Eating Disorders

Anorexia is an eating disorder characterized by a distorted body image and intense fear of gaining weight, that causes you to limit your calorie intake, and the types of foods you eat, and to engage in additional weight-loss behaviors such as compulsive exercise, purging through self-induced vomiting, or the misuse of laxatives. However, several anorexia treatment options are available. Because of the nature of the disorder, anorexia treatment needs to address physical problems as well as psychological ones and typically involves a combination of psychotherapy, nutritional counseling, and supervised weight gain. Its biggest challenge is getting a person to recognize and accept that he or she has a serious illness that, left untreated, can lead to malnutrition, starvation, and even death. The ultimate goal of anorexia treatment is to stabilize your physical condition, equip you with healthy coping strategies, and help you develop proper nutritional skills so you can regain and maintain a normal weight. Anorexia treatment modalities There are several evidence-based treatment modalities for treating anorexia that you can choose from. The following are some of the most common ones. Enhanced cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT-E) Enhanced cognitive behavioral therapy is a modified form of cognitive behavior therapy that is used for treating eating disorders. It is considered to be a first-line, gold-standard option for the treatment of anorexia. CBT-E focuses on helping you understand how thoughts influence behavior, and on teaching you how to recognize and address distorted thoughts and beliefs about weight and appearance that are at the root of your disorder and driving your behavior, so you can modify it by changing the way you think. Acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) The goal of acceptance and commitment therapy is to motivate you to change your behavior rather than be wrapped up in your thoughts and feelings. [...]