Eating disorders can be disruptive and dangerous if left untreated. While many people dealing with an eating disorder may need more intensive treatment, at Northeast Health Services, we can help clients understand the underlying causes of their disordered eating and help provide effective solutions for coping with these factors and developing healthier eating habits.
Contact us at 508.794.8711 today to schedule your first appointment and start your journey towards improved mental health. Our therapists and psychiatrists in Massachusetts can help you live a fuller life and provide a referral to more intensive treatment if necessary.
Note that Northeast Health Services does not offer inpatient or intensive outpatient treatment for eating disorders. If these services are deemed necessary, we are happy to provide referrals while continuing to offer care through medication and talk therapy as needed.
Signs of an Eating Disorder
Eating disorders are most common from ages 12-25, so it’s important to know what signs to watch for, especially if you have a teen or adolescent starting to show concerns around eating. Additionally, while girls are more likely to develop an eating disorder, people of all ages and genders can struggle with problematic eating habits.
Presentation may also be somewhat different in males versus females: Eating disorders may be slightly harder to detect in boys and might revolve more around compulsive exercise or “clean eating.”
Signs of a potential eating disorder can include:
- A preoccupation with counting calories, weight loss, or dieting
- Eliminating certain food groups or refusing to eat specific foods due to calories
- Making excuses to avoid eating or any situations involve food
- Rituals around mealtimes, like eating foods in a specific order, rearranging food on the plate, or excessive chewing
- Frequent body checking in the mirror, focusing on “flaws” in appearance
- Noticeable fluctuations in weight, either up or down
Types of Eating Disorders
Most of the time, an eating disorder involves a deep negative self-image, causing someone to restrict their eating to the point that their body isn’t getting the sustenance it needs. Some people have the opposite problem, binge eating regularly. Either way, there is often an element of feeling a lack of agency in life and using food as something that can be controlled.
Common eating disorders include:
- Anorexia nervosa: Commonly referred to simply as “anorexia,” this condition involves restricting food intake to the point of starvation in order to stay thin, becoming severely underweight and having an intense fear of gaining weight.
- Bulimia nervosa: Marked by recurrent cycles of binge eating and then purging, and may also include restrictive eating behaviors.
- Binge-eating disorder: Regularly eating too much to the point of being sick, often feeling an inability to stop eating, eating even when not hungry, and feeling shame or being secretive about these behaviors.
- Avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder (ARFID): Involves difficulty meeting daily nutritional requirements but not due to a fear of weight gain. ARFID often includes issues with sensory elements of food, or other physical difficulties around eating.
Are you or a loved one dealing with disordered eating?
Talk to one of our compassionate experts at our clinics in the greater Boston area, Springfield, and across Massachusetts to learn more about what a care plan could look like for you.
Note that NEHS does not offer inpatient or intensive outpatient treatment for eating disorders. If these services are deemed necessary, we are happy to provide referrals while continuing to offer care through medication and talk therapy as needed.
What Causes Someone to Develop an Eating Disorder?
The exact reasons why someone develops an eating disorder aren’t fully known, though experts think it’s probably a mix of genetics, biology, and other stressors. Disordered eating often shows up in the teen and young adult years when other stressors are on the rise.
Causes and risk factors for eating disorders include:
- Genetics: Those with a family history of eating disorders are more likely to develop one.
- Biology: Changes or irregularities in brain chemistry and makeup may play a role.
- Other mental health issues: Anxiety, depression, PTSD, and OCD can all make it more likely that someone will also develop an eating disorder.
- A stressful life event: Big life changes that cause a lot of stress, like moving, starting college, or a relationship or familial issue can trigger disordered eating.
- A history of dieting: Someone who tried many different diets or who dieted off and on is more likely to develop problematic eating habits.
Treatments for Eating Disorders
For someone experiencing severe physical issues due to an eating disorder, intensive treatment, like an inpatient facility or an intensive outpatient program, may be necessary for regaining safety and relearning how to interact with food. Beyond inpatient or intensive outpatient treatment, ongoing therapy and potentially medication can make a huge difference in someone’s day-to-day relationship with food and their body.
At NEHS, our mental health experts can provide a thoughtful, collaborative treatment plan involving therapy and medication when necessary. Note that we do not offer inpatient or intensive outpatient treatment for eating disorders. If these services are deemed necessary, we are happy to provide referrals while continuing to offer care through medication and talk therapy as needed.
Therapy
Talk therapy, specifically cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), can help someone gain insight into how their unhealthy thought patterns have led to disordered eating, then figure out how to change these thoughts and subsequent behaviors. Additionally, group therapy is often utilized for overcoming eating disorders, as it can be incredibly helpful to hear how other people facing similar challenges are learning to overcome their disordered eating habits.
Medication
Taking antidepressant and anti-anxiety medications can help reduce the intensity of distressing feelings that may be a factor in disordered eating. For someone with another diagnosis, like depression or anxiety, relieving other mental health symptoms with medication can make it easier to address the disordered eating.
Inpatient & Outpatient Intensive Treatment
Note that, while Northeast Health Services can provide support through therapy and medication, we do not offer intensive eating disorder treatments, though our experts can help you find the care you need through a referral.
For those who are severely underweight or experiencing health problems due to lack of nutrition, your doctor may recommend staying at a hospital or other inpatient facility. Inpatient programs involve living in the space to re-establish safety and remove the client from whatever stressors they are facing at home.
Outpatient day programs are also offered for people who still need intensive treatment but are safe to live at home during recovery. People often transition from inpatient treatment to an outpatient day program to continue recovering while integrating back into daily life.
Specialized eating disorder treatment centers can help clients change their relationship with food through eating meals together, developing a dietary plan, and engaging in therapy and psychiatry services.
What’s the Outlook for Someone with an Eating Disorder?
With the right help, it’s possible to recover from an eating disorder, though it can be a difficult road. Many people take months, even years, to fully recover, and some may have ongoing physical complications for the rest of their lives due to the time of malnutrition. This is why it’s so important to get mental healthcare as soon as you think you or your teen might have a problem with eating—the sooner you get care, the more likely you can prevent long-term effects.
People recovering from eating disorders may find it helpful to receive long-term support from a therapist. In this way, they can continue healing their relationship with food and their self-image.
The Benefits of Seeking Eating Disorder Treatment at Northeast Health Services
With the right support, it’s possible to heal your relationship with food. The mental health experts at our NEHS clinics in Boston, Springfield, Salem, and across Massachusetts are dedicated to helping their neighbors get the care they deserve.
Our supportive team can help you develop:
- Increased awareness of the unhealthy thought patterns contributing to disordered eating
- Greater ability to manage anxiety or fear related to food, body image, and appearance
- Improved physical health
- More balanced eating habits
- Improved relationships with family and friends
- Improved body image
Find Eating Disorder Treatment at Northeast Health Services
At Northeast Health Services, we are passionate about supporting the mental health needs of our clients in Massachusetts, regardless of age or status. While we don’t offer inpatient programs for eating disorders, our team of therapists and psychiatrists can support you on your mental health journey and refer out if you end up needing more intensive care.
Call us now at 508.794.8711 or fill out a quick form to get more information on how our eating disorder treatment can help you reclaim control of your life.
FAQs About Eating Disorders
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How can you tell if someone has an eating disorder?
Aside from rapid weight loss or gain, other warning signs of an eating disorder include avoiding events or activities that involve food, frequently checking their body in the mirror (perhaps pinching their skin or prolonged looking from multiple angles), cutting out entire types of foods, and developing an obsession with calories, working out, or dieting.
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What is the most effective treatment for an eating disorder?
Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) has been proven to be one of the most effective treatment options for people with eating disorders, as it helps someone understand how their thinking patterns influence their behaviors, and how to shift those patterns. Individual and group therapy can both be incredibly effective.
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What are the three most common eating disorders?
The most common eating disorders are anorexia, bulimia, and binge-eating disorder. Anorexia is marked by severe restriction of food intake; bulimia involves binging on food and then purging; and binge-eating disorder entails frequent, recurrent binging without purging.
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What can trigger an eating disorder?
Eating disorders can be triggered by big life changes or times of stress. Many people fall into patterns of disordered eating after starting a stressful new job, experiencing relationship or family issues, or moving. Others may start restricting their food intake after being bullied or receiving criticism about their body or their weight, with social media and cyberbullying also being a factor for some.
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When should someone seek inpatient treatment for an eating disorder?
If someone can’t eat or gain weight on their own or with outpatient therapy, it might be time to seek inpatient treatment at a hospital or specialized eating disorder treatment center. A doctor or mental health professional can help determine what level of care will be necessary for treatment. Physical issues from an ongoing eating disorder can become a medical emergency, so it’s important to seek help as soon as possible.
Sources:
- https://scienceinsights.org/who-is-most-likely-to-develop-an-eating-disorder/
- https://www.uclahealth.org/news/article/how-spot-eating-disorders-boys
- https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/eating-disorders/symptoms-causes/syc-20353603
- https://www.nationaleatingdisorders.org/recovery-from-an-eating-disorder/