelated events. And lots of times, bulemia or overeating is a symptom. One therapist in Denver helped her client work her way through traumatic memories by giving her art and journaling exercises. These gave the victim a sense of perspective and she was able to stop blaming herself. She also became better connected with others emotionally. Her eating disorder markedly improved.
Eating disorders and counseling for couples
Eating disorders may affect someone who is married or in a committed relationship.
Counseling can benefit married, engaged, or lesbian and gay couples, if one has an eating disorder. The partner with the eating disorder may feel guilty for what he thinks he is causing his partner to feel. And the partner may feel guilty for feelings of resentment towards the partner with the disorder.
That is why couples therapy helps so much.
The most common problems that bring partners into therapy are poor communication, or upheavals like illness, death of a family member, or an affair. Any of these can plunge partners into depression and conflict and often make the eating disorder worse.

Fights Off Of School Grounds

Fights off of school grounds

In middle and high schools across the country teachers and school officials are struggling with ways to help their students. They are responsible for educating their students, but also for keeping them out of trouble. The number of physical and verbal fights that occur in schools are on the rise and many school officials are trying to get a hold on the growing problem.
In many larger cities it is likely that at least one physical or verbal fight will break out daily in a school or on school property. There are a number of reasons why a fight may breakout at a school. These reasons may include, but are not limited to, a sports team, friends, grades, relationships, or drugs.
Although a verbal fight is not as damaging as a physical fight it can still cause an unlimited amount of damage to a teenager or young adult. There are many instances where verbal fights are not even being considered fights. This is due to that fact that no one is being physically injured and they are now happening so much that they sometimes go unnoticed.
A few years back a typical school fight would involve fists, punching, and maybe some hair pulling. Unfortunately now many violent students have a large number of dangerous weapons all within their reach. It is not uncommon to hear of a school fight that involves a knife or a gun.
School officials in areas throughout the country are faced with the difficult task of trying to prevent fights from breaking out on their grounds. Large populated schools are often equipped with security guards and metal detectors. Although this protection may not completely eliminate school fights there are many school officials that are noticing a decrease in dangerous school fights where extra security guards and metal detectors are in place.
Smaller school with a smaller budget may be unable to fully staff their school with potentially expensive security measures. For this reason many smaller schools rely on their teachers and students to be aware of their surroundings. Many students are encouraged to inform an adult if they learn of an impending argument or fight.
In a world that is filled with peer pressure many students may be afraid to alert school officials or adults to a potential fight. For this reason many schools are effectively developing anonymous ways for students or other community members to report any existing or potential acts of violence.
Another way that schools are trying to control the number of fights that occur during school hours or on their property is by punishing students why many be involved or have previously participated in a verbal or physical fight. Many students are now being expelled or suspended from school. A lighter punishment may involve after-school or lunchtime detention.
Many parents and school officials are aware that if a teenager wishes to harm another individual or student they will likely try, whether it be on school grounds or not. School officials are in charge of keeping a large number of students safe and free from danger. Although most school officials would hate to see a fight occur off of school grounds their main responsibility is protecting students while they are in their care.

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After reading this acrticle do you think students that fight off of school grounds should be punished?????

What do u think?

These violent games that people play mostly teenagers is one of the reasons that teenagers pick up these ruthless and violent ways. or maybe it's the parents who buy the games for them so who is the real blame for teenagers doin what they see and play?

whadafxup???

So, I'm reading all these tabloids and, Breaking Story...La Lohan has just wrapped up her second stint in REHAB??? Since when is that a joyous moment?? I know all races, ages and sexes were a fan of Lindsay from 'Mean Girls'. Is it now Kool to drink and drive and smoke UNDERAGE becuase we know there's a rehab facility in Utah waiting for us?? Is this former Disney Channel heroines saying it's (A) okay???

Teen spending

Ok people I know that we have been talking about the lives and views of teenagers but I'd like to take a differnt approach and discuss teenage spending. My question to you all is do you think teenage spending has been outrageous over the past 10 years ? Why and how?

Are you 4real???

Walking in lower Manhattan today there was a magazine cover that caught my eye. It was an In-Touch Magazine with front page headline screaming "Is She Pregnant, Angelina Gains 10lbs". Come on lets be serious with all the things that are going on in the world they decided to tell the country that Angelina Jolie has gained 10 f******n pounds. Are the publishers trying to tell me the Ms. Jolie gaining 10lbs is more important than a solider taking a bullet for this nation or that her weight gain is more important than the unfair justice that is being handed out in Jena?? To the right is copy of the cover.

Teenagers

The lyrics to this song offended me because of the way teens are protayed. What do you think? How do you feel about the lyrics? Do you think it's true? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9VjbPz4vLgs