Eating Disorders

Eating disorders are not lifestyle choices.

Eating disorders are illnesses that are debilitating in their negative affects on a person’s emotions, thoughts, and behaviours around food, eating, body image, and exercise.

Maybe you're not sure whether you actually have an eating disorder, or whether you're ready to get treatment? We can help you work towards readiness, and build motivation. We can also advise what outpatient treatment options could suit you, and put you in the drivers' seat.

It can often be difficult for people to acknowledge, understand and more importantly challenge their disordered way of eating. However, with the right support and professional help with a holistic approach, it is entirely possible for a person to achieve complete recovery and outgrow their disordered eating habits.

Anorexia Nervosa

Anorexia Nervosa is an illness that involves restricting food based on one’s ability to control their body weight/shape through their eating behaviours. This often leads to a body weight that is significantly low for the individual.

Bulimia Nervosa

Bulimia Nervosa is an illness categorised by episodes of eating a large amount of food in a relatively short period of time, known as ‘binge eating’, whilst experiencing a sense of loss of control.  This is often followed by compensatory behaviour including laxatives, restrictive eating, self-induced vomiting.

People affected by this illness, have an intense fear of weight gain, experience body image disturbance, and therefore tend to overvalue the importance of controlling their eating behaviours, as a means to control their weight.

Binge Eating Disorder

BED is an illness that results in episodes of binge eating; this usually occurs when one loses control over their eating, which results in a large amount of food in a relatively short period of time consumed. Individuals affected by BED do not usually partake in inappropriate compensatory behaviours, like in Bulimia Nervosa.  This mental health condition is often associated with emotions such as depression, guilt and/or shame, following moments of eating rapidly when not hungry, and usually in secret.

Orthorexia

Whilst this has not yet been formally recognised diagnosis, it certainly is a very real and concerning illness in the world we live in today.  Orthorexia means the “fixation on righteous eating,” and those affected are often described as being obsessed with healthy eating.