Counselling for Eating Disorders

How common are eating disorders?

In the UK today, between 1.25 and 3.4 million people are affected by an eating disorder, 75% are female and 25% are male. Eating disorders can be developed at any age, most commonly between the ages of 16 and 40. Mortality rates for eating disorders are the highest out of any psychiatric disorder*. Eating disorders are devastating for the sufferer and their loved ones but the quicker you get help, the better the outcome can be.

Different types of eating disorders

Anorexia nervosa

• People with anorexia tend to eat less food than the body needs to stay healthy. This disorder can be about body-image but more likely it’s about control, low self-esteem and feelings of distress
  

• Anorexia sufferers will restrict calorie intake or don’t eat at all, hide food or throw it away secretly, count calories obsessively, avoid foods with high-fat content, have strict rules around exercise, weigh themselves regularly throughout the day, have structured eating times and cook for other people but not eat any of it
  

• The impact on the body can include dramatic weight loss, weakness, slow movement, irregular or no periods, loss of hair, feeling cold all the time, low sex drive, fuzzy hair on the arms and face called Lanugo and fragile bones prone to breakage

Bulimia nervosa

• People who suffer from bulimia will eat large amounts of food in one go (binging) and then experience feelings of shame and guilt and consequently ‘get rid’ of the food they’ve eaten by vomiting, taking laxatives or exercising excessively (purging)
  

• Bulimia sufferers may eat in secret, starve themselves in between binges, eat foods they believe to be ‘bad’ during a binge and experience cycles of binging and purging
  

• The impact on the body can include dehydration, yellow or eroded teeth from the stomach acid, irregular or no period, IBS or constipation from laxatives, dull or blemished skin. They may stay at the same weight or fluctuate often

Binge eating disorder

• People who suffer from binge eating disorder compulsively eat and feel unable to stop. They eat large amounts even when they don’t want to, usually to avoid or cover up emotions
  

  Binge eating disorder sufferers will pick at food all day so they are constantly eating, binge food in large amounts, regularly eat unhealthy food, hide how much they’ve eaten, eat until they feel sick, absentmindedly eat whilst doing other things and eat when they feel stressed, bored or upset
  

• The impact on the body can include dramatic weight gain, high blood pressure, joint and muscle pain, diabetes, nausea, acid reflux, breathlessness and IBS

Help for eating disorders

Being diagnosed with an eating disorder can be a scary thing, eating disorders can take over our self-talk and feed us lies about not being ill enough to deserve help and that no one else understands us or what we’re going through. However, once a diagnosis is given, it’s important to commit to a full treatment plan to ensure all issues are addressed to avoid relapse. Counselling and psychotherapy can be effective in determining the underlying causes of food-related disorders. Your therapist can help you work through each stage of recovery, developing healthy coping skills, reevaluating your relationship with food and moving past the eating disorder.

Due to the complex nature of eating disorders, longer-term counselling is recommended. There are many stages of recovery that your therapist can support you through such as going back to normal life, communicating with friends and family about the disorder, dealing with withdrawal, coping with weight gain, coping with eating disorder thoughts and developing more positive self-talk.

*Sourced from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence