Eating Disorders
by Marcos A. Quinones



There are many techniques used to control binge eating and purging, food restrictions, and emotional eating. They include food diaries, calorie counters, and scheduling of meals among others. Many of these techniques are helpful because they bring awareness to eating patterns. When you bring awareness to eating or restricting food, then you can work on changing the behavior and capturing the thoughts that drive the behavior.

You can start with 3 steps:

1. Accept that you have an eating disorder
2. Understand the role that eating disorder plays in your life
3. Identify the core irrational beliefs



In order to treat an eating disorder it is very important that you first accept that you have an eating disorder. It is very difficult to treat something you don't really think you have. Again, there are different test that exist for measuring an eating disorder, but if you eat a lot and then vomit or take laxatives then you have an eating disorder. If you restrict food to the point that you are underweight then you have an eating disorder. Even if you believe you don't have an eating disorder, but obsess about weight and body image, then it will help you to treat it.

Sometimes eating disorder plays a role in your life. For some people who feel they have no control over their lives, it's a way to control something. For others it serves to call attention to them, otherwise they feel loved ones will forget about them. For others their illness affects the family in a way that the family doesn't have to worry about financial, relationships, or other issues and can focus on the person with the eating disorder as a distraction. There are many roles eating disorder plays in people's lives. It's important to understand and accept what they are.

Once you have accepted the eating disorder and know the role it plays in your life, then capture the core irrational thought. Mindfulness plays a big role here. If you are able to capture your thoughts and not have them go by automatically, then you can see what drives the eating disorder. Is it a sense of worth? Is it lack of confidence? Is it a way to distract you from feeling lonely? There are many core irrational thoughts you may have.

Once you have identified a core irrational belief then you want to dispute the thought and come up with a more rational thought. "I may be overweight, but that has noting to do with my worth as a person."

By addressing the eating disorder from both angles; behavioral techniques and underlying beliefs, you have a good chance at accepting the eating disorder, understanding it, and treating it effectively.

Live healthy, live happy

Sincerely,

Marcos A. Quinones
marcos@jove.org

Wow nice information. In the present times, we can find ourselves suffering from eating disorders very frequently. Such disorders can be life-threatening and can happen to any person even if he or she is leading a healthy life. Hence, we can find plenty of treatment centres coming up in various cities of our country to take charge of this lethal health condition.