About 30 million Americans suffer from eating disorders that threaten their mood, social interaction, physical and mental health, and more. While people assume that only young women fall prey to these serious health problems, studies show many other segments of the population can as well.
Let’s talk about the symptoms of eating disorders and how recovery is possible through treatment and management strategies.
Symptoms of Eating Disorders
More than the much-publicized anorexia and bulimia, eating disorders can take a variety of forms. Some symptoms may overlap, making assessment, diagnosis, and treatment plans dependent on the experience and expertise of trained and compassionate mental health professionals.
However, in general, the following symptoms are true benchmarks of an eating disorder. Some of the symptoms of eating disorders are:
- Preoccupation with food and body image
- Over-exercising or over-training in a sporting activity
- Poor self-confidence and self-esteem
- Declining certain food categories, such as meat or carbohydrates
- Rituals, such as carefully dividing a dinner plate into sections so foods cannot contact each other
- Constant dieting
- Avoiding social situations where food is a main component
- Checking appearance over and over again
- Drastic weight changes
- Thinning hair
- Dental health issues
- Poor healing
- Yellowed, thin, dry skin
- Fainting
- Poor cognition–mental fogginess and distractibility
- Menstrual irregularities
Treating and Recovering from Eating Disorders
If you or a loved one are exhibiting them, you need the care and compassion of an integrative psychiatry expert. At Psychance, our professional team focuses on each person as an individual with a unique physical, mental, and emotional makeup, needs, and backstory. We work with eating disorder patients to reveal the reasons behind their harmful eating behaviors, body image, anxiety, and need for control. We understand that any eating disorder may overlap with another, change over time, and co-exist with major depressive disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, or other mental health issues.
During counseling sessions, we provide patients with recovery and ongoing management strategies and offer helpful tools, such as biofeedback, medications, nutritional supplements, and real coping skills.
Our team works toward healthy meals, appropriate levels of physical activity, and ways to cope effectively with day-to-day stressors, conflict, and more. A disorder can steadily and gradually become an order, and people can learn to focus on balance in every area of their lives, including food, exercise, relationships, life goals, and more.
Once the patients feel better physically and emotionally, we help to develop maintenance plans to prevent serious relapse or development of new eating disorder symptoms. So, we value ongoing relationships with patients and their families, too.
Eating Disorder Treatment in White Plains, NY
At Psyhance, we prioritize high-quality and evidence-based research and care. Our holistic approach empathizes with you as a whole person — and as your authentic, true self. Your treatment plan will address your unique concerns while taking your identity into account.
To know more about our services or to schedule a consultation with one of our providers, email us at s.lahlou@psyhance.com or fill out our online appointment request form.