Eating Disorders

People with eating disorders take these concerns about body weight to extremes. This lead them to develop abnormal eating habits. These habits can put their well-being and even their lives at risk.

Here, eating disorder specialists from The Meadowglade explains more about these increasingly common disorders.

Adolescent Mental Health

Adolescence (10 to 19 years) is a stage in which the mental health of the person begins to form. The changes that occur in this period, which can be physical, emotional, or social, can make adolescents vulnerable to mental health problems.

Experts from the mental health center, The Meadowglade, indicate that promoting the psychological well-being of adolescents and protecting them from adverse experiences and risk factors, that may affect their ability to develop their full potential is essential both for their well-being during adolescence and for their physical and mental health in adulthood.

What is Psychosis?

The word psychosis causes consternation and fear and is most commonly associated with madness and encourages stigma and degrading treatment of people with mental illness. In this article, mental health specialists from The Meadowglade, will try to clarify your doubts and at the same time reduce the stigma that surrounds this term. 

Bulimia Nervosa

Bulimia nervosa is an eating disorder characterized by repeated episodes of excessive food intake in a short period of time. This is coupled with excessive concern about body weight control, which may lead you to use methods to control weight gain.

We went to The Meadowglade, a rehabilitation center, specialized in health and eating disorders, and spoke with the specialists about this disorder.

Compulsive Eating

Eating disorders are extreme manifestations of a variety of weight and food concerns experienced by women and men. These include anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, and compulsive eating. These are all serious emotional problems that can have life-threatening consequences. In this article, experts from The Meadowglade, an Outpatient Rehabilitation Center specializing in Mental Health and Eating Disorders, will focus on compulsive eating, a severe, life-threatening, and treatable eating disorder.

Compulsive eating is primarily characterized by frequent episodes of uncontrollable eating, or non-stop eating. There are no purges, but there are sporadic fasts or repetitive diets. Weight can range from normal to discreet, moderate, or severe obesity. Like anorexia and bulimia, compulsive eating can result in mental and medical complications. Fortunately, with proper help, this can be treated and people can heal. It’s recommended to work with a treatment team that specializes in eating disorders. The Meadowglade team is comprised of doctoral level medical healthcare professionals, mental health specialists and therapists, and eating disorder practitioners and therapists.

Most of us surely know what it means to eat a meal until you feel really uncomfortable. It is a fairly accepted behavior on certain dates, such as Christmas. But what happens when this behavior is repeated often? The consequences can be really serious, causing physical health problems such as obesity, diabetes, increased cholesterol ... And also psychological and emotional changes such as insecurity, feelings of guilt and shame, sadness, insomnia, depression, social isolation, among others.

Compulsive eating, or binge eating disorder involves a deterioration in the quality and satisfaction with one's life, as well as problems in adapting socially. Obesity is another consequence of people who eat compulsively.

How do you know if you are a compulsive eater?

It is very common to meet people who are not aware of their real problems. Eating abusively is apparently accepted in our society. Therefore, it is even more difficult to discern normal behavior from problem behavior.

What's more, advertising encourages us to eat to “be happier”. So it is easy to believe that my relationship with food is fine, without realizing that we really have a hard time working.

Another reason why it is difficult to identify whether or not I am a compulsive eater is that I have been able to learn these behavior patterns from my closest environment. So I have no examples of what a healthy relationship with food entails.

How can I identify if I am a compulsive eater? Here, The Meadowglade shares some signs that can give you the answer.

·         Hunger appears as an urgency and you must be satiated at that very moment.

·         You eat even without hunger and feeling full.

·         When you are bored, tired, you just eat.

·         You eat excessive amounts of food in a given period.

·         Feeling of lack of control over the amount of food and the way you eat.

·         After the act of eating, feelings of guilt, regret, sadness, shame appear...

·         You are looking to eat alone or on the sly.

·         Lack of consciousness during the act of eating.

·         Intense concern for body, weight and image.

·         You eat faster than most people do.

·         Go on a diet, repeatedly.

I     If you or someone you know is struggling with compulsive eating, chronic dieting, or emotional eating, it can be helpful to get support from a treatment team. The Meadowglade’s professional team has a reputable track record with many years of experience in the fields of adult mental health and adult eating disorders.

Who suffers from anorexia?

Eating disorders (anorexia, bulimia, overeating) affect about 4% of adolescents. Severe anorexia nervosa is rare, affecting about 0.5% of the population. However, milder cases were probably not diagnosed. This disorder is primarily a phenomenon characteristic of puberty and young adulthood. About 95% of anorexia cases are women. Anorexia is much more common in industrialized societies where leanness is a prerequisite for attraction. Twenty years ago, this phenomenon was mainly related to middle- and high-income families, but today it is spread across all social classes.

When it comes to treating anorexia, find a good eating disorder specialist or someone who understands anorexia, is of vital importance. Located in Moorpark, California, only 20 minutes from central Los Angeles, The Meadowglade is an outpatient rehabilitation center specializing inmental health and eating disorders. The Meadowglade’s mission is to help clients achieve an independent work-life balance by following the therapeutic principles of benefitting mind, body and spirit, to maximize the quality of life in every way. 

Signs and symptoms of anorexia

A person with anorexia nervosa may have a large number of clinical symptoms and signs that can cause complications in any organ system. Some of the symptoms of the disease are:

·         Refusal to maintain a normal body weight index for the patient's age

·         Amenorrhea - loss of menstruation

·         Fear of even the slightest weight gain

·         Obvious, rapid and dramatic weight loss of at least 15% below normal body weight

·         Hair growth on the face and body, more brittle hair, yellow and unhealthy skin

·         Abnormal food cravings such as calorie counting or obsessive cookbook study

·         Suppression of sexual desire

·         Cold hands and feet at normal room temperature

·         Chronic insomnia and fatigue

·         Rituals like chopping food into small pieces, refusing to feed in the presence of others

·         Taking laxatives, weight loss pills, intentionally vomiting immediately after a meal

·         Exquisite exercise

·         He blames the perception of the body as fat even though everyone says the patient is too thin

·         Hypotension and heart rate disorder

·         Depression

·         Desire for loneliness, avoidance of family and friends

·         Mood changes

·         Halitosis (bad breath) due to vomiting

Anorexia diagnosis

Assessment of anorexia involves examination of the patient's mental and physical condition, that is, the current mood and content of thoughts (with emphasis on weight and dietary patterns), the circumstances in which the person is present, their illnesses to date, present symptoms, and family history. Anorexia is usually evident on the basis of characteristic symptoms and signs, especially the loss of more than 15% of body weight in a young person who is afraid of obesity, loses menstruation, denies the disease and otherwise appears in good condition. The key to diagnosis is to detect a central "fear of obesity" that is not mitigated by weight loss. Because treating anorexia is a rather complex process, The Meadowglade’s treatment modalities are individualized, multi-disciplined, therapeutic, diverse and designed to address each individual’s needs in a professional, unique and holistic manner.

Social Anxiety Disorder (Social Phobia)

General description

It is normal to feel nervous in some social situations. For example, having an appointment or giving a presentation can cause that feeling of having butterflies in your stomach. But in social anxiety disorder, also called "social phobia," everyday interactions cause a lot of anxiety, fear, insecurity and shame for fear of scrutiny or the opinion of others.

In social anxiety disorder, fear and anxiety cause an escape that can alter life. Intense stress can affect daily routine, work, study or other activities.

Identifying Eating Disorders

It is generally not easy to determine that the person we care about has developed an eating disorder. As a professional rehabilitation center specializing in mental health and eating disorders, The Meadowglade has at its disposal a qualified team of doctoral level medical healthcare professionals, mental health specialists and therapists, and eating disorder practitioners and therapists.

According to these specialist, the warning signs you should pay attention to are:

• ·         They skip meals
• ·         They keep complaining about being obese even though they have a normal weight or are thin
• ·         They are constantly measuring on the scale and observing in the mirror
• ·         They say they have already eaten or that they will go out and eat outside
• ·         They cook rich and complicated meals for others, eating very little or nothing
• ·         They only eat certain low calorie foods; for example celery and cucumber
• ·         They feel uncomfortable and refuse to eat in a public place
• ·         They visit websites that promote anorexia

The fact that a person suffers from an eating disorder can go unnoticed for years, as body weight is often within normal limits. Over eating and purging are often done in secret and with a great sense of shame. At The Meadowglade, we offer acceptance and commitment therapy, which stops the behaviors of the eating disorder. We also help you work through the underlying needs and issues that are at the root of the eating disorder. Our treatments help the whole person, not just the symptoms of the disorder.