It is a devastating reality that every year thousands of teenagers and adults around the United States develop disorders that take over their lives. These disorders wreak havoc on the day to day routines, emotions, thoughts, and relationships of sufferers. Medical professionals and patients alike have described these disorders as a “cancer of the mind”, metastasizing from a seemingly small act of skipping a meal into a series of self-imposed rules around food that end up putting the sufferer’s very life in danger.
As with other illnesses, there are myths about eating disorders that can be popularized by movies, clickbait internet articles, or the illusive hearsay of a friend or family member. Thankfully, we have an eating disorder therapist in Ardmore to help wade through the misinformation for our readers.
6 Myths Debunked about Eating Disorder Counseling in Ardmore
We live in a time when information is abundant, but often only processed in brief blips of 140 characters. This can cause people to think they know more about something than they actually do. If they’ve seen one documentary or heard one person’s story they might assume that they see the full picture.
When asked about the most common myths that have developed around eating disorders as a result of various assumptions, an eating disorder therapist in Ardmore provided this list:
- All eating disorders make you really skinny. – Yes, there are eating disorders that cause a person to rapidly lose weight. However, there is more than one type and the signs of an eating disorder can vary. A person can be “overweight” or even average weight by society’s standards and have an eating disorder. The most common disorders are: Anorexia, Bulimia, and Binge Eating.
- Only females experience eating disorders. – Actually, 1 out of every 10 sufferers of eating disorders is male. Sadly, there has been a huge increase in diagnosed cases of eating disorders in males over the past 10 years. And it is not limited to adults either. Children of both sexes can be afflicted with eating disorders.
- People can just decide to stop their eating disorder. – Just as we shouldn’t tell a person with depression to simply decide to be happy, we would be wrong to tell a person with an eating disorder that they can just choose to stop. Eating disorders are psychological illnesses that can have multiple causes including genetic predispositions and environmental triggers. Sufferers need eating disorder treatments to overcome their particular eating disorder.
- They say they’re fine, so they are. – In many cases, a person who suffers from an eating disorder won’t be able to see the damage that they are causing to themselves. This inability to mentally register that they have an illness is called “anosognosia”. Unfortunately, it takes time and often a medical emergency to convince a person that they really do have a problem.
- Recovery from an eating disorder is impossible. – This is the most insidious of all myths about eating disorders. The fact is that people can and do recover with help from friends, family, and trained therapists. It certainly isn’t an easy process, but it is achievable with the right treatment.
- Gaining back the weight means you’re cured. – Unfortunately, just because someone has gotten to the point of putting on weight again does not mean that they will no longer struggle with their eating disorder. Most eating disorder sufferers also have other psychological issues that they need to work through alongside their disorder. This can be done with the guidance and support of an eating disorder therapist in Ardmore.
What Does an Eating Disorder Therapist in Ardmore Do?
Depending on where a person is at in the progression of an eating disorder, there are different levels of treatment. If someone is in dire health because of their eating disorder, they will probably need to undergo intensive inpatient eating disorder treatment. This kind of treatment usually involves a hospital stay or entering a residential program. The eating disorder sufferer needs high levels of medical and psychological support that require 24-hour care.
Once an eating disorder sufferer is stabilized through round the clock treatment or if they have not reached a point where it’s medically necessary for hospitalization, they usually move to an outpatient eating disorder therapy program. This is where an eating disorder therapist in Ardmore usually comes in.
At Live Well Therapy Associates, LLC we understand the struggles that a person who suffers from an eating disorder deals with day in and day out. We want to make sure that our patients, along with their friends and families, are educated properly about eating disorders and how they should be treated.
Contacting an Eating Disorder Therapist in Ardmore
If you, a friend, or a family member are suffering from an eating disorder, we want you to know that you don’t have to do this alone. At Live Well Therapy Associates, LLC we offer individual therapy sessions and family sessions so that everyone involved can have the support they need.
Please take advantage of our free 15-minute consultation today by calling us at (267)908-0974. We can get you acquainted with one of our therapists and give you an idea of what our treatment for eating disorders will look like. You can also contact us by email at moc.s1734716436etaic1734716436ossal1734716436lewev1734716436il@of1734716436ni1734716436 .