Eating Disorders
An eating disorder is an illness that causes serious disturbances to your everyday diet, such as eating extremely small amounts of food or severely overeating. Severe distress or concern about body weight or shape may also characterize an eating disorder. Eating disorders frequently appear during the teen years or young adulthood but may also develop during childhood or later in life. Although eating disorders affect both men and women, a larger percentage of women than men have eating disorders. Eating disorders are real, treatable medical illnesses. They frequently coexist with other illnesses such as depression, substance abuse, or anxiety disorders. There are a few types of eating disorders (i.e., Bulimia and Anorexia). If you are worried about your child’s eating behaviors or body image issues, an evaluation can be done at Tashawna K. Duncan, Ph.D., P.A.
What are some signs that my child may have an eating disorder?
- Extreme thinness
- A relentless pursuit of thinness and unwillingness to maintain a normal or healthy weight
- Intense fear of gaining weight
- Distorted body image, a self-esteem that is heavily influenced by perceptions of body weight and shape, or a denial of the seriousness of low body weight
- Lack of menstruation among girls
- Extremely restricted eating or binge eating
- Forced vomiting
- Excessive use of laxatives or diuretics
- Fasting
- Excessive exercise
- Frequently going to the bathroom after eating
What is the treatment for an eating disorder?
- Psychotherapy/Counseling
- Medical care and monitoring
- Nutritional counseling
- Medication