Eating disorders are not just bad eating habits. They involve an actual impairment in cognitive abilities. When an anorexic looks in the mirror she/he actually perceives a fat person looking back. Kelly Dennis, a counselor interviewed for the story, says "What I find with people who have eating disorders is that they tend to focus on one small part that they believe is fat, like the stomach or the thighs." Individuals with eating disorders often suffer from obsessive-compulsive disorder, which also helps to explain the extreme fixation on certain body parts or certain rituals associated with eating (or not eating).
Marie Acebo, a nutrition counselor and dietitian with the Lancaster General Diabetes & Nutrition Center, has found that individuals with eating disorders require long-term, detailed nutritional counseling and education. This education process not only involves information-giving, but building self-esteem and learning to make healthy choices. Marie reports that many individuals resort to disordered eating out of a need for control. They restrict their diets to as little as one or two "acceptable" foods, and often exercise compulsively. Making healthy nutritional choices can also give a sense of control and replace negative behaviors, but this transition usually takes years.
Another facet of the cognitive impairment that accompanies eating disorders is the belief that no one else notices. Many anorexics dress in baggy clothing and truly believe that friends and family don't notice the physical transformations of their bodies. Disordered eaters are obsessed with food. Many, particularly anorexics, will cook or bake constantly for friends and family but never consume a bite of the food themselves. In addition, many disordered eaters have trouble eating in the presence of others and so stop participating in meals with family and friends. They continue to believe, however, that no one notices the strangeness of this behavior.
Experts believe that a perfectionistic attitude is a primary factor in disordered eating. Psychological counseling for individuals with eating disorders focuses on this attitude, but it can take years to make inroads. Individuals with eating disorders tend to hold themselves to impossibly high standards; the inability to achieve or maintain these standards only exacerbates their feelings of failure, inadequacy, or of being out of control, and can drive them to more extreme eating habits.
According to the story, recovering from an eating disorder is a lifelong process - an ongoing commitment to making healthy choices and dealing constructively with life's stresses. (Source: articles.LancasterOnline.com)
Posted By: jgarcia