Eating Disorders

Eating disorders are severe mental health conditions that affect your attitude toward food and your eating behaviors, causing you to eat too much or such a small amount you put your health at risk. At Intuitive Mind Behavioral Health in New Braunfels, Texas, Lydia Kimeli-Pope, MSN-PMHNP, offers expert treatment delivered with genuine compassion as she helps people with eating disorders overcome their challenges and regain optimal health. If you or your child need help with an eating disorder, call Intuitive Mind Behavioral Health today or connect online to request an appointment.

What are eating disorders?

Eating disorders are a group of conditions that dramatically change the way you eat and cause a preoccupation with your weight, body shape, and food. Anorexia nervosa can turn life-threatening if you don’t seek treatment.

What are the different eating disorders?

The most common eating disorders are:

Anorexia nervosa

Anorexia nervosa develops when you see yourself as overweight despite being dangerously underweight. In your effort to lose more weight, you avoid food, significantly limit the amount you eat, and fast. You may also exercise excessively and purge the food you eat by taking laxatives or making yourself throw up.

Bulimia nervosa

This eating disorder is defined by binge eating followed by purging. People with bulimia can’t control their need to binge, so they offset their overeating by purging.

Binge eating disorder

Binge eating disorder occurs when you eat a large amount of food in a short time, even when you’re not hungry. Like bulimia, you can’t stop binging. However, people with binge eating disorder don’t purge.

What complications do eating disorders cause?

Many people with eating disorders struggle with depression, anxiety, poor body image, and low self-esteem. If you purge, you’re at risk of developing nutritional deficiencies and damage caused by acid reflux.

Purging and using laxatives eliminates a lot of fluids. As a result, you become dehydrated and lose the minerals needed to keep your muscles, heart, and brain working.

Anorexia is especially dangerous, leading to a weakened immune system and health problems, including:

• Anemia
• Thinning bones (osteoporosis)
• Muscle wasting and weakness
• Low blood pressure
• Slow breathing
• Drop in body temperature
• Lethargy (feeling tired all the time)
• Irregular heartbeat
• Brain damage
• Multiple organ failure

Bulimia rarely causes serious health problems, but binge eating disorder may lead to obesity, high blood pressure, Type 2 diabetes, and heart disease.

How are eating disorders treated?

The experienced Intuitive Mind Behavioral Health providers treat eating disorders with an integrative plan that includes medications, therapy (often cognitive behavioral therapy), nutritional counseling, and an eating plan designed to restore healthy habits while overcoming anxiety about eating.

When needed for advanced health problems caused by anorexia, they recommend inpatient treatment to restore your health. They also work with parents, giving them tips for supporting their child and helping them return gradually to healthy eating habits.

Call Intuitive Mind Behavioral Health today or request an appointment online to receive treatment for an eating disorder.