Posts Tagged “Education”

Eating disorder clinicians are guided by ethics to ensure the best for every patient that comes into their care. In general, ethics help clinicians determine appropriate clinical decisions and behavior. They provide a compass for what is “right” and what is “wrong,” although determining that is not usually so simple. Treatment providers will encounter a variety of moral dilemmas in their careers, and ethics can provide a general framework for navigating these situations. 

In this blog, we will cover key ethical principles in the treatment of eating disorders, as well as several dilemmas that the field’s clinicians may face. 

What Does Purging Mean?

Purging is a compensatory behavior experienced by many people with eating disorders. It refers to the act of compensating for or expelling food intake to influence body weight or “make up for” consuming calories. Purging is most commonly associated with self-induced vomiting but also includes the misuse of laxatives, diet pills, and diuretics, as well as excessive exercise. This is seen across eating disorder diagnoses, including bulimia, anorexia, and OSFED (Other Specified Feeding or Eating Disorder).

There are many side effects purging can have on the human body. In this blog, we will break down a handful of different physical consequences of purging to explore what eating disorder behavior can do to the body in the long term. We discuss the effects of bulimia purging across your entire body, in addition to the effects that purging disorders can have on your mental and emotional state. We’ll examine how eating disorder purging can exacerbate pre-existing mental health conditions such as depression and anxiety, and how they can trigger new psychological challenges, including severe mood swings and stress-related disorders. Whether you’re struggling with this yourself or know someone who is, understanding the full scope of the impact of purging disorder is the first step toward recovery.

You don’t know what to do. You’ve never had to worry about your twelve-year-old son before. His school report cards consistently reflect his conscientiousness, situating him comfortably at the top of his classes. He demonstrates the same drive outside the classroom, where he’s established himself as a dependable scorer for the school’s soccer team.

But something’s been off lately, giving you a gnawing feeling in your gut. Your son seems to be regressing to the picky eating of his childhood. His palette is increasingly limited these days, and he alleges digestive problems when asked to gather with the family for dinner. He used to have a tight-knit group of friends, but recently has been declining birthday party invitations and isolating himself. His soccer coach has called you and suggested your son take a leave from the team—he fainted during this evening’s practice.

You know you need to act, but you’re facing pushback from your son. He meets your concerns with heightened defensiveness, firmly denying that anything is wrong. He’s doubling down on his already rigid study schedule, convinced that any disruptions will derail his high-achieving track. You understand that school can wait, but you’re struggling to get your son on board with taking the time for treatment. Is it possible his reaction and this resistance are related to his unusual food behaviors? You reason it would be easier for him to continue his top performance if he wasn’t battling these food issues, but you can’t be sure. You need guidance from those who have walked this path before—that’s where we come in.

What Is Intermittent Fasting?

Intermittent fasting is a pattern of eating that includes regular periods of fasting. Unlike traditional diets, intermittent fasting does not include any rules on what foods “should” or “should not” be eaten; instead, it specifies when and when not to eat. Participants limit their eating to a certain window of time—for example, only eight hours per day or even alternate days of the week—and do not eat for the remainder of the time.

In the last several years, the trend of intermittent fasting has become increasingly popular. Proponents of intermittent fasting tout its promises of improved health and weight loss. However, the notable dangers of intermittent fasting are often left out in conversations about the subject. The risks of intermittent fasting may not be readily apparent in our society that celebrates weight loss at any cost, so in this article, we will cover the potential negative side effects of intermittent fasting, including the dangers for those at risk of or suffering from an eating disorder.

Healing from an eating disorder doesn’t end with your discharge from treatment. That’s why it’s so important that eating disorder care helps clients develop effective coping strategies, self-care practices, and emotion regulation skills to use long after formal treatment ends. Transitioning from specialized eating disorder care into the “real world” can be jarring.

Equipping clients with the tools and confidence to navigate life’s inevitable challenges ensures their recovery begins with a solid foundation.

Both yoga and mindfulness are tools that support the reconnection to mind and body essential in eating disorder treatment. They also protect a continuing recovery, offering clients accessible grounding techniques to confront urges and stressful moments. At The Emily Program, we integrate yoga and mindfulness as holistic, skill-based therapies within our evidence-based treatment model.

Given the mainstream popularity of yoga and mindfulness, it’s critical to differentiate eating disorder-informed practices from the more insidious variations of yoga and mindfulness that have been commodified by wellness culture.

June is Pride Month, a time to celebrate the LGBTQIA+ community and sexual and gender diversity. Members of the community and allies unite in pride and solidarity to recognize, honor, and uplift the voices of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer and/or questioning people.

As we honor the LGBTQIA+ community this month and beyond, we must also commit to better understanding and addressing the issues it faces. One such issue is eating disorders, which affect LGBTQIA+ people at disproportionately high rates.

In this article, we explore eating disorders in the LGBTQIA+ community and offer ways to support affected community members during Pride and throughout the year.

You look in the mirror for what feels like all hours of the day. You cannot stop fixating on your perceived “flaws,” frequently examining your face for blemishes and picking at your skin to try to make it look “smooth.” These near-constant thoughts about your appearance are taking over your life, affecting your relationships, passions, school, and work. 

You may be experiencing more than commonplace appearance insecurities. Symptoms like yours could indicate an eating disorder, body dysmorphic disorder (BDD), or both. There are ways in which BDD and eating disorders overlap, but they are two distinct mental health conditions. 

The benefits of athletics are well-established. Participating in organized sports can help you build self-esteem, recognize the value of teamwork, set the foundation for a lifelong physical activity practice, improve mental health, promote social connections, open the doorway for scholarships or even a career, and teach important life skills, such as goal-setting and leadership.

However, these positive outcomes come with an important caveat. The pressures of athletic competition and the emphasis many sports place on body weight, shape, and size can contribute to psychological and physical stress. For individuals naturally predisposed to eating disorders, these stressors can be a tipping point into disordered territory.

Athletes frequently experience diminishing returns from disordered habits like restrictive dieting and over-training. Although it can be difficult for an athlete to step away from their sport, pursuing treatment increases their likelihood of safely returning—and can be lifesaving. Coaches, parents, teammates, and providers have a critical role in ensuring athletes are prioritized over the sport. Understanding the risks athletes face is key to providing preventative support.