Treating anyone with an eating disorder is complex, but when an eating disorder strikes your teenager, it can be even more challenging based on the following factors: 1. There are numerous psychiatric and medical comorbidities in someone with an eating disorder. Since many of these conditions may not have been previously identified in a teen, diagnosis and treatment is more challenging.
Full Answer
Why is it so hard to treat eating disorders?
As with any mental illness, treating eating disorders presents many difficulties. Eating disorders are not just behavioral issues. Treating eating disorders means addressing the patient's relationship with food, co-existing conditions, health, nutrition, habits, environment and the problem that initially triggered the eating disorder.
What is involved in treating an eating disorder?
Treating eating disorders means addressing the patient's relationship with food, co-existing conditions, health, nutrition, habits, environment and the problem that initially triggered the eating disorder. This wide variety of potential problems makes eating disorder treatment a long and sometimes grueling process.
What can derail progress in treating an eating disorder?
In treating eating disorders, any of the following difficulties may derail a person's progress: Loneliness. Backsliding. Repeated attempts.
Is it worth the work to treat an eating disorder?
Treating eating disorders does not have a single path; each person needs to find the specific treatment that works for them. Overcoming an eating disorder is a very big commitment and, for many, a difficult choice to make. When treating their eating disorder, the patient may wonder if the result is worth all the work.
What is challenging about treating a person with anorexia nervosa?
People with anorexia may find themselves dealing with troubled personal relationships, bullying and pressures from peers or loved ones to maintain a certain standard of beauty. Hormonal changes that lead to physical changes in the body may also contribute to the development of eating disorders.
Which eating disorder is the hardest to treat?
Anorexia nervosa has the highest mortality rate of all mental illnesses. Some patients struggle in silence for years before seeking treatment. One California woman has lived with a severe form of the disease for more than a decade, according to reports by ABC news and Buzzfeed.
Why do people struggle with eating disorder?
Many people struggle with an eating disorder without any family or friends noticing, because eating disorders often entail shame and secrecy. Additionally, negative body image and eating disorders tend to be rooted in deeper psychological struggles, such as low self-esteem and feelings of helplessness.
Why do people not seek treatment for anorexia?
A recent study of college students estimated that approximately about 42% of those with untreated eating disorder symptoms did not seek treatment because they felt they did not need counseling or therapy and 20% did not feel their symptoms were “serious” enough to warrant treatment.
Is bulimia hard to treat?
Because this is a compulsive disorder, the binge-eating and purging habits that have developed over time can be extremely difficult to stop without professional intervention.
What percent of the population has eating disorders?
Eating disorder statistics 2022. Global eating disorder statistics increased from 3.4% to 7.8%. Use these eating disorder stats to understand why the prevalence of eating disorders.
What are potential risk factors that may lead to eating disorders?
Eating Disorder Risk FactorsGender. ... Age. ... Weight Concerns, Dieting, and Negative Body Image. ... Psychological and Emotional Disorders. ... History of Sexual Abuse and Other Trauma. ... Childhood Obesity and Eating Problems. ... Family Factors. ... Genetics.More items...
How do people feel when they have an eating disorder?
The psychological problems that people can experience include: negative thinking, low self-esteem, perfectionism and obsessions. Despite the difficulties eating disorders cause, it can be difficult for someone to want to get better. People can feel that obsessive behaviour, for example, helps them to cope with anxiety.
Why is it important that we talk about eating disorders in middle school?
They have serious medical consequences, are notoriously difficult to treat, and in many cases require specialized treatment. Middle schools and high schools have an obligation to provide resources to support children with eating disorders as well as aid in their prevention.
How much do anorexics weigh?
A normal BMI for an adult is 18.5-25. Above that you are overweight and below that you are underweight. Adults with anorexia have a BMI below 17.5. If you are under 18 years of age, normal weight is assessed by using special age-related BMI charts.
At what BMI do you get hospitalized?
for hospitalization: BMI < 13 is an indicatior for certification under the Mental Health Act if the patient refuses admission although BMI < 13 alone is not enough for admission.
How underweight Do you have to be to be hospitalized?
Low Body Weight The Academy of Eating Disorders recommends inpatient treatment for anyone at or below 75% of their ideal body weight. This is a general suggestion for medical professionals, not a hard and fast rule.
Who represents eating disorder patients against insurance companies?
A lot of coverage denials don’t get to litigation,” says Alicia Paulino-Grisham, an attorney in Florida who represents eating-disorder and cancer patients against insurance companies. “They’re either too sick to challenge it or there’s a good chance they’ll pass away beforehand.”.
What did Michelle tell her doctor about her eating disorder?
Michelle told the doctor about her issues: restricting food, overexercising, and struggling emotionally.
What does it mean when you cut off your insurance before counseling?
Cutting off coverage before counseling begins means she has gained weight (likely a scary prospect for her) but has made little, if any, progress toward truly healing. Physical diseases typically have clear benchmarks that indicate a patient is well, but mental illnesses don’t have black-and-white distinctions.
What to do if a woman is emaciated?
But even if a woman is emaciated, simply focusing on the number on the scale misses the point. In dire cases, the first step of treatment — before a psychological regimen can start — is to get the patient to a healthy size so she can survive. Cutting off coverage before counseling begins means she has gained weight (likely a scary prospect for her) but has made little, if any, progress toward truly healing. Physical diseases typically have clear benchmarks that indicate a patient is well, but mental illnesses don’t have black-and-white distinctions. Just because a person weighs a certain amount doesn’t mean she’s better, experts say.
Is mental illness trivialized?
And mental illnesses are often trivialized, especially those that disproportionately affect women. “People are easily dismissed,” says Johanna S. Kandel, the founder and executive director of the Alliance for Eating Disorders Awareness. “There’s so much shame and stigma.”.
Do men get eating disorders?
While men do get eating disorders, it’s still widely thought of as a women’s issue. The Association of American Medical Colleges, which represents all accredited U.S. medical schools and nearly 400 teaching hospitals, counters that eating-disorder info is disseminated in most med schools.
Can you do well if you haven't eradicated symptoms?
Of course, you won’t do well if you haven’t eradicated as many symptoms as possible.”. Cosmopolitan contacted several health-insurance companies for comment and was directed to America’s Health Insurance Plans, an association that represents insurance companies.
Why do people have eating disorders?
Some people who suffer from eating disorders may have experienced bullying about their weight in their younger stages, causing them to develop eating disorders later in life. Otherwise, non-related traumatic incidents such as childhood abuse, neglect, or domestic violence may also be a trigger for eating disorders.
How does eating disorders start?
As eating disorders start as a coping mechanism, the brain becomes wired to form these unhealthy habits that gives the person relief from the stress or anxiety that they experience. These habits may be a result of months, or even years of regimen–for example, patients with bulimia would have normal meals, but as a form of control, they would purge their food 20 minutes after. According to patients, this gives them a sense of ‘relief’ that they would not gain weight even if they attempted to eat.
Why is it so hard to control food intake?
Those who overeat as an eating disorder may find it difficult to control their intake because food is also a basic necessity in life. Unlike drugs, alcohol, or smoking, one can live without these addictions during recovery.