Eating Disorders

In today’s society, we’re surrounded by messaging that focuses on physical appearance and rewards certain types of appearances over others.

This makes it hard to accept our body and can impact the way we feel about ourselves.

Our beliefs around body image are important as it impacts our mental and physical health. While the media portrays a certain body type, this doesn’t cause an eating disorder.

How we think about those messages and apply them to our lives is what affects our self-esteem and self-worth.

Teenage girl in a dark room looking outside

What Is Disordered Eating?

Disordered Eating refers to thoughts and feelings about food that affect one’s eating behaviours and alter consumption of food in a way that negatively affects someone’s physical and psychosocial functioning.

This complicated illness can affect a person’s sense of identityworth and self-esteem. No one develops an eating disorder simply to lose weight; there are often other driving forces behind the condition. Restricting ones eating is often a way to cope with difficult problems or regain a sense of control. Disordered eating is also often associated with other mental health conditions such as anxietydepression and substance abuse.

Eating disorders can affect anyone, but those experiencing low self-esteem or poor body imageperfectionism or difficulties dealing with stress may be more likely to experience it.

There Are 3 Main Types of Eating Disorders

Anorexia Nervosa

  • Restricting the amount of food eaten
  • Overexercising
  • Think about their weight often
  • Use weight as a measure of self-worth
  • Denying or ignoring your hunger
  • Distorted body image – feeling overweight regardless of their actual weight
  • Intense and irrational fear of gaining weight

Bulimia Nervosa

  • Periods of uncontrollable binge-eating
  • Lack of control overeating
  • Compensatory behaviours to prevent weight gain (vomiting, misuse of laxatives, fasting, excessive exercise)
  • Distorted body image – May feel overweight regardless of their actual weight
  • Think about their body weight often and use it to measure their self-worth

Binge Eating Disorder

  • Periods of over-eating
  • Feeling that they cannot control what or how much they eat
  • Eating much faster than normal
  • Feelings of embarrassment, guilt, or disgust with oneself with regards to eating patterns
  • May fast or diet after periods of binge-eating
Group of colorful bowls and spoons

What to Expect

There are many complex emotions surrounding eating disorders and reaching out for help is not an easy step. But luckily, eating disorders are treatable, and you can recover.

Our therapists use a combination of approaches to target our treatment to the client’s needs. Using a holistic viewpoint, we explore the root of the eating disorder. Many people stuck in an eating disorder don’t understand why they overeat or refuse to eat. By treating the source, our client’s mindset and disordered eating symptoms tend to improve.

By using methods like CBT, our therapists help our clients adjust their mindset by identifying distorted thinking patterns and replacing them with healthy and rational outlooks. We also teach our clients strategies to try at home like problem-solving, stress management and relaxation techniques.

Goals of Therapy for Eating Disorders

  • Reduce the need for control
  • Explore the sources of the problem
  • Learn healthy strategies to cope with emotional stress or trauma
  • Build self-esteem and self-compassion
  • Acquire a better relationship with your body
  • Regain balance in your life
  • Maintain a natural weight

Getting Help Today

Find a therapist specializing in Bipolar Disorder counseling in South Edmonton or St.Albert

Our Approach

We will do an assessment of your specific situation and goals, to come up with a targeted and individualized approach to therapy that draws from a variety of the listed modalities.

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)

Change unhelpful and problematic ways of thinking got change unwanted or unhealthy behaviour

Mindfulness-Based Therapy

Utilized techniques like meditation, stretching, and breathing to increase awareness of our thoughts, feelings and actions

Dialectal Behavioural Therapy (DBT)

Develop healthy coping strategies and mindfulness skills like living in the moment to improve relationships and regulate emotions

Narrative Therapy

Learn to separate yourself from your problem by relying on your own skills to minimize the problems in your life

Family Systems Therapy

Focuses on the family as a unit and how generational, social, community and cultural factors influence the family members

Book With...

Registered Provisional Psychologist
Registered Psychologist, Formal Assessments, Adults, Couples
Registered Psychologist EMDR Certified Children, Youth, Adults
Canadian Certified Counsellor, Adults, Couples, Seniors

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