Anorexia-Bulimia Help

Short term effects of bulimia

2011-01-02T06:34:00.000-08:00

People often ask me about different side effects of bulimia: about short term, long term and the most dangerous ones. This article is about short term effects which appear soon after bulimia begins.

People are also interested if the short term effects are 100% reversible or not. Well, probably most of the short term bulimia effects are reversible but it is also depends on the intensity of the bulimia.

It is also depends on association with other medical and psychological problems the person as at the time they start being bulimic. So, I would say it is all down to the individual and for many people the short term effects are 100%reversable when they stop their bulimia. But there are some people who can have irreversible damage.

Now, let’s look at them – short term effects.

1. Digestive system suffers because of vomiting. People experience bloating, indigestion, bad taste in the mouth, breath smells, pains and aches in the stomach, reflux, heart burn and nausea.

2. Swallowing can be painful if throat gets damaged while vomiting.

3. Teeth get eroded quickly from the acid during and after vomiting.

4. Heart problems can become obvious especially in people who purge often.

5. Constipation is a common concern in bulimics. It can become complicated with haemorrhoids and tears.

6. Low body temperature which makes people sensitive to cold weather. Bulimics are cold most of the time.

7. Tendency to faint.

8. Mood swings and intolerance to mental pressure.

9. Getting tired quickly and the inability to concentrate. Even simple mental tasks like reading can make some bulimics tired and even exhausted. Studying and learning can become problematic also.

10. Muscular tension can bring a lot of suffering. It appears as back pains, neck pains, tension headaches and aches or pains in other parts of the body.

11. Depression and anxiety can be very severe. The more people think and act bulimic the more depressed they become.

12. Dry skin is the problem too, accompanied by brittle hair and weak nails. Skin problems can be noticeable on sufferer’s hands especially. Knuckles can be damaged when they induce vomiting. One quick way to see if a loved one is bulimic check their knuckles, they will be all hard and wrinkled.

13. The Immune system can suffer making a person vulnerable to many infections. They experience colds and flu often.

14. People become withdrawn and avoid others.

15. Stress levels increases significantly.

16. Insomnia is common due to increased stress.

17. Distorted thoughts: constantly thinking about food, even dreaming about it.

18. Menstrual problems can range from painful periods to absence of periods.

19. Bone density decreases. Osteoporosis in severe cases of bulimia.

20. Voice changes due to damaged vocal cords.

These are the most common short term bulimia side effects. There are many more and people get affected by bulimia differently. All side effects can turn into dangerous complications. So the best way to prevent them is to stop your bulimia all together.

You can always start looking for help: read more about it, educate yourself, ask professionals, work on changing your psychology, change behavioural pattern etc. Never give up and never take the side of disease.

For more information go to www.eating-disorders-books.com

The most dangerous side effects of bulimia.

2010-12-26T18:32:00.000-08:00

Bulimia causes damaging side effects to the body. It can also destroy the brain, heart and the soul of the person suffering from this eating disorder.

There is no one system in the body that does not get affected by long term bulimia.

What are the most dangerous side effects? – You may ask. These are the effects people can die from. Lets look at them separately.

1. Heart complications. Many eating disorder sufferers have irregular heartbeat, slow pulse or palpitations. All these abnormalities are extremely dangerous especially if the person continues with binging-purging. People can suddenly collapse and even die if the heart suddenly stops working going into condition called “heart block”.

2. Electrolyte abnormalities. Electrolytes are the chemicals in the body that help our organs work. When people vomit they lose enormous amount electrolytes this is very bad for the body. The organs that suffer the most are: heart, kidney and brain. An abnormal amount of electrolytes can cause heart block, kidney failure and fainting. Any of these complications can end up with the sufferer dying.

3. Kidney failure. The kidneys are the organs that balance water and electrolytes in the body. Vomiting causes both dehydration and electrolyte imbalance problems. The kidneys try to compensate for this but if the vomiting continues the kidneys stop working and go into kidney failure.

4. Mental problems. Mental problems in bulimics are especially dangerous because of the high rate of suicide amongst eating disorder sufferers. When people get highly addicted to binging-purging behaviour, they often become unable to cope with everyday life and use suicide as a way to escape from the black circle they find themselves in.

5. Drug and alcohol problems are often the next step in for the bulimic. Bulimics get addicted easier than people who don’t have bulimia. This is the nature of the disorder. Of course, where drugs and alcohol are involved the incidence of accidental death increases enormously. People die from an accidental overdose of drugs and organs failure.

6. Gullet rapture. Gullet or oesophagus is the tube that connects the mouth and the stomach. When people vomit they force the food to come up from the stomach, through the gullet and up into the mouth. If the vomiting becomes severe, gullet rapture can occur. The sufferer can die from internal bleeding and shock.

To sum up, these are the most dangerous side effects of bulimia. There are many more which may not cause the death of the patient but damage the body and make it malfunction. You can prevent all these complications just by looking for help and doing something constructive about your bulimia.

Even learning more about the condition and what you can do to help yourself will push you forward towards recovery. Never stop resisting the disease and never give up fighting for your health and your life.

For more Information go to www.eating-disorders-books.com

How does bulimia cause weight loss?

2010-12-15T06:27:00.000-08:00

Bulimia and weight loss are two things that interest many people. Nowadays nearly everyone wants to know a fast and easy method to lose extra weight. Bulimia is considered by some people as one of this easy ways to become slim.

But how does it work, if it works at all?
When people become bulimic they start to throw up food after eating. Often they binge before vomiting. Most bulimics have a certain time when they binge: dinner time, sometime in the afternoon or at night.

These people believe that by vomiting they get rid of the food they ate. Because of that they think they satisfy their hunger and reduce the amount of calories at the same time. In fact, it is not exactly true.

First, when bulimics binge, some foods still get absorbed by digestive tract before they throw up. This is especially true for fatty and sugary foods, which are the bulimics favourite foods. The longer the binge, the more calories get absorbed.

Second, after vomiting bulimics have the “empty stomach effect”. Their appetite increases drastically and this can evoke another binge. Some people can have several binging-purging episodes during the day because of their inability to control the hunger pains after vomiting. And again, as a result of this they consume overall much more calories than if they had just had a normal meal.

Vomiting also changes their electrolytes and nutrient balance in the body. Their Insulin producing system suffers enormously also. The Insulin system is the system that breaks down sugar in the body. That’s why during the day bulimics often munch sweets, breads, biscuits, chocolate, cakes and the like. This can push their calorie consumption up through the roof, making them put on weight the exact opposite of what they are trying to achieve.

Of course you may say that some bulimics are slim. But most of these people are slim because they fast during the day and eat only when they are binging-purging. To say in other words those who alternate between bulimia and anorexia and never eat normally.

So, bulimia on its own will not cause any decrease in weight at all. But complicating bulimia by adding anorexic behaviours will cause severe illness and even death.

If you are thinking of using bulimia as a way to lose weight – than think again: because you are cheating on yourself and putting your life in danger also. If you have already started on bulimic path of behaviour, you should find help to stop it before the addiction becomes overpowering.

There are lots of help available and you should pick the one which suits you.

For more information go to www.eating-disorders-books.com

Will a University Course really help Understand Eating Didorders?

2010-12-07T18:20:00.000-08:00

It was with great interest I read the press release “University course to study bulimia and anorexia” 11-11-10 on the Wales online website.

The Cardiff University is putting together a Collaborative Working in Eating Disorders module to be studied as part of the School’s MSc in Advanced Practice by the university’s school of nursing.

Although this seems a noble cause I do get a little concerned when academia and governments gets involved with the treatment or suggested treatment of a disorder.

Academics are renowned for not being able to think outside the square and get bogged down with dogma, so will concentrate on the so called conventional approach to eating disorders.

Governments are even worse tending to back the established approach even if it does not work, they can’t afford any political backlash if they make a mistake. Plus it is always good to be seen as doing something in the eyes of the voters. So to save themselves down the track they also back the conventional approach.

From reading the article it seems apparent that the course will have its basis on the conventional approach to the treatment of eating disorders and this is worrying and will only produce much of the same thinking that is prevalent now.

As an eating disorder specialist, author of two books on the subject and an ex-sufferer of anorexia and bulimia myself: I know the conventional approach is not that great. I myself did the rounds of therapists etc, to no avail for years and I was training to be a doctor, so you would think it should have worked.

I am not the only person who has gone through multiple treatments only to find they did not work; I get emails everyday from people telling me the same thing.
Here are a few abbreviated emails.

I am helping a young adult girl whom I have become extremely fond of!... At the age of 14 she became anorexic and eventually bulimic. She has been in clinics a number of times, but every time she just goes home things just continue where she left off...
Charleen SA.

My daughter is 22 years old and she was suffering ED for 2 years... For your information she has been treated in the ED clinic as outpatient, visiting the internist doctor and the psychologist regularly to no avail...
Li Australia.

My daughter has been in and out the eating disorder clinic in Minneapolis, Minnesota for the last 4 years. I’m tired of them, she continues to struggle...
D M USA.

I took her to our health care Clinic and they seemed to have a handle on the disorder and they seemed to be helping with all kinds of counseling, nutritionist, psychiatrist and nursing... but once home she "back-slid" back into binging and purging.
VF, GB.

These emails are very typical from people contacting me still searching for answers when the conventional treatments have failed.

There is a very good reason why this happens and why sufferers fail to get better after showing promise while in the clinic? Conventional treatment methods do not confront the disorder where it lives in the subconscious mind of the sufferer.

They do not understand that an eating disorder is a form of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD).

But unlike the person who has to wash their hands 100 times a day, or the sufferer who has to check to see if the gas is turned off 200 times before they can leave their home. These people get nothing but pain from their OCD, whereas the ED sufferer actually gets pleasure from their disordered eating habits.

This extra element of pleasure adds a different dimension to the disorder and is most difficult to treat with conventional approaches used in clinics and by therapists. Sitting and talking to a therapist rehashing old hurts for hours is not going to help. This is a logical approach to a disorder that is not the least bit logical. After all why would someone purposely starve themselves to death and know they are doing it?

In my view there is really only one method that can beat an eating disorder and that is one that attacks the ED where it lives in the subconscious mind of the sufferer. To do this you have to use the power of Neuroplasticity. Neuroplasticity is the ability to change the way our brain functions by how we think, feel and act.

With the use of specialized methods to promote positive feelings, emotions, action and pictures we can change the faulty neuronal pathways and negative programming that has occurred in mind of the sufferer. The beauty of using a specialized neuroplasticity approach to curing eating disorders is it can be used at home.

This is the place all ED sufferers fail and relapse back into their old habits, because the triggers that control their habits are all at home, they are not in the clinic or therapists rooms.

I believe that any university course however noble it may seem if it does not incorporate the use of neuroplasticity and a method to change the neuronal pathways in the brain will not help. This will only produce a whole new batch of conventional method thinkers to the detriment of the eating disorder sufferer.

To read more about the power of neuroplasicity for eating disorders go to
http://www.eating-disorders-books.com

Attachment theory and development of eating disorders.

2010-11-02T04:38:00.001-07:00

Attachment theory explains the bond or tie between a child and an attachment figure, a parent or guardian. Nowadays it is starting to become obvious that children with insecure attachment styles are prone to eating disorders more so than children with secure attachments.

When children interact with parents in the first 5-7 years of life some children feel that their parents are a reliable source of comfort and security. These children most likely will develop secure attachment style and become well-adjusted adults.

Other children may feel that their parents (or caregivers) are not that reliable and don’t give them the sense of security, support and comfort when it’s needed. Some parents may even reject their children in terms of providing emotional comfort. These children probably will develop an insecure attachment style and will compensate for their emotional discomfort with food, alcohol and/or drugs when they grow up.

Now we know that a lot of eating disorder sufferers turn to their disorder to find security, comfort and emotional stability. Food is something that is always readily available and will bring temporary emotional comfort to a sufferer: so it seems an easy way out of their emotional problems.

There is no blame on the parents of course because eating disorders are complex and many factors have to come together for a person to develop the disorder. But what we do know now is that a cold parental attitude, very high expectations placed on a child, parental abuse or rejection are all factors that can force a child to turn to an eating disorder.

As a rule, most eating disorders sufferers (nearly all) have insecure attachment styles: anxious and avoidant styles. Because attachment style is developed in the first years of life, it is understandable that a predisposition to an eating disorder is built earlier in life (probably in the first 5-7 years of life) that previously realised.

A Childs attitude toward their parents (caregivers) is also directly connected to their attitude of themself, their body and self-esteem, their thoughts about the world and the people around them. It is also connected to their perception of safety (about the world being a safe place or not). All these factors as we now know influence the development of eating disorders in young children and teenagers.

To conclude, attachment style is something we should look at when talking about the prevention of eating disorders. We need to educate parents regarding how they can make their children feel more secure and comfortable inside their own self. Developing a secure attachment style in children will help prevent eating disorders in many young people.

Read more at http://www.eating-disorders-books.com

How To Meditate For Eating Disorders.

2010-06-10T07:05:00.000-07:00

In this article I am going to help you learn how to meditate with the aim of stopping your eating disorder. After you learn to do this, you will attain a level in your mind where you will be able to spark your imagination into letting go your eating disorder.

Amazing things happen while doing meditation and the peace you find in calming and freeing your body and mind is awesome. The more you meditate, the deeper you go within yourself and the easier it will be for you to separate the eating disorder from your own self.

One of the major problems with eating disorder sufferers are that people can't separate themselves from their ED and believe that the thoughts the eating disorder is sending them are their own thoughts: which they are not.

By realizing "your own self" you will know which thoughts come from you and which come from the eating disorder. Your body and mind will benefit also. At first, you will find that worries, anger and the feelings of guilt are absent while you are meditating. As time goes on, they stay away for longer, until one day they are gone for good.

Feelings of being obsessed with food and body weight will gradually fade too. If your food obsession returns in a few weeks after starting your meditation, then by increasing the time and deepening the regular meditation will neutralize the feelings that make your body sick. Here is all you have to do to begin to meditate.

When you awaken in the morning sit on the edge of the bed and set the alarm clock for fifteen minutes in advance in case you drift off to sleep during the exercise. Close your eyes and look upward at a 20-degree angle. This position of the eyes alone is a proven trigger to produce a meditative state in the brain.

Then, slowly, start counting backwards from one hundred to one. You should focus just on counting and not on anything else. If you keep your mind totally on counting only you will soon be in meditation state.

Do this counting technique at least twice a day in the morning after waking up and at night just before go to bed.

If you stick with this technique and do it for at least 10 days without break you will notice that your obsessive thoughts that make you binge-purge, starve yourself or over-exercise will not bother you as much. You will soon realize that a meditation state is incompatible with your obsession, anger, worries and guilt.

For some of you who find this technique too difficult to do, there are other methods to meditate available that may suit you better, so don't dismiss it. Guided meditation methods for eating disorders are readily available and you can certainly try them out and get great results and success with your health and happiness.

To read more about meditation for eating disorders go to http://www.meditation-sensation.com

How to Turn Binge Eating into Healthy Eating?

2010-03-06T07:59:00.000-08:00

If you want to turn your binge eating habit into healthy eating habit, first of all you must BELIEVE that you can do it. This is the first and most important step in the road to recovery from binge eating.

Put it this way: if you believe you can eat healthy without overeating – that means you will be able to eat healthy sooner or later. If you don’t believe it – you will not be able to eat healthy and it does not matter what kind of therapy you undergo, unless you start believing.

“But how can I believe in my ability to eat healthy if I always get overwhelmed with these unbearable urges to binge?” – you may ask.

Yes, urges to binge are strong but nevertheless it is possible to overcome them. Many people did and you can too.

You see, urges are just thoughts and feelings you get before starting to binge. Fortunately, these binging thoughts normally get weaker if you do some changes in your daily routine.

Here're the important points:
1.Start imagining yourself slim (or have a slim picture of yourself in your mind)
2.Draw a schematic picture of yourself on a piece of paper where you are slim and happy.
3.Set 30 min a day to sit quietly, close your eyes and visualise a slim, healthy you. Attach happy feelings to this picture of yourself.
4.If you have a special time when you binge (for instance, some people binge eat after work, or after school) – meditate every time after work, school or any time close to your binge eating time.
5.Never eat alone. Get a friend or relative to share dinner with you.
6.When you eat look at yourself from the distance – that mean observe yourself from the 3rd person perspective. Mentally comment what’s happening while you eat, for example “ She is now eating her Caesar salad delicately and calmly because she is a lady. She is chewing slowly because she is enjoying the taste of it. She is talking to her friend about what happened during the day.”
7.Learn to observe your own behaviour and make a regular mental comment of your own behaviour during the day. From the time you wake up – do mental commenting on your behaviour as if you observe yourself from a distance.
8.Don’t keep too much food you can binge on in fridge. Put more fruits and vegetables in the fridge to in case you get hungry.
9.Regular exercise changes the feelings from negative to more positive because of endorphins release. So, start regular physical activity – this will reduce your urges to binge (gradually).
10.Always remain yourself that you don’t need so much food to keep you healthy. Only moderation in food consumption will make you happy and healthy.

Now, I've saved the best for last.
If it looks to you like too much to do , than – wouldn’t it be easier for you if all the information will be installed into your subconscious mind by someone else - just by listening a hypnotic voice and putting you in a meditational state? You can do that by using special Mindfulness Training for binge eating / overeating. It is easy and very effective.

To read more about mindfulness training for eating disorders go to http://www.meditation-sensation.com

How to Resolve Self - Conflicts in Eating Disorder Sufferers.

2010-01-12T18:12:00.000-08:00

Eating disorders are rooted in emotional struggles. These struggles are deep emotional conflicts within the sufferer, these are called self-conflicts.

How the conflicts started in the first place?

This process begins by fantasizing at a very early age. People fantasize a script, for example like a Hollywood production focusing on TV stars or other celebrities. Then they start rehearsing their part. As they go, they either give up on their initial part and take up a new one, or they practice the first part and role -play that script out until it becomes who they think they are. Practising the script automates their behaviour and it becomes fixed.

For example, a young girl perceived that she is overweight. By looking through magazines, watching TV and movies she finds herself a role- model that is slim, polished and glamorous and play out this picture in her mind. From the same source she gets a script to follow to achieve this kind of unattainable look. She rehearses it until it becomes automatic and turns into an eating disorder, anorexia or bulimia.

Her imprinting environment plays a significant role in the alternative scripts available to her. If her parents happen to be too strict or uncaring, she would be unable to develop a positive coping strategy to counteract her developing problems. In some problematic families being warm and friendly is seen as an embarrassment, so the child becomes cold and aloof to compensate.

Self-conflict is a conflict between different "selfs" inside one person. There are 4 different "selfs":

1. The actual self.
It is the private self. This self consist of thoughts we wish we didn't have and actions we wish we haven't done. It also contains our self-esteem, our attractiveness, and our secret ambitions. Eating disorders sufferers may dream of looking like a slim movie star, or a sport champion etc. Her/his self-esteem is really proportional to a degree of how alike she/he looks compared to their famous role-model they are trying to emulate.

2. The ideal self.
This self is built by culture and society. Ideal self is about living a perfect life, without any mistakes and therefore without room for growth.

3. The ought-to-be self.
This self is about our "should" and "oughts" which have been learned from our culture and our society but they are not ours. For example, when a swimming coach tells a young girl: " You should lose weight immediately in order to fit the criteria for the swimming completion." Initially the girl was probably OK with the way she was and didn't think she needs to lose weight immediately. Her swimming coach installs the "ought-to-be self" in her. Her "ought-to-be self" may go into conflict with her "actual self" after the coach's comments and if she is vulnerable she will develop an eating disorder in order to comply with the losing weight rules that have been set in her mind.

4. The desired self.
This is a self we believe we could be and desire to be. This self is especially obvious in young people when they plan for the future. Later in life this self can be a source of discontent if the desires have not been fulfilled. For example, a woman after 30 suddenly develops an eating disorder. This eating disorder is very likely to be a consequence of discontentment due to her unfulfilled desires of an earlier time (or the "desired self").

What is a solution for solving this self-conflicts? Emotional healing would be the answer and you can put it into 5 steps:

1. Realize that one has emotional conflicts and they are probably the cause of the eating disorder.
2. Believe that one should and can solve these self- conflicts.
3. Accept that emotional healing is the only way to solve these internal conflicts.
4. Go through the emotional healing process.
5. Follow the emotional healing strategies as a way of living your life.

Emotional healing is the only answer to resolve self-conflicts in eating disorder sufferers. If emotional healing does not occur during a particular treatment - there is little hope for this kind of treatment being helpful.

Maybe in this case the person ought to look for different alternatives. Mindfulness training seems to prove itself as a great emotional healer for these kinds of ED sufferers. It has been proven that if one is mindful and aware, one can experience true freedom and liberation from all their self conflicts.

Dr Irina Webster MD is a Director of Women Health Issues Program. She is an author and a public speaker. To read more about mindfulness for eating disorders go to http://www.meditation-sensation.com

Mindfulness Training for Eating Disorders.

2009-11-03T08:43:00.000-08:00

Most eating disorders are linked to significant amounts of stress, mood disturbance, anxiety, phobias, substance abuse, and physical complications. All these factors have to be addressed when someone is trying to overcome an eating disorder.

Mindfulness training is a technique which can help a person to cope with all these factors. Mindfulness means a calm awareness of body functions, feelings, emotions, thoughts and sensations.

Mindfulness consists of paying attention to an experience of the present moment — without moving into thoughts from the past or concerns about the future. Using mindfulness training people with eating disorders can attain control over their body and mind.

What exactly does mindfulness do for the mind and body? The main benefits of mindfulness are:
1.Calm and quiet the mind. This will bring more happiness, joy, positive feelings, appreciation and gratitude into people’s lives. It will also increase kindness to yourself and others which is necessary for ED sufferers as they often behave badly to themselves and others due to their conditioning.

2.Diminish the grip of habitual responses that cause suffering. ED sufferers all have certain habitual responses to their feelings, thoughts and emotions. For example, bulimics have habits to binge-purge at a certain time a day; anorexics have strict habits and routines about their diets and exercising.

Mindfulness can diminish these habitual behaviours to the point that the sufferer is able to choose how she/he is going to behave at a particular moment.

For example, instead of realizing 10-30 minutes later that you've been lost in bad thoughts about your body, weight, food, your bad memories or fantasies from the past, a person can stop themself after only 30-60 seconds from wandering thoughts using mindfulness training. With practise, people can increasingly observe these habitual responses and choose to respond in other more constructive ways.

3.Develop a stronger “observing self”. This means to observe what one does. It is like you having a third person who sits inside your own chest and constantly watches what you do.

Mindfulness makes a person become an observer of what one does, thinks and feels. This helps to have better control over their eating disorder thoughts and behaviours.

For example, when a person gets stressed, instead of reaching for alcohol or going on a binge –purge cycle, the person could simply sit and observe the negative emotions and sensations which were brought on by the stress until they are gone.

Unlike relaxation techniques mindfulness can be developed to the point where it can be practiced in the middle of stressful situations. So instead of reacting to stress a person starts to respond wisely. While being mindful a person can still remain alert and respond appropriately to the situation at hand, instead of being over powered by it.

4.Slow down the pace of thoughts and become more attune to the present moment. Eating disorder people often complain that they have too much continual inner "chatter" and images from the past or from the future in their minds.

This chatter and images don't simply go away, because that’s the nature of the human mind. But they can be settled down with practice. This settling down of the mental processes brings relaxation and freedom.

With practice one will have the ability to choose what to think about instead of being dragged along with uncontrolled thoughts and feelings. This effect can be experience after just 8-12 minutes of mindfulness state of mind. So, if one practices mindful awareness at least 10 -15 min a day, it may possible for him/her to choose what to think instead of their thoughts going uncontrolled.

Mindfulness will also increase your concentration letting you perform task , study and work with better accuracy. It also improves the immune system and general health. It regulates the autonomic nervous system which control automatic functions of the body organs. Mindfulness is a great anti- aging factor as it improves metabolism of the cells.

Most eating disorder sufferers who practice mindfulness training find it an incredible tool to beat their problem right at root of the disorder, in the subconscious mind.

You can read about healing meditation for eating disorders CDs at http://www.meditation-sensation.com

Magical Benefits Of Meditation For People With Eating Disorders

2009-10-13T07:47:00.000-07:00

Many researches have proven now that people with eating disorders derive a lot of benefits from doing meditation. Eating disorder sufferers have disturbances in autonomic nervous system, problems with impulse control and many emotional problems. All these can be improved with regular meditation.

You see, human beings are made up of three components—physical, mental and emotional. You can think of it as like a triangle with the same length sides. To correct eating disorders all the sides of triangle have to be balanced.

The Mental side represents the knowledge people learn about their condition and how to cope with it. The physical side represents the natural strength of a person’s body which we inherit from parents. The Emotional side of the triangle is the one which always becomes unstable in people with eating disorders.

That’s why eating disorders sufferers have very bad mood swings, uncontrollable negative thoughts, long-standing bad feelings and painful sensations in different parts of the body that they try to moderate with food (obsessive eating or abstaining from food).

Emotional strengthening is the key to curing many eating disorder problems. Meditation and relaxation techniques are great strategies to do for emotional strengthening in order to become healthy again.

In order to understand about emotional strengthening, you first need to understand a bit about how the brain works. You’re probably aware that our brains work across a range of different levels or brain-wave frequencies. While the range is actually continuous, it is divided for convenience into 4 categories—beta, alpha, theta and delta.

As adults, we spend most of our waking time in the beta area. Beta is where we do our logical thinking, rationalising and planning. Stress also occurs in the beta wavelength but on high frequencies beta waves. Eating disorder sufferers spend nearly all their time on high frequencies beta waves where the problem lies.

Alpha, on the other hand, while still an “awake” state, is that relaxed, day-dreamy state that you can go into when you are doing something creative (eg, painting, knitting) or meditation. It’s the time when your mind just wanders freely, and when time just seems to fly by.

Alpha-experience represents a relatively stress-free and euphoric state of being. For eating disorder sufferers the alpha state helps to balance their autonomic nervous system and correct impulse control problems.

Now here’s another important piece of the puzzle—besides containing our feelings and emotions, the alpha (sub-conscious) state also contains our “self-beliefs”. Our self-beliefs are the sub-conscious view you have of yourself (the real you), they drive our behaviour at a sub-conscious level. They are similar to the programs you have on your computer that makes it run.

So if, for example you have a self-belief that says “I am bulimic or I am a binge eater or anorexic”, the behaviour that results is that you perform compulsive eating, binge or starve yourself actions. This becomes the real you even if you consciously don’t want to become that person.

Where do self-beliefs come from? Mostly they develop in us at a very young age up to when we are teenagers. These self beliefs go through many developmental stages throughout our lives. It’s interesting to note that, unlike adults, children spend the majority of their waking time in the alpha region and this is why they are so resilient.

Most of our adult behaviours are based on “programming” we picked up before the age of 7. Many eating disorder sufferers picked up their programming when they where youngsters to teenagers.

When it comes to getting results, your self-belief (programming) will always win out over your conscious desire. So it does not matter if you get up every morning swearing that you will eat today, or you will not binge, but by the end of the day you have not done what you said you will do. This is because you are in the beta state and this can not affect the subconscious mind, so you are doomed from the start.

That’s why it seems impossible for many people to stop their eating disorders. But the problem is that they try to fight it with their logical conscious mind, being in a beta state, not an alpha state.

What happens if you target an eating disorder from the alpha state?
Well, you will get a completely different result. Being in alpha state you will target the emotional core of the eating disorders self-beliefs. When sufferers start to change their self-beliefs then the magic occurs: then they can be cured from their eating problems.

Specific meditation which target people’s self-beliefs can create a real magic in the sufferers life. For eating disorder sufferers who put themselves in an alpha state while meditating regularly, means they can stop their disorder for good.
If the sufferer is only ever in a beta state this probably means they will have their disorder for the rest of their life, with no escape.

It has been proven that meditation brings enormous relieve for the eating disorder sufferer who starts to add meditation into their treatment methods.

But a word of warning, not any old meditation method will do, it has to be a system that is purposely target anorexia or bulimia or other eating disorders. It is necessary because eating disorder sufferers have specific self-beliefs (or subconscious blockages) which they must eliminate during meditation (when they are in alpha state) in order to get better.

Generic meditation which does not target specific eating disorder beliefs will work little for ED people. It will only help for stress relief and calm you down which are also beneficial things.

Dr Irina Webster MD

You can read about healing meditation for eating disorders CDs at http://www.meditation-sensation.com

Do Parents Cause Eating Disorders in Their Children?

2009-09-27T03:29:00.000-07:00

There has been a lot of discussion lately on the roll of parents causing eating disorders in their children, is this the case or not? It is very sensitive topic because it is painful for families to even think that they are a possible cause of their daughter/ son bulimia and/or anorexia.

I am a medical doctor and suffered anorexia and bulimia for over 15 years. Also I have been involved in the treatment of hundreds of eating disorder sufferers. Personally, I don’t know a family who wishes to foster eating disorders in their children. I would say that parents and the family do not cause eating disorders directly.

However, I know firsthand that the family atmosphere, parenting style and undiagnosed mental and emotional problems in parents contribute a lot to the development of eating disorders in their children.

There is a lot of research around about the roll of genetic predisposition in eating disorders. Yes, eating disorders do have a genetic component as well, but it is only the vulnerability to develop an eating disorder not the disease itself that people can inherit.

People can also inherit certain personality traits that make them vulnerable to developing eating disorders: like perfectionism, tendency towards anxiety and depression, competitiveness, impulsivity and extreme stubbornness. All these can make people vulnerable to developing eating disorders.

It is the environment that turns people’s vulnerability into the disease. The way people live their lives from their birth that can make genetic vulnerabilities become an illness.

The first and most important environment people have is their family. Often people with eating disorders describe how in their childhood they had a tense family environment where parents very strictly and controlling. Children in families like this don’t have much space to experiment and to be free. These types of parents don’t let their children find their own way in life, turning them into puppets that are forced to be followers and controlled by strict rules.

In families like this children turn to eating disorders as a way to control their lives the best they possible can and to find emotional escape in the space of their eating disorder.

The other type of families is the overprotective one. Their protective behaviour puts onto the child so many limitations that the child is likely to seek her/his freedom and escape in things like eating, non-eating and manipulating their own weight. These parents cannot let their children be different than what their mental image of them is or the way they think the child should be. They look at the child’s achievements only from the angle of their own desires and opinions.

Most of parents in these types of families still want only the best for their children and don’t even realize that what they are doing is bad for the child. Many parents have their own emotional issues to deal with, which are still unresolved and deeply rooted in their own childhood. Some parents maybe even have undiagnosed mental disorders like OCD or personality disorders. Because these disorders have never been diagnosed parents are not aware of them and continue to put enormous pressure on their children and other family members.

Many doctors and therapists consider that blaming parents for their children’s disorder is not a good idea, because parents may feel guilty and shameful for the way they are themselves. These feelings of guilt and shame can stop parents from helping the child to recover and parents may even refuse to participate in the child’s recovery program.

Nevertheless, it is proven now that if the family atmosphere remains the same a non- loving, demanding, restrictive and an overprotective one, the child has little chance of getting better.

The purpose of writing this article was not to put lots of blame onto parents, but just to warn the families of eating disorder sufferers that certain changes need to made in the family atmosphere if the family wants to help their loved one recover.

About eating disorders books go to http://www.eating-disorders-books.com

What are Neurotransmitters and How do they Influence the development of Eating Disorders?

2009-06-12T03:37:00.000-07:00

What are Neurotransmitters and How do they Influence the development of Eating Disorders?

Neurotransmitters are chemicals which facilitate the transmission of signal from one neuron to another. Neurotransmitters are released in synapses (or where the ending of one neuron connects to the endings of another neuron).

There are different types of neurotransmitters. Here we will look at the most important ones.

Acetylcholine: Acetylcholine is a chemical which are involved in memory, learning and attention. When you learn something and pay attention to it – you stimulate the production of acetylcholine.

To maintain this chemical at a certain level you must keep your brain busy with attention requiring work. Study, read books, create something, solve puzzles, get a job where you can use your brain. Just do something that can stimulate the production of acetylcholine in the brain.

Eating disorder sufferers have often a very low acetylcholine level especially when they give up their studies, job and other productive activities for the sake of their eating disorder. They normally explain this quitting as the inability to concentrate, being too weak and etc.

This all happens because the level of acetylcholine in their brain is low. But they can improve it by exercising their own will, going back to study and beginning to learn again and paying attention to something more useful and constructive than their eating disorder.

Serotonin is a neurotransmitter which produces a sense of well-being calm and satisfaction. Many scientists blame the lack of this chemical for eating disorder problems. Serotonin has a broad function in the brain. It regulates and moderates anger, aggression, body temperature, mood, sleep, human sexuality, appetite, and metabolism, as well as stimulating vomiting.

It is still not clear what exactly happens with serotonin in the brain of eating disorder sufferers, as it is difficult to measure. But we know there are many genetic variations in the serotonin receptors and the serotonin transporters in the brain.
It is most likely that a serotonin abnormality in the brain affects each person differently. Serotonin levels can be increased naturally by taking tryptophan rich foods found in meats and proteins.

Dopamine: Dopamine is a chemical associated with pleasurable activity. It is released when people do naturally rewarding activities like having sex or enjoying food. Some drugs such as nicotine, cocaine and amphetamines can influence the level of dopamine in the brain.

Dopamine is actually the culprit in many addictions such as drugs, food, and sex addictions. Dopamine also has other functions in the brain, including important roles in behaviour and cognition, motor activity, motivation and reward, inhibition of prolactin production which is involved in lactation, sleep, mood, attention, and learning.

Recent research has suggested that dopamine is also released in reward-anticipation activities and when people are motivated to do something. If you have ever wondered why you feel great after doing aerobics or playing sport, this is the brain producing dopamine. Just thinking about doing something pleasurable can produce a chemical ‘reward’ of dopamine being released in your brain.

Enjoyable learning and focusing on something you really like doing will stimulate dopamine production in your brain.
The release of dopamine triggers the desire to eat certain foods. The dopamine does not increase the pleasure of actually eating food but is released when the person sees, smells, thinks or dreams about food. Tasting enjoyable food also provokes the release of dopamine.

Dopamine plays an important role in bulimia and binge eating because these people often dream and think about food. And it is why when a bulimic or binge eater sees food she/he goes on a binge losing all sense of control.

Glutamate –it is believed that glutamate (or glutamic acid) is involved in cognitive functions like learning and memory. Many foods contain glutamate, including cheese, soy sauce, fish, eggs, poultry etc.

GABA is a neurotransmitter which is responsible for muscle tones. GABA regulates the growth embryonic and neural stem cells. Abnormal levels of GABA have been found in people with mood disorders.

Substance P is an important chemical which involves pain perception. It also participates in regulation of mood disorders, anxiety, stress, reinforcement, neurogenesis, nausea and vomiting. The vomiting centre in the brain contains high concentrations of Substance P. Activation of Substance P stimulates vomiting. People who use vomiting as a way of purging have abnormalities in the levels of Substance P.

Conclusion: Neurotransmitters play an important role in the biochemistry of eating disorders. But… The level of most of these neurotransmitters can be moderated by performing or not-performing certain actions and behaviours. Replacing one behaviour with another can change the level of neurotransmitters in the brain.

Wilful action can produce extraordinary changes in the level of these chemicals. For instance, if you wilfully stop your binging or purging episodes for at least 2-3 weeks and replace this behaviour with more productive ones, the level of neurotransmitters in your brain will change significantly and can become completely normal again. This works on the use it or lose it principle.

Always remember: your behaviour will change your biology. If you behave better – your biology improves, if you behave worse – your biology becomes worse.

To read about eating disorder cure go to http://www.eatingdisorder-cure.com

Eating Disorders are the Reverse Side of the Child Obesity Campaign

2009-01-18T19:49:00.000-08:00

In 2006 the Australian Government launched a $6 million campaign to reduce Child obesity and the Australian Medical Association (AMA) welcomed the focus on kids' health.

The idea was to focus on junk food and get parents to stop the child from eating fast foods, sweets and other unhealthy foods. TV, radio and newspapers were running government sponsored ads to point out the dangers of these kinds of foods, with the idea to get kids eating more healthy foods.

This at the time seemed a very noble cause as overweight kids are a big problem in all western countries. The government was correct that for these overweight kids there was a great risk to their health from diseases such as diabetes, heart problems and high blood pressure etc, in later life.

What they did not factor in was the psychological effects on these overweight kids and may have inadvertently created a whole new generation of eating disorder victims.
Kids were encouraged to start diet clubs at school and there have been stories of kids being weighed at school, at times in front of the whole class. We learn of incidents of bullying and social isolation of larger children which is another anecdotal trigger for eating disorders.
What has now happened is a lot of these overweight kids are starting to be ostracized by their peers and so much pressure being placed on them that they are starting to suffer from stress and other psychological ailments, like anorexia and bulimia.

What the so call experts in the government ranks forgot was that the child brain is like a giant sponge and very plastic. It absorbs huge amounts of information forming neuronal pathways with the information that is deemed to be important.

So constant teasing and emotional abuse from other kids for being a bit overweight can have a devastating effect on the child and the way they see themselves, or to put it simply their body image.

This added to the fact that the so called perfect body type is the emancipated Hollywood stars and the super thin catwalk models they see in the media: it is easy for the plastic brain of the child to form a distorted view of reality.

Even shows like Australian Idol and American Idol favor the slimmer better looking contestant, with the bigger contestant voted out of the show even if they are fantastic singers. They just don’t fit that TV mode or what a modern singing idol should look like. This is an extremely bad role model for the slightly overweight child or teenager who watches these shows; it sends a lot of false messages to their brain.

The major problem that arises from all this negative bombardment on the child about weight is the fact that it will be formed in a child brain and formed by child logic, e.g. eating food equals becoming fat, equals being teased, equals bad emotions. So the remedy is to stop eating, loose lots of weight and you will be accepted.

When these kids become adults this faulty distorted thinking will be a full blown case of an eating disorder and extremely difficult to treat because it was formed in the plastic brain of a child with child logic and emotions.
But luckily there have been major breakthroughs in the treatment of eating disorders using the fact that our brains remain plastic even into adulthood, it is call neuroplasticity.

Neuroplasticity is a method where we are able to form new neuronal pathways by using a set of mental exercises built on new positive emotional input. Once these new pathways have been built and are used instead of the old destructive ones, the old pathways will loose their power: hence the eating disorder will disappear.

Will this be easy for this new generation of eating disorder sufferers to do: no absolutely not. The problem as stated is the fact that these faulty neuronal pathways have been build in the child brain and will be extremely hard to shift.

Unfortunately a lot of children will fail and suffer lifelong eating disorders, but luckily a lot of people will succeed using the neuroplasticity approach. Many more than will succeed with this new approach than the conventional treatment used today to treat eating disorders.

William Webster

To read about bulimia cure go to http://www.bulimia-cure.com

Eating Disorders are a result of brain plasticity

2008-12-28T07:02:00.001-08:00

What is brain plasticity? And how is it related to developing an eating disorder?

Brain plasticity, or neuroplasticity, is the lifelong ability of the brain to change itself based on new experiences. When we say “the brains ability to change” we don’t mean something mystical or just “spiritual”.

What we are alluding to is the brains ability to reorganise or rewire its neuronal pathways that has lead to certain wanted or unwanted actions or behaviours. For example, in case of people suffering with eating disorders it is unwanted actions like negative thoughts about their body image that lead to the development of at ED. This could have manifested itself by starving, overexercising or binging and purging over a period of time.

When people start having bad thoughts and feelings about themselves their brain begins to develop certain new neuronal wiring (or connections) to produce certain behaviours. When people continue to acting on pathological behaviours like starving, binging-purging, over exercising etc: these neuronal pathways grow stronger and stronger. Basically it is what you think is what you get.

You see any behaviour we have or regular thoughts we think there are certain brain maps developed and pathways formed. These new brain maps can start to take up a huge amount of space in our brain until they become all powerful. Eating disorders take up a huge amount of space in the brain because they affect nearly all aspects of the sufferer’s life.

So, when it comes to eating disorder treatment if it does not work on changing the old neuronal pathways it is not going to work. What has to happen is for the sufferer to develop new neuronal pathways and build them around the old faulty pathological ones that is their ED. When you start using these new pathways (the healthy pathways) they become stronger and stronger and eventually they will replace the old pathological ones (the old pathological ones will fade).

You see, when you realise that it is your brain making you do things in a defective way, you will understand that to create behavioural change you only need to make your brain work differently. And you can do that by focusing your attention differently when the ED urge strikes you.

The capacity of the brain to change doesn’t diminish with age or with the duration of the problem you have. Many people think that it is easier to stop an eating disorder early on when the disorder first appears; and that if you have had the disorder for many years it is nearly impossible to stop it.

This is not true and is totally false. People can stop their eating problems at any stage of the process, because the human brain is plastic and changeable with any repetitive activity we do. Now it does take effort to change the way you think but it is not impossible.

The first thing is to come to the realization that what your brain is telling you to do may not be correct so there is no need to act on it every time. Your brain is not your mind and you can influence it with better thoughts and actions.

Your brain is only an organ sitting between your ears. But your mind is what you do, what decision you make, and what perception about yourself you give to others. Of course this does not mean you have an abnormal brain, it is only the abnormal thoughts and behaviours that have lead you to having an ED. It has been proven beyond doubt that your mind, your conscious behaviours and thoughts can change the structure of your brain.

To conclude, eating disorders are the result of brain’s ability to change its own structure in relation to false actions and thoughts over time. Because you have changed your brains wiring to fit a certain pathological behaviour in your brain map you have developed an ED. You have responded negatively to certain eating disorder triggers that you have built around you over time.

You probably would have never developed an eating disorder if you had responded differently to these triggers. For instance: if you did not get upset when someone at school called you “fat” or if you didn’t care when your ex-boyfriend dumped you for a skinnier girl, or a similar event. You would probably never have an eating disorder now. But because you did pay too much of attention to it, you have to suffer for a long time.

But it is not all bad news. The good news is that because your brain is plastic you can change your brain to the better: exactly the same way you changed it when you developed the faulty pathological behaviour in the first place. With focused attention, mindfulness and by building new neural pathways around the old ones, research has shown you can change you brain and hence your ED.

This is the only cure for eating disorders – to change your brain using your mind to reverse your old thought patterns that got you into this mess in the first place.

To read about eating disorders help go to http://www.eatingdisorder-institute.com

Male Eating Disorders on the Increase

2008-09-28T20:01:00.000-07:00

Eating Disorder in Males.

Eating disorder in males is rapidly on the increase: why it is not sure but it just is.We can probably suggest that it is the pressure of social and work environment that is responsible.

In dealing with sufferers of both anorexia and bulimia I have found a growing tread in anorexia in males. I keep getting the same answer that it is social and work place pressures to perform at higher and higher levels that are starting to take its toll.

As reported by Professor Lacey in the Independent ( Monday, 22 September 2008) that revealed the number of men treated for anorexia – "manorexia" – has increased by 67 per cent in the past five years. Men now account for between 5 and 10 per cent of all eating disorder sufferers a worrying statistic.

But Bulimia in men is still the more prominent complaint we come across. Bulimia is more easily hidden that anorexia as the sufferer can be of normal weight and looks normal to family and friends. After all there is this perception that males must be these tough guys and keep their feelings to themselves.

Of course this is totally ridiculous and is another example of social pressure being applied to males. This is a hangover from the past where men had to be men regardless of how they felt inside, emotions were for women only.
But when people in high places start to come forward like ex deputy prime minister of the UK John Prescott and his battle with bulimia and says, hey I have a problem; then other men start to think it may be time to seek out help also.

Contrarily to popular held belief, anorexia and bulimia have their roots in the same place. Both stem from the impact of negative emotions and constantly added pressure on males to act in a manly way, even in the most trying of situations.

These negative emotions are absorbed by the subconscious mind of the sufferer and start a reaction in the mind that is then built upon as more negative is added. Eventually these negatives reach the point where they start to control the emotions and thoughts of the sufferer and an eating disorder is born.

Once the eating disorder is established it controls the victim wholly and solely. I use the word victim, and victim the sufferers are, because no matter what they tell themselves they are powerless to stop their destructive eating habits.

There is only one way to defeat an eating disorder, either anorexia or bulimia and that is to attack it where in lives, in the subconscious mind of the sufferer, in my option no other method will work, period.

To read more about Male eating disorders go to http://www.anorexia-cure.com/bulimia-cure/Male-Bulimia2.htm

Severe Anorexia: What is the Main Step to Cure it?

2008-08-27T20:22:00.000-07:00

Treatment for severe anorexia should start from hospitalization to
restore the person's body weight. The duration of hospitalization can
be different and depends on how fast the anorexic gains their weight.

In average many experts believe that 10-12 weeks with full nutritional
support are required to restore weight in case of anorexia.

Weight gain goals should be set by a doctor according to person's BMI
(body mass index). But in average 1-2 pounds a week is a good goal to
strive for and it is what normally happens in hospitals.

Calorie consumption can vary but severely malnourished people need to
begin with as little as 1500 calories per day (to avoid stomach pain
and vomiting) and then progress to higher calorie consumption over time.

People who are unable to eat have to be fed through tube or intravenously.
Tube feeding has many disadvantages and some professionals believe that
this method discourages people from normal eating in the future.
Nevertheless for some patients it can be the only way to gain weight.

Intravenous feeding is when a tube gets inserted into a vein and
nutritional substances go into a blood stream. This way of feeding
can also create some biochemical imbalances for patients and is only
used in extremely severe cases of anorexia.

Severe anorexia patients also can have complications and organ failures
due to long starvation and malnourishment. This has to be corrected
while the person stays in the hospital. Kidney failure, heart failure,
electrolyte imbalances, early osteoporosis are common complaints for
severe anorexics.

The second stage of treatment begins after a person reached an acceptable
body weight. This stage is the longest and the most difficult one
because many anorexics relapse at this stage and go back to their old
habits (losing all the weight they have just gained).

This happens because they still continue to see themselves as overweight
in a mirror and feel that they need to lose weight instead of maintaining
it or gaining more. They still continue to focus on their body image
and forgetting about all other things in their life.

At this stage they do it subconsciously and their perception becomes
their reality. The main issue that has to be addressed here is changing
their perception by affecting their subconscious mind (the part of human
mind responsible for feelings, internal believes and perception).

Failing to change the subconscious mind of the sufferer causes the
symptoms of anorexia to come back all the time and doesn't matter how
long she/he stayed in hospital, they relapse. Our subconscious is formed
at a very young age and if any subconscious blockages that do occur
they are formed with “child logic” and continue to impact on the sufferer
in adulthood.

Anorexics have many subcounsious blockages about body image and food.
However because they exist at the subcounsious level they are neither
aware of them nor able to judge whether or not they are logical.

To conclude, the major step to curing severe anorexia lies not just in
reaching and maintaining a certain amount of weight. It lies in
identifying and eliminating the subcounsious blockages from the
anorexic mind and changing the person's focus from weight and food to
other useful things in life.

For more about how to change the subconscious mind of anorexics go to
Dr Irina Webster

eating disorders help go to http://www.womenhealthsite.com/eating_disorders.htm

Anorexia Side Effects

2008-06-18T06:35:00.000-07:00

Anorexia is not just about weight loss and refusing to eat. Anorexia has major side effects on the mental, physical and emotional state of a person.

Contracting anorexia means getting a new life style, new coping strategies, new relationships, new thought pattern and a whole new way of living and none of it is good.

You can say that a new sufferer becomes like a completely new person, different from what she/he used to be.

One of the very distinctive side effects of anorexia is a distorted perception about themselves. It is related to their own body image, their self being and also how they perceive other people as well.

The main measurement of all becomes how skinny they are. Anorexics perceive that their worth is directly related to their weight. They feel and think the same way about other people also.

For example a 19 year old anorexic girl I was talking to said once:" I know that the more weight I lose the better and stronger person I become. I understand that all overweight people are lazy, fat and no good".

But the meaning of being overweight for her is far away from reality. She perceives even normal weight people as overweight, including herself. She was already only 49 kg (height 164cm) but she still saw herself like a fat and overweigh person.

She sees this picture because of the other major side effect of anorexia called "broken eye syndrome". And because anorexics see a wrong picture of themselves and others they want to loose more and more weight and can't stop starving themselves and over exercising.

Their relationships with other people change a lot since they contracted their anorexia because they need to spend all their time counting calories, exercising and thinking over a new strategy to lose more weight. Plus anorexics become very judgmental and picky and loose interest in others and everything they did before. All these prevent them from having a normal relationship with others.

And the other side effect of anorexia is their changing respond to everyday stress. This encompasses everything that happens to them, anorexics respond by increasing their exercising time, cutting down on calories and withdrawing further away from other people.

Ways to Cure Bulimia Nervosa.

2008-05-15T08:50:00.000-07:00

By Dr Irina Webster

There are many ways to treat bulimia but not very many of them really cure bulimia.
Popular treatment is going to the doctors or clinics or a counselor. How helpful are these? Statistic shows that nearly 90% of suffers relapse after attending these kinds of treatment.

What happens to these people is they feel temporary better while they are in the clinic or in a doctor's room, but lose all sense of self-control around food when they come back home or while on their own and unprotected.

The next way of treatment is group therapy where sufferers are supposed to get ongoing support and help from other sufferers and a group leader. But this way has many flaws and is not helpful either: it can actually become harmful to many sufferers.

The reasons of this are that while in the group there is often a competition for attention. In the group patients often deliberately get worse or engage in more symptoms just to get extra attention from each other or the therapist. This kind of competition always exists in eating disorder help groups but on many different levels. Sometimes it can get out of control and cause a lot of harm to some members of the group, the most venerable ones.

Also, while in the group people learn from each other. And they learn not necessary only the good things. They learn a lot of bad stuff too. Like say if a young woman has never heard of drinking ipecac to induce vomiting and learns this technique in group therapy. She may try the technique out herself at home; instead of getting positive help she has just learned how to mask her disorder even more. This can also have a detrimental effect on the group leaving the group leader or member feeling responsible for teaching her.

Some doctors prescribe drugs to treat eating disorders but this also does not fix the problem and in the long run even makes things worse.

The only way to cure bulimia in my opinion is to eliminate the reason why people have it.
You see what happens is that people understand that their bulimia is slowly killing them and want to stop but they can't.

It seems like something inside the person is stronger than their own free will and controls their logical thinking.

What is this something?
It is basically another part of our brain called the subconscious mind that not only is responsible for people's feelings, emotions and non-conscious actions that keep them alive, but it can also work against your own free will.

It is the part of the mind that is responsible for our actions when we do something but we don't know why we did it.

The subconscious mind operates on feelings and senses. And very often people can't even describe it logically because it consists of thoughts and feelings. Sufferers just do what the subconscious mind wants them to do.

So, the main reason people have bulimia lies in the subconscious mind and to stop bulimia one needs to get rid off the subconscious blockages that always keep you being a bulimic against your will.
Subconscious blockages are described by many sufferers as being like voices or senses they have that make them binge and purge.

If someone has a subconscious emotional blockage preventing her/him from stopping their bulimia, they are unlikely to realize it. An example of this is a bulimic who doesn’t realize that they have "broken eye syndrome" - they see in a mirror a different picture from everyone else: basically their own mind is lying to them.

Subconscious blockages cannot be identified and changed at the rational thinking level; this is where most conventional treatments fail: simply because they think logical actions will fix it.
For example, the “broken eye syndrome" gets worse and worse the longer you have bulimia, because the bulimic brain is constantly working on false information and is reinforcing false beliefs. You can talk logic to a bulimia sufferer all day long and it will not help one bit: because bulimia is not logical.

To conclude, identifying and eliminating your subconscious blockages is the best and really the only way you will ever cure your bulimia. There are special programs that help bulimics to do this. One of the programs that works in this direction and has proved to be helpful is at http://www.bulimia-cure.com

How to spot Bulimia signs in Children

2008-05-01T20:00:00.000-07:00

By Dr Irina Webster.

What can you do if you are a parent who suspects their child has Bulimia how do you know for sure?

I have been ask this question so many times by lots of worried parents who think their child may have bulimia but don’t know any of the warning signs.

If you are one of these parents then here is a list of things to look out for, I will start with simple things first:

1: Look for an excessive amount of food that is missing. Things like packets of biscuits you have just bought and they have disappeared overnight. Packets of sweets gone without you even having one yourself. Look for easy accessible foods that seem to be gone faster than what is normal for your family use.

2: The child is starting to act unusual around meal times. Being a bit anxious and not wanting to eat certain food groups, or may play with their food. They may say they have eaten at a friends place but then start to raid the food cupboard for easy food soon after dinner.

3: You notice that the child may have lots of food rappers in their bedroom hidden under the bed or in their trash basket. Half eaten candy bars or potato crisp packets hidden in places that are unusual.

4: The child may start to miss family gatherings or not want to go out to events where they normally would have, like picnics or parties preferring to stay home. Even making excuses they feel ill or have a headache.

5: The child may start to do more exercise that they use to do. Go for long runs or bike rides and start to really push themselves to the extreme.

These are all little things but point to a change in the Childs habits although you can’t come to the conclusion that your Child has Bulimia from these alone. You need more concrete evidence to go with these before you can be sure.

Bulimics normally become very good at hiding their condition from family and friends. Bulimia has been described as secretive and sneaky and it most certainly is.
So you as a parent have to become just as sneaky if you suspect your child of this disorder.

Here are some more concrete things to look out for.

1: The child after finishing their meal disappears to the bathroom for a long time. This starts to become a habit and is a surefire clue to the child being bulimic.

2: You notice the smell of toothpaste on their breath when they come from the bathroom, or a sour smell on their breath.

3: You start to find laxatives in their bedroom or empty packets in their trash bin.

4: They start to become really edgy and anxious for no apparent reason and may start telling you to mind your own business if you say anything to them. They act out of character towards you.

5: They start to look sickly and feel the cold more that was normal for them. They may start having problems with their teeth or complain of a sore throat all the time.

6: They start to become obsessed with there weight and are looking at the bathroom scales all the time, or asking you if they look fat or looking in the mirror more that they use to do.

If you noticed a number of these symptoms together then there is a good chance your child may have Bulimia. But do not simply confront them as this can drive the child away or warn them you are on to them, so they may become even sneakier.

You should educate yourself first from people who have faced what you are facing now. One of the best educational information site around on this subject is at
www.bulimia-cure.com

Bulimia in Men.

2008-04-20T09:04:00.000-07:00

Most people, who know little about a disease like bulimia and this includes many journalists, say why can’t they just stop: I wish it was as simple as that but it is not. Like Mr. Prescott said he got some weird satisfaction from binging and then purging and all bulimics get the same thing.

When a bulimic purges they get a release of a pleasure hormone not unlike the endorphins an athlete gets after exercising. This feel good hormone is one of the reasons a bulimic continues on with his erratic eating behavior. The problem is the rush they get is very short lived, so they have to binge and purge even more. So asking a bulimic to simply stop is like asking a non-sufferer to give up breathing air: it is not going to happen.

Most non-sufferers and many others think that you can beat bulimia with logic and by pointing out the errors of their ways they will stop. But again this is an impossibility and simply cannot happen. Mr. Prescott and his wife knew for years it was wrong and that he was in danger of serious medical problems, but he could not stop. If bulimia was a logical disease then he should have been able to stop when he realized he was doing harm to himself, but he couldn’t.

This is because bulimia lives in the subconscious mind of the sufferer and the subconscious mind does not work on logic, it works on feelings and emotions and these are certainly not logical. The longer the bulimic has the disorder the more ingrained it becomes in the subconscious mind of the sufferer.

There is a way you can see how the subconscious mind works for yourself. The next time you explode at one of the kids or go off for no apparent reason, just ask yourself if it was logical. I bet you do not have the slightest idea why it happened; it is because it came from your subconscious mind and not your logical mind.

There is only one way you can really stop bulimia and that is through the subconscious mind where the bulimia lives. It lives there because it was programmed by the sufferer to be there over months or even years as was the case with Mr. Prescott.

If you are a bulimic or if you are a family member of a bulimic, the best place to find out more about how the subconscious mind works is at www.bulimia-cure.com where it explains all about the connection with the subconscious mind and bulimia. This site has a very big success rate in treating Bulimia and Anorexia all around the world and is run by Dr Irina Webster an expert in eating disorders.

Emotional Consequences of Eating Disorders.

2008-03-28T06:56:00.000-07:00

By William Webster BA,

Eating Disorders can only be described as a living hell. They consume every minute of your waking hours where the sufferer is so caught up in counting calories, reading the back of packets, measuring and weighing food, thinking when and where they are going to binge and how to sneak away to throw it all back up.

They eat a piece of cake and then they feel compelled to go for a 10k run to burn off the calories they think they have just consumed. Or they swallow laxatives and spend the next 3 hours on the toilet. Or they simply put their fingers down their throat and throw up.

Now do you see why these disorders are a living hell?

Not only that but they are slowly killing themselves and reducing their lifespan by 10 to 20 years.And the really sad part is they know they are doing it but can't stop.

Most people’s reaction to this is for the anorexic to just start eating again with comments like ‘eat you idiot just eat’. Or for the bulimic to stop binging and purging what’s so hard about that, do this and all will be well.
But I wish it was that simple, but it is not.

You see an ED is a deep psychological problem that lives in the subconscious mind of the sufferer and it really has nothing to do with food. Food is only a symptom of the disorder, a way that the sufferer feels they have some kind of control in their lives. Sure in the beginning to the sufferer this may have been the case, but in the end the ED controls them 100%. It dictates everything they do or say and controls them with an iron fist.

To you the casual reader you may not understand how such a thing can happen to someone and it is hard for you to think of a reason why. But it can be caused by many things even something as simple as being called fat at school.
Or just wanting to shed a few kilos to look better or it can be a violent episode in their life like sexual assault or verbal abuse.
It could even be as simple as not getting enough love and attention from their parents.
No matter what the cause is, to the sufferer these are very real.

I have been told by many sufferers that their ED is like getting on an escalator, you know you are on it but you can’t find a way off. This is because you are so totally consumed by the ED you have become a slave to it.

I will make it perfectly clear, if you know someone with and ED then realize they can not simply stop by themselves.
It would be like you trying to stop breathing air, it can’t be done.

So what to do? Well the good way that actually works is to find a self help program that will address all the things that stop the ED sufferer from getting better. One that deals with the problem in a sympathetic way and is non-confrontational
where the sufferer knows they are in a safe environment.

Emotional consequences can be eased by finding a good self help program if a person is willing to understand and accept that she/he has a problem. If the person denies the problem she/he probably needs to find extra help from a reliable source.

http://www.eatingdisorder-cure.com

Bulimia Symptoms That You Can Observe

2008-03-22T18:34:00.000-07:00

By Dr Irina Webster

People with bulimia are very secretive about their disorder. For this reason it is very difficult to notice anything as an observer. Bulimics look normal to other people. Even close family members initially have difficulty seeing what is going on with the person.

But you can observe some specific bulimic features if you know what to look for. These features are very subtle but are visible once you realize they are there.

Surprisingly, being extremely thin and underweight is not common for bulimia sufferers, even though people with bulimia are concerned about being fat.

Bulimics usually are about normal weight or even can be slightly overweight; some can be thin too.

But when you closely observe their behavior and know what to look for you can notice increased anxiety close to meal times. Some sufferers can be reluctant to share their meal times with others. They will do things like refusing to go out to a restaurant or a family dinner. Some may refuse to sit at the table to eat while munching something on the run.

If they do go out for a meal, they may disappear to the bathroom straight after eating and stay away for a long period of time.

Sometimes when they eat with others they only eat very small amounts of food, drink lots of water, separate the food on their plate and make strange choices and combinations of food.

Looking at their hands you may notice damaged knuckles from inducing vomiting, although this sign can take some time to develop. Discoloration of the skin on the outer surface of hands can also be noticed on bulimics.

Their face may appear to be puffy with small broken blood vessels under the skin. This is because the salivary glands increase in size making their cheeks look bigger especially below the area of the ears.

Dry lips and small ulcers on the lips or around the mouth are common in periods of extreme vomiting and look like cold sores.

People who use laxatives and diuretics will have extremely frequent visits to the bathroom. In these cases signs of dehydration can be noticed, like dark circles around the eyes, dizziness, nausea, dry skin and low blood pressure are common in sufferers.

There are bulimics who exercise excessively. They follow a strong exercise regiment and become fanatical about their running, jumping, cycling etc.

Many bulimics have what is called 'broken eye" syndrome. This is when they perceive themselves as fat, non-attractive and think that others are better then them. They look in a mirror and see a big fat person standing there even if they are not. These individuals have low self esteem and look very shy and non-confident among others.

Bulimics often complain of stomachaches that occur around meal times. Diarrhea or constipation can bother them as well.

Their teeth can become discolored and decayed fast. Bad breath is one of the common bulimics symptoms especially for those who are less hygienic.

If you ask a bulimic girl about her periods she may say that it is irregular or even absent, it depends on how much she vomits per day.

To sum up, there are many bulimia symptoms but most of them are so subtle and difficult to notice it is hard for the average person to tell. If you suspect that someone has bulimia look for the signs described above.

And if the person has at least two or three of these symptoms especially disappearing to the bathroom after meals, she is likely to have the disease. This means she may be in danger of becoming very sick and she needs help. To learn how you can help go to http://www.mom-please-help.com

Long Term Effects of Bulimia Nervosa.

2008-03-19T23:52:00.000-07:00

Bulimia affects different organs. And the longer you have bulimia the more organs get affected and damaged.

The organs that suffer the most are: heart, kidney, brain, digestive system, bones, skin and endocrine glands.

The heart gets damaged from the constant electrolyte imbalances caused by continuous purging and becomes weaker the longer the bulimia continues. Some people even can die from this complication when a weak heart goes into a "heart block". This is when the heart suddenly stops beating due to extremely low potassium or other mineral deficiency induced by vomiting and laxatives abuse.

Kidney damage is very common among long term bulimics. The kidneys are organs that normally correct mineral abnormalities in the body. But when a person's mineral balance is constantly disturbed, like in case of bulimia, the kidneys are under enormous strain to correct it and eventually they get damaged.

The brain suffers also from the moment bulimia starts. People have distorted thought patterns like depression and anxiety. The longer bulimia goes on for the stronger the addiction to binging and purging becomes. The long time effects of brain damage from bulimia are: suicidal thoughts, self-cutting and other self-harm symptoms. Impulsive behavior can occur and people can become less responsible for their action.

The digestive system also gets affected badly. The stomach experience delays in empting its food content and people suffer from pains in the abdominal area, bloating, acid reflux, stomach ulcers and esophageal problems.

In long standing bulimia cases sufferers loose the feeling of being hungry or full. Sometimes their taste distorts which makes them eat strange combinations of food or experience cravings (for example craving to eat very salty or sour things).

The bones become weak due to the development of low bones density after many years of suffering from bulimia. People can and do complain about their bone's aching plus they have lots of pain and the bones can break from even minimal strain or pressure.

Skin looses its youthful look even at a relatively young age. Dry skin, inflammation of the skin, abnormal irritation and ongoing pimples are common problems for bulimics.
Hair loss due to mineral and protein depletion is inevitable in long term bulimia.

The endocrine glands eventually stop working properly and produce fewer hormones than the body needs: this makes a person age quickly and loose muscle tone.

Menstruation becomes irregular or stops and because of this a woman is unable to conceive and have a baby.

To sum up, the long term effects of bulimia nervosa can be extremely dangerous. And treatment for this disorder becomes more complicated the longer it goes on.
The best way is to prevent these dangerous effects from happening is to treat the disease sooner rather than later.

The best thing is to start educating yourself and your family about what to do and what to change at home to help the sufferer. Home and family support are proven to be the best way of treating this condition. But it has to be the right help and the right support. To learn more about it go to http://www.bulimia-cure.com

Fluid Retention in Bulimia Nervosa.

2008-02-28T04:43:00.000-08:00

Many bulimia sufferers complain about fluid retention in their body from time to time. The symptoms of this problem are: swelling of the legs and feet plumped up fingers and hands, feelings of puffiness over the whole body.

These problems are especially relevant to the people who vomit often, use diuretics and laxatives to control their weight. The reasons for the fluid retention in bulimics can be many. One reason is electrolyte disturbances like the loss of potassium, sodium, calcium and other minerals; this can be caused by their vomiting, diarrhea from laxative abuse and extreme urine output after taking diuretics.

The other reason for fluid retention is possible kidney damage and this happens more often among long time sufferers of bulimia. The kidneys get damaged mainly because of long time electrolyte disturbances in the blood stream. The kidney is the organ that normally corrects electrolyte abnormality in the body, but when their mineral balance is constantly abnormal it puts a lot of strain on the kidneys and they suffer.

The third possible reason for developing fluid retention is a low level of protein in the body. All eating disorders sufferers are at a high risk of developing low levels of protein as a consequence of constant dieting and not getting enough protein out of their food.

All three reasons can make the body retain abnormal amounts of water and can have serious consequences on your health. If you are a sufferer and notice signs of edema (fluid retention) anywhere in your body – immediately go to see a doctor or other medical professional. Don't wait until it gets worse, you have to understand that there are underlying reasons for the edema and can be really serious. Some kind of intervention should be done immediately (like correcting your electrolyte balance with medications that will help your kidneys cope better).

The other thing I should mention here is that some bulimics complain about heaviness and puffiness in their body that they think it is due to fluid retention but it is not. It is a perceptional problem they have that is called "broken eye syndrome". This is when a person perceives that they are bigger then they really are.
They feel that their body is expanding and getting bigger everyday but in reality there is no abnormal fluid retention. It is only the person's perception that there is: so they take more laxatives or diuretics and the problem gets worse.

To conclude, fluid retention in bulimia sufferers can occur for a number of different reasons: some of them are more serious than others. One thing is for certain all of them need to be corrected sooner or later. The best way to do this is to get checked immediately by a medical professional to avoid serious complications. It is also important to work on your bulimia problem immediately. Try to get help to deal with it and change the way you think and feel about food, your life and everything else.
It has been shown that the best way to do this is with a family home treatment program that teaches you how to overcome your bulimia.
For more information go to http://www.bulimia-cure.com

Dangers in Bulimia

2008-02-24T04:51:00.000-08:00

Bulimia affects the whole body. But the most obvious effects it has is on the nervous system, mental state, gastro-intestinal, cardio system, kidney, skin, bones and the hormonal system.

The most common and the most dangerous is mineral depletion (Potassium, Sodium, Calcium etc). This has an negative effect on the heart, bones and skin of the sufferer.

As a result of the mineral depletion a person develops weakness of the heart, low pulse, low blood pressure, dehydration and dizziness. A sufferer can faint easily, get tired quickly, and feel lethargic during the day.

The most serious of all is electrolyte disturbance that can lead to cardiac arrest, when the heart of the sufferer stops beating as a result of extremely low levels of Potassium and other electrolytes.

The digestive system is also badly affected. What happens is the gastric acid from the vomiting cause erosions of esophagus and throat. This could cause the stomach to experience a delay in empting, making the person feel abnormally full even after eating a very small amount of food.

The bowel then becomes sluggish making a sufferer constipated. The other symptoms are blood in the vomit, abdominal cramps, bloating and sore throat.

The teeth of bulimics get eroded quickly and salivary glands become inflamed which makes their face look swollen.

Mental aspects of bulimia also becomes obvious virtually straight away in the early stages of the disorder. People appear to loose a sense of normal appetite. They have difficulty understanding their feelings whether they are full or hungry and can't control their eating behavior in most cases.

Bulimics also have high levels of anxiety and depression in some cases.

Because of binging –purging episodes sufferers withdraw into themselves and move away from their friends and other people.

Feelings of guilt often goes to the extreme in bulimics and they suffer enormously from it.

The other organs that will become affected as the disease progresses is the bones. Low bone density and osteoporosis at a relatively young age can be a serious problem for the sufferers.

People often complain about aches and pains in their bones and joints. The spine has to be checked regularly because weakening of the spine can cause severe back aches and other problems.

Skin complications can occur like a change in skin color. Also poor nourishment can cause circulation problems in the skin.

After years of suffering from bulimia women notice that their skin becomes dry and grey, signs of inflammation and irritation can appear from time to time and the radiance of youth disappears completely.

To conclude, bulimia nervosa has a lot of dangers. Some women will develop more and worse complications then others. But the best way to eliminate complications is to avoid them. Bulimia can be treated successfully especially with family support and understanding. Read more about family treatment go to.
http://www.mom-please-help.com

Weight Gain For Anorexia Sufferers

2008-02-10T05:52:00.000-08:00

Getting people with anorexia to gain weight and eat more is the number one thing in helping them get better. Increasing weight for anorexics improves their health and helps them think clearly. There is a strong connection in anorexia between weight and thoughts: the lower the weight goes their thoughts get vaguer about their body image and the whole of reality.

Many sufferers can't actually accept that they are ill until they put on a certain amount of weight; this extra weight gives their brain the ability to think more rationally.

So, how do we go about putting weight on anorexics?

For dangerously underweight people if you start to give them lots of food it can make them extremely sick. The risk is especially enhanced if the anorexic has been fed through a feeding tube.

This problem can be treated with injections of minerals and other substances they need for basic survival. This can be done in a hospital but is only recommended in extreme weight loss cases.

In the cases where a feeding tube is not been involved it is recommended to increase the amount of food the anorexic eats slowly, over time. It would increase something like from 100 to 300 grams of food a day (depends on the tolerance of the person).

It can be hard for people who have been starving themselves to just start eating again. That's why anorexics will need home counseling and support at the same time they start to change and all the time they are gaining weight.

It is recommended to gain between 0.5 and 1.0 kg (1 or 2 pounds) a week until the person's body mass index (BMI) returns to 18.5-19.

To gain this amount of weight, they will need to eat between 2,200 and 2,500 calories every day. That's not a lot of food. It's only about what a healthy adult eats every day, on average. But anorexics may start eating much less than this and slowly work up the amount until they feel comfortable with it.

Taking multivitamins and minerals is a great help in maintaining body biochemistry balance throughout all recovery stages.

In the early stages of gaining weight sufferers do need close monitoring of their weight to avoid significant weight fluctuations which can be dangerous for the heart and brain function that is why a home treatment method is essential.

After the body mass index (BMI) stabilizes and remains constant for a few months, monitoring is unnecessary and the person has been taught to live without focusing on counting calories and looking at the labels on the back of packages.

To conclude, gaining weight for the anorexic sufferer is a mandatory step to their recovery. It has to be done in a gentle non-forceful way, with lots of family support and help.

This also means that family education about the problem is as important as the education of a person suffering from anorexia especially in the early stages.
www.eatingdisorder-cure.com

Can you fight bulimia and other food addictions with natural medicine?

2007-11-26T15:23:00.000-08:00

Bulimics and other food addicts eat compulsively. They can’t stop their compulsion if they have started eating and disregard the consequences of their behaviors.
These people are persistently preoccupied with buying, preparing, cocking and eating food. They also can sneak or steal food, hide the food in their bags, cupboards, draws and other places.

When the food supply is cut off, withdrawal symptoms can occur, including chills, dizziness, headaches, poor concentration, nausea and lethargy.

A food-related addiction can also be accompanied by co addictions. Many bulimics may also binge on alcohol or get addicted to prescription drugs or even over-the-counter medications like diuretics and laxatives.
Bulimics may be addicted to cigarettes to help moderate their food cravings.

The treatment for food addicts and bulimics is complex. Behavioral therapy, family therapy, nutritional therapy and even hospitalization can be used to treat sufferers.
But the most difficult things in the treatment process still remain the coping with cravings to binge or binge and purge during the recovery process.

If only you can stop the cravings to overeat! Some sufferers even describe it as little voices in the head which force them to binge. If only you can stop them or at least make them not that strong.

Many methods have been tried to kick a food addiction. The most beneficial methods are probably the ones which involved changing person’s way of thinking and dealing with emotions. But I also found that some herbal therapy can help you to fight your food addiction also.
These herbs seem to be useful for kicking food addiction:

Gymnema blocks the taste and metabolism of sugar if consumed before eating. It can quickly help your body stop sugar dependency.

Amla is rich in nutrients, especially vitamin C. Ayurvedic medicine uses it a lot to help people feel lighter and happier. It is also a mild laxative.

Alfalfa is also rich in nutrients, vitamins and minerals. But the main benefit is that it contains enzymes that helps digest the food (for bulimics it is necessary because bulimics have slow digestive processes).

Ginger stimulates circulation to all parts of the body. Also it improves digestion and gives body more energy.

Burdock improves fat metabolism and eliminates extra water from the body. It is very beneficial for kidney, liver and bowel function.

Nettle is a traditional remedy for cellulite. Also eliminates extra water from the body and stimulates blood circulation.

Dandelion Root improves liver function and metabolism of fat. The leaf is a natural diuretic and is rich in trace minerals, especially potassium.

Fennel Seed is a natural appetite suppressant and helps to control your cravings for specific foods.

Cola Nut is a stimulant. It contains caffeine and theobromine. It can be used to suppress hunger and mental exhaustion.

Cinnamon is naturally sweet. It can lower the desire for other sugars. It also improves circulation.

Cardamom helps to digest grains and dairy products. It also improves circulation in the digestive system itself.

St. John’s Wort is a natural antidepressant and anxiety reliever. It can help to stop emotional eating.

Valerian Root is a natural sedative. It also can be used to stop emotional eating.

Yerba Mate works as an appetite suppressant, an antidepressant and a mild stimulant. It can stop a binging cycle. It is also rich in nutrients, minerals and vitamins.

Flaxseed oil can help to stop cravings for fatty food. Take a one tablespoon of this oil daily to stop fat cravings.

This is only a few of many other herbs that can help to fight food addictions and bulimia.
For more information go to www.mom-please-help.com

Media and influence on women body image.

2007-10-13T07:32:00.001-07:00

It has become obvious now that the media advertises and promotes a very unhealthy trend of extreme dieting and other bad eating habits to women. Most of media sources put on their covers images of skinny emancipated females. Doing this they influence the subconscious mind of the masses. And women continue to spend their money trying to achieve this unattainable look they constantly see in media advertising.
To try and solve this problem let’s answer the next questions. 1. What is body image? 2. What kind of trends in the media industry are we noticing now? 3. How do the media influence our perception of body image? 4. What could be the reasons behind this? 5. What are the consequences of this kind of trend? 6. What are some real suggestions on how to improve your body image?
Your body image is how you perceive, think and feel about your body. This may have no bearing at all on your actual appearance. For instance, it is common in Western nations for women to believe they are larger and fatter than they really are. Only one in five women is satisfied with their body weight. Nearly half of all normal weight women overestimate their size and shape. A distorted body image can lead to self-destructive behavior, like dieting or eating disorders. Approximately nine out of 10 young Australian women have dieted at least once in their lives.
So, the basic trend in the media industry at the moment is to promote slim, even skinny unnatural looking women’s bodies as being beautiful.
Women of all ages but especially young women look at magazines, TV, movies and other media products full of images that show skinny women’s bodies. And these are perceived by the subconscious mind of young women as being a role model to follow and aspire to be like. Achieving this skinny look does not come naturally; it inevitably leads to practicing some kind of dieting, excessive exercising or abnormal eating behaviors.
Twenty years ago, the average model weighed 8 per cent less than the average woman—but today’s models weigh 23 per cent less. Advertisers believe that thin models sell products. When the Australian magazine New Woman recently included a picture of a heavy-set model on its cover, it received a truckload of letters from grateful readers praising the move. But its advertisers complained and the magazine returned to featuring bone-thin models.
What could be the reason behind all this? Why has this fashion trend occurred now? Why are standards of beauty being imposed on women, the majority of whom are naturally larger than any of the models?
The reasons for this according to some analysts, is an economic one. By presenting an ideal look which is difficult to achieve and maintain the cosmetic and diet product industries are assured of growth and profits. It is estimated that the diet industry alone is worth $100 billion (U.S.) a year. This is a lot of money and certainly worth their while to continue to foster emancipated women as being the norm.
And the consequences of this trend are huge. On the one hand, women who are insecure about their bodies are more likely to buy beauty products, new clothes, and diet pills or other diet supplies.
On the other hand, research indicates that exposure to images of thin, young, air-brushed female bodies is linked to depression, loss of self-esteem and the development of unhealthy eating habits in women and girls.
The level of eating disorders like anorexia and bulimia are increasing rapidly every year. It is estimated that around 5 per cent of women and 1 percent of men have an eating disorders like anorexia or bulimia or binge eating some time in their life.
And about 15 per cent of all young women have significantly distorted eating attitudes and behavior that can lead to developing anorexia or bulimia in the near future.
So, what would be some real suggestions on how to improve your body image without resorting to unhealthy eating habits?
The First one is to change your goal from weight loss to just improving your health. Second, is to focus more the internal beauty like improving your self-esteem, self-confidence and internal strengths of your character. Get informed by reading up on body image issues and self-improvement books. And give yourself a break from women’s magazines and the mass media advertising for a while if you feel you maybe prone to this kind of false perceptions.
To sum up, the media does impact on women’s body image significantly and it can affect women’s physical and mental health in a negative way. And the only way to stop these negative effects coming from the media is to teach women not to judge themselves by the beauty industry's standards and learn not to compare themselves to the cover girls. And also it is important to promote a healthy life style with emphasis on internal beauty like improving self-esteem and self-confidence. Not on being a stick like model.
http://www.eatingdisorder-cure.com

Cause of Bulimia Nervosa.

2007-10-01T09:23:00.000-07:00

Cause of Bulimia Nervosa.

Bulimia is one of the most rapidly increasing psychological problems around nowadays. But what causes bulimia? Is it an extreme response to Western society’s pressure on young girls and women to be slim?
Or are there other factors contributing to the problem?
Can we influence these factors and change their effects on people?

Genetic, environmental, biological are all common factors that have to be looked at when we talk about the causes of any diseases or disorders.

Let’s look at these things in the case of Bulimia.

Scientific research recently has shown that people are born with an inherited predisposition towards developing bulimia, particularly where susceptibility to addiction is in the genes. It reveals that bulimics inherit a gene responsible for the addiction from their ancestors. This addiction can appear in different forms: alcohol addiction, drug addiction, food addiction, nicotine and the like. That’s why many bulimics also suffer from addictions to other substances also, making recovery difficult.

So a genetic predisposition to bulimia may be there but it is not a single bulimia gene itself that is the culprit but a general addiction gene. And in many bulimic families we can trace backwards to past members of the family who suffered from other kinds of addiction in their lives.

But on the other hand not all people who get an addiction gene suffer from bulimia or other addictions. So we have to look at other things like environmental factors.

Environmental factors can contribute to triggering the onset of bulimia. These include peer pressures, family attitudes, the influence of the media creating a need for thinness, poor self-esteem and a lack of acceptance of self and body shape.

Bulimia often begins with a dissatisfaction of the person's body. The individual may actually be underweight, but when that person looks in a mirror they see a distorted image and feel heavier than they really are. At first, this distorted body image leads to dieting. As the body image in the mirror continues to be seen as larger than it actually is, the dieting escalates and leads to bulimia. The bottom line however, is that bulimia is the misuse of food to try to resolve emotional problems. When a person is unable to face their feelings, define problems, and resolves them effectively, that person is more prone to become susceptible to the onset of bulimia.

A significant correlation between the development of clinical bulimia nervosa and sexual abuse has also been proven. Other forms of abuse (physical, emotional or combination of both of them) also link to developing of dissatisfaction with the person’s body that can lead to bulimia any time in the future.

Strict and cold parental attitude and luck of showing love to children from parents can become a trigger for developing a wrong body image in children that can turn into bulimia in susceptible people. That is why you should never tease your child if they are a little bit over weight as this could just be a normal growing process for that child’s body shape. But a wrong word from a parent or family member may inadvertently send that person down the track to bulimia.

The next factor which can cause bulimia is biological or biochemical factor. This happens when one or a few biological processes in the human body have gone off track. Some research has shown that an insufficiency of a special hormone in the brain called serotonin can cause depression and bulimia at the same time. This is probably why many bulimics also suffer from depression.
Some antidepressants that work on restoring the level of serotonin in the brain can help some sufferers stop their binges while taking them. This could also mean that many sufferers, who manage to stop their bulimia for a short while, go back to binging again when they stop the antidepressants.

Anyone who has been on antidepressants and has stopped should look for other supplements where they can substitute the loss of serotonin; I believe you can get serotonin in the health food stores in capsules form. Although taking serotonin on its own will not automatically stop your bulimia, as it is a much deeper psychological problem that a single chemical imbalance: but it would not hurt either.

As you can see, many factors can contribute to the development of bulimia. For some sufferers it is the environmental factors that come into play, like desire to be thin, peer pressure to be thin or influence from the media to be thin. Some people may have a strong genetic influence that can be traced to past relatives who may have suffered from bulimia or other addictions.

Depressed sufferers will blame their low serotonin level in the brain for their bulimia. But the majority of people probably have a combination of factors that has caused their bulimia.

In conclusion, the causes of bulimia could be many: genetic, biological and environmental. So far we can’t change the genes we are born with but we can manage to control certain behaviors brought on by defective genes, with the correct methods.

To change biological factors like low serotonin levels in the brain, it is possible with certain drugs or supplementation, but it does not work for everyone. The only bulimia factor we can change easily is the environmental factor. This includes changing our attitude to body image, our perception of real beauty and our eating habits.

By promoting a healthy environment we can eradicate or significantly diminish one of the main causes of bulimia - the environmental factor. The other causes can also be controlled if we are aware of their existence.

Dr Irina Webster
www.womenhealthsite.com

How to Cure Eating Disorders

2007-09-25T08:02:00.000-07:00

How to Cure Eating Disorders.

By Dr Irina Webster

I have been searching for a great treatment to cure Eating Disorders for a long time because I have a close friend whose daughter Amy suffered badly from Anorexia and then Bulimia.

If you’ve been interested in finding the answer regarding a cure for an Eating Disorders then this article will help you. You know that eating disorders are conditions brought on when a person associate food e.g.: refusing to eat or on the contrary compulsive overeating and throwing up, with a feeling of being in control, pleasure, truth, confidence etc.

To explain more: the person associates all their good positive feelings, control, pleasure, truth and self-confidence with food. They feel reassured by the control they have over their food intake and use it as a substitute for their lack of control over their feelings in the real world.

So, the question is – how do you go about changing these distorted associations with food and what must be done exactly to get the sufferer to see other avenues for themselves other than their present conditions and misdirected dependence on food. More importantly can we get the sufferer to change at all?

The answer is – Yes, we can.

But how can we do it? – We need to change the meaning she/he has attached to food, to break the endless cycle they find themselves in on to a totally different one: difficult yes, but not impossible.

Actually, all successes attributed to Psychotherapy only ever depends on how quickly people can change the meaning they attach to different things in life.

Here are three Fundamentals to create a new meaning in life (in the case of eating disorder sufferers this is about food and Control):

1) ) Get leverage. This means you have get to the point where you believe you must change, you must change your eating habits and you MUST change it right now. You must believe that not to change will be more painful and that change will bring you pleasure.

If you only get to the point of thinking that you maybe should change. This is not enough to create a long lasting change in your behavior. Only a definite MUST change will give you leverage.

2) Interrupt the pattern.

This is when you do something totally unexpected in relation to your dominating thoughts in our case food.

For example, when a bulimic person gets a bit stressed by the end of day or feels uncomfortable regarding something – the first thought reaction for her/him would be binge eat and purge (this is the way for her/him) to get pleasure, control and inner confidence.

For anorexic – the thoughts of success and looking good and being confident associated with refusing to eat and starving yourself is their way of dealing with things.

This pattern (thoughts association) needs to be interrupted with some unexpected comment or behaviors which shocks the person into paying more attention to what is going on right here and now in their mind.

For example, I watch on TV once how one American Psychotherapist breaks the thoughts patterns of people with major phobias. One man had a major phobia with spiders (he saw spiders everywhere and was horrified just with his thoughts about spiders).

The Psychotherapist asked the guy:”How do you feel about spiders?”
The man turned pale and looked extremely anxious, and his answer was : “Not very good….” And at this particular moment the Psychotherapist jumped from his chair and started hopping on one foot in front of the man shouting very loudly “Yam, yam, yam, yam “ , making jerky and funny movements with his whole body.

The man looked stunned, his attention was 100% on the Psychotherapist now, he forgot instantly about his scary feelings regarding spiders.

After jumping and shouting for a minute Psychotherapist stopped, sit on his chair like nothing had happened (he looked normal and was smiling and happily).

After a small pause he asks the man again how he feels about spiders. The man did not answer straight away because he actually needed a few seconds more to bring himself to the state of spider phobia again.
During the few seconds when the man was thinking, the Psychotherapist repeated what he did the first time, making the man completely confused of what’s going on.

The Psychotherapist repeated whole procedure quite a few times (5 or 6).

What do you think happen to the man? He was completely cured of his phobia, just from one single Psychotherapy section.

3) Breaking the old associations

An interview with this man taken a few months later was shown on TV as well. In this interview he said that now he does not have scary feelings about spiders any more and he stop seeing them.

He also said that now if someone mentions to him about spiders he laughs, because he has a different association now, he associate spiders with these funny things the Psychotherapist did during the session where he was caught by surprise and even shocked with what had happened.

Another American Psychotherapist I know use to splash cold water people’s into faces at the time when people are describing their fears or feelings of bad habits. Again it breaks the association with their habits or phobias.

So the trick is to get the eating disorder sufferer to break their association with food by interrupting their thought processes when they feel compelled to not eat or eat and purge. You just need to workout the most appropriate time to do it. You may not be able to break their eating disorder with one single session but combined this with other things and it will be of great benefit.

You can create lots of ways of interrupting someone’s behavioral pattern if you really start thinking about it.

For more information about treating Eating Disorders (especially Anorexia and Bulimia) go to http://www.mom-please-help.com

Dr Irina Webster MD
Director of Women Health Issues
Http://www.womenhealthsite.com

Eating Disorders

2007-09-24T08:47:00.000-07:00

Eating Disorders

A study performed by researchers at the School of Psychology at Deakin University in Melbourne, Australia found that exposure to idealized media images of “perfect” thin female and muscular male body types had negative effects on an individual’s own body image and body change behaviors.

One hundred thirty-three women and 93 men were assessed for body image beliefs before being exposed to the images. The researchers wanted to know how certain psychological factors predicted changes in the study participants’ emotions after being exposed.

The Eating Disorder Inventory-2, the Obligatory Exercise Questionnaire, and the strategies to increase muscles subscale of the Body Change Inventory were used to assess attitudes before image exposure. Participants were surveyed for body dissatisfaction, internalization of the thin/athletic ideal, body comparison, self-esteem, depression and identity confusion.
Researchers wanted to see if attitudes in these areas made people more or less susceptible to body dissatisfaction and unhealthy body change behavior after viewing idealized images.

After being assessed, the participants were exposed to idealized thin female and muscular male models. Visual analogue scales were used to measure changes in post-exposure state body dissatisfaction, anger, anxiety and depression.

Results showed a marked increase in eating disorder symptoms in women and body dissatisfaction in men. Women appeared to be affected by their attitudes in all psychological areas assessed; men were mostly affected by psychological attitudes in internalization and body comparison.

What’s interesting is that the women began to display a change in behavior, picking up eating disorder behavior as a result of exposure. Men simply felt badly about their own bodies, but they did not appear to turn to drastic measures as a result.
This may be because women were more affected by the state of their self-esteem than the men, which could make them more likely to “punish” their bodies as a result of dissatisfaction.

This information points to a possible need for greater media responsibility in relation to the images they portray. People also need to be educated about the role of the media and the ways in which those portrayed achieved the “ideal” bodies. Many images are airbrushed, and many models turn to unhealthy behaviors to achieve the supposedly “healthy ideal.”

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