Understanding Your Eating Disorder Treatment Options
According to information published by the American Medical Association in 2013, close to 14% of all Americans over the age of 18 are dealing with serious eating disorder issues – and that number may be even higher low-end taking into account teenagers and young adults that are struggling with these kinds of conditions as well. American Medical Association(1) in 2013, close to 14% of all Americans over the age of 18 are dealing with serious eating disorder issues – and that number may be even higher low-end taking into account teenagers and young adults that are struggling with these kinds of conditions as well.
There is quite a bit of pressure when the world today to fit in, to conform to unrealistic body type expectations, and to meet the superficial standards of a world more connected now than ever before – and all of this leads to eating disorders that can be very disruptive, very dangerous, and even potentially deadly.
Thankfully, though, there are a lot of different eating disorder treatment options that you’ll have the opportunity to take advantage of, treatment options that can help you lead the kind of happy and healthy lifestyle you deserve.
It’s important that you really understand all of the eating disorder treatment options available to you so that you’re able to move forward with the option that best suits your needs and your desired results.
Let’s dive right in!
Eating Disorder Treatment Starts with a Proper Diagnosis
It is going to be very difficult for you to leverage the right eating disorder treatment protocol without receiving a proper diagnosis to really understand exactly what you are contending with in the first place.
Your primary care physician will be able to help you better understand your situation, but a registered dietitian, a psychiatrist, and even some dental professionals will be able to shine a little bit of extra light on the subject as well.
Make an appointment with these experts to receive the necessary testing required to come up with a full diagnosis. After you have moved through this part of the process you will be able to best leverage the different treatment options available.
Eating Disorder Treatment Protocols Should Be Multi-Pronged Approaches
Most people aren’t aware of the many different root causes that lead to eating disorders in the first place, and because of this, they take the single stage of approaches to relieving the eating disorder that they are dealing with.
But that just isn’t going to produce the kinds of long-lasting or impactful results you are hoping for.
Instead, you’ll want to utilize multi-stage and multi-pronged eating disorder treatment solutions that work for:
- Treat physical complications stemming from an eating disorder
- Treat emotional and mental complications stemming from an eating disorder
- Identify the necessary resources required to effectively destroy the root cause of the eating disorder in the first place, giving you the chance to live a life free of the burdens that it places upon you
In most situations, a proper eating disorder treatment protocol that includes therapy, medication, counseling, and intelligent lifestyle changes will usually be more than enough to create the kind of lasting impact you’re hoping for.
In rare situations, you may want to move forward with “whole life transformation” protocols – including a stay at a residential facility – so that you’re able to completely “reprogram” and destroy your eating disorder once and for all.
