Health & Fitness

Rehab for Eating Disorders

Did you know that your food-eating habits can result from underlying psychological problems? Whether you’re eating too much or too little, it will cause significant bodily harm if you don’t control it.

What is an Eating Disorder?

An eating disorder is a persistent food ingestion habit that adversely affects your health. The American Psychiatric Association specifies eating disorders in the DSM-5. There are about six primary eating disorders. They include;

  • Bulimia Nervosa – Overeating followed by self-induced vomiting
  • Anorexia Nervosa – Purposeful restriction of food intake
  • Binge Eating Disorder – Consumption of large amounts of food without the ability to stop
  • Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder – Picky eating or lack of interest in food
  • Rumination Disorder – Unintentional regurgitation of undigested food
  • Pica – Compulsive swallowing of non-food items

How Do You Know That You Need Rehab for an Eating Disorder

To properly diagnose an eating disorder, the eating habit must have occurred repeatedly for an extended period.

Isolated incidences of refusing to eat or overeating don’t usually indicate a problem. However, the following signs may indicate that you need to book rehab in Tucson really soon to mitigate the effects of the eating disorder.

  • You’ve started developing rigid rules around eating. For example, eliminating entire types of foods without a medical doctor’s prescription.
  • Being uncomfortable eating around others
  • Not taking meals or taking only small portions at a time
  • Being overly conscious about your body size. Checking yourself in the mirror to look for abnormalities in appearance becomes common
  • Mood swings that become very extreme
  • Excessive exercise routines to compensate for calorie intake.
  • Your eating habits bring about conflicts or issues in your daily work and relationships.

Benefits of Rehab for Eating Disorders

Rehabilitation centers are instrumental in treating eating disorders because they offer on-site-based, special care and therapy. Here are the benefits of rehab if you have an eating disorder.

  • Rehab creates an understanding of the particular eating disorder – A psychologist can pinpoint your eating disorder after a thorough interview. By understanding the issue, you can both begin the process of controlling it.
  • Rehab is key in preventing loss of life – Most people suffering from eating disorders usually have a nutrient deficiency. Sometimes it may be fatal. Rehab provides nutrient therapy to help affected people restore proper nutrient balance.
  • Additional treatment of comorbid disorders – The occurrence of an eating disorder can induce other mental health issues like depression and anxiety. At rehab, you can receive treatment for any co-occurring disorder. 
  • Awareness of healthy coping strategies – To deal with the disorder, some individuals may have unhealthy coping mechanisms. At a rehab, professional health workers work with the individual to implement healthy coping methods.
  • Utilizing the power of group therapy – Rehabs know how isolating a disorder can make you feel, so they incorporate group therapy. It tells individuals that they can take comfort in knowing that others share the same affliction and are overcoming it.

How Rehab Helps a Person With an Eating Disorder

All treatment plans for eating disorders in a rehab involve the combination of several forms of therapy. 

For example, mental health professionals may combine psychotherapy, medication, and nutrition therapy to treat an eating disorder. The reason for this is that an eating disorder affects the mental and physical health of an affected individual.

One important thing to note is that the earlier a mental health professional identifies the eating disorder, the higher the chances of recovery.

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