Treatment varies greatly from person to person, as many factors will impact the type of treatment a person needs. Gender, race, income, sexuality, coexisting and co-occurring disorders, illnesses, etc., family history, etc. will all help to determine the type of treatment a person needs, thus no one will experience treatment the same way.
For example, someone who is experiencing both ADHD and an eating disorder will have a variety of different treatment options as compared to a person with an ED but no other disorders. The same goes for men with eating disorders, as they may not necessarily receive the same treatment that a woman would.
For example, someone who is experiencing both ADHD and an eating disorder will have a variety of different treatment options as compared to a person with an ED but no other disorders. The same goes for men with eating disorders, as they may not necessarily receive the same treatment that a woman would.
Options and Steps
- Talk to a healthcare professional about your concerns. It might be scary, but this is the first step to receiving a diagnosis. While there are some forms of help that do not require this step, it is required to receive medical treatment. This person could be your family doctor, therapist, psychologist, psychiatrist, etc.
- Call a help phone. There are a variety of helplines listed online, and NEDA’s is just one of many. You can call these phone numbers and talk to someone trained in disordered eating, similar to Kids Help Phone being available to help children who are struggling with self-harm and suicidal thoughts.
- Message an online help chat. If you prefer to talk via text message or e-mail, there are many options available online. Again, NEDA’s is just one of many. You can chat with a person anonymously and discuss your concerns, ask for help, etc.
- Join an online forum. There are many forums online that can help connect people and families struggling with disordered eating. They can discuss problems, answer questions, address concerns, share helpful information and strategies, etc.
Medical Treatment
If you receive medical treatment, there are many different paths you could go down. Some of these paths could involve:
- Intensive outpatient allows the patient to come and go from the clinic, hospital, etc., as they do not require 24/7 monitoring.
- Inpatient treatment typically involves the patient being checked-in to a program for a set period of time, during which they are monitored for their safety.
- Psychotherapy is a general term for talking about your feelings, emotions, thoughts, etc. with a mental health care provider. There are many forms of psychotherapy, so it is important for you and your health care provider(s) to determine which one is best for you. Here are some of the most common or effective psychotherapy options:
- Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) focuses on changing your actions rather than your thoughts, feelings, or beliefs. ACT will teach the person core values and help them develop goals and action plans that relate to these values. Instead of doing things that “feel good”, the person should instead do things that connect with their core values. In doing so, they will find that they will start to feel good.
- Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) is a short-term therapy treatment that helps a person overcome a generalized and distorted belief. For example, CBT would aim to help a person recognize that their belief that their weight determines their worth is distorted and maladaptive, and that they are worthy regardless of their weight.
- Cognitive Remediation Therapy (CRT) attempts to overcome rigid thinking processes and develop a person’s ability to focus on and believe more than one thing at a time.
- Dialectical Behavioural Therapy (DBT) focuses on changing the disordered and maladaptive eating behaviours and replacing them with healthy, effective eating behaviours. It focuses on mindfulness, interpersonal relationships, emotion regulation, and distress tolerance.
- Family-Based Treatment (FBT) chooses to focus on refeeding and weight recovery for treating the ED rather than trying to find the root cause. It is a home-based treatment that aims to establish healthy eating patterns, regain control, and stop self-destructive behaviours.
- Interpersonal Psychotherapy (IPT) looks at four problem areas, which include grief, interpersonal role disputes, role transitions, and interpersonal deficits. By addressing these areas, IPT helps improve the person’s communication and relationships, while also resolving interpersonal issues.
- Psychodynamic Psychotherapy aims to find the root cause of the eating disorder. It will consider things such as internal conflicts, underlying motives, unconscious forces, etc. By identifying and addressing the root cause(s), it hopes to treat the disordered eating and prevent a relapse.