I can help with food and eating related difficulties such as preoccupation with weight, comfort eating, negative body image and eating disorders such as anorexia, bulimia, avoidant restrictive food intake and binge eating.

Eating disorders are characterised by disturbances to thoughts, behaviours and attitudes to food and eating. For many, this extends to excessive concerns about weight, body shape and appearance.  

 

Eating disorders are not only about food and weight, but also about coping with difficult situations and feelings or emotional pain. A focus on controlling food and weight gives the person a goal that takes them away from problems in life or within themselves, and being able to control food and weight provides them with a sense of control that serves as a coping mechanism for feeling overwhelmed and scared .

Since each individual experiences an eating disorder differently, symptoms vary from person to person. Symptoms also vary depending on the type of eating disorder, but some common symptoms include:

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• limiting the amount of food eaten

• eating very large quantities of food at once

• constantly thinking about food and eating

• feeling stressed, anxious or panicky

• eating alone or in secret

• purging, fasting and/or exercising excessively

• feeling out of control when eating

• restricting the kinds of food eaten

• feeling embarrassed, guilty or ashamed

• making list of 'good' and 'bad' foods

• feeling sad, depressed, lonely or isolated

• checking, testing and weighing body frequently
   

An eating disorder can change over time. It can begin with restriction and evolve into binge eating. Some people have features of all the eating disorders from one moment to the next.

 

Therapy for Eating Disorders

 

There are many different ways to treat eating disorders. The right one for you will depend on your type of eating disorder, level of physical and psychological risk, and your preferences. All treatment is tailored to your unique presentation and requirements in order to produce sustainable, positive outcomes.

Eating disorder therapy help you to identify the negative thoughts and feelings that are behind your disordered eating behaviours, and to modify and replace them with healthier and more realistic attitudes to food, weight and body image.

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The therapy also helps you to develop new and healthier ways to cope with difficult feelings and deal with life's challenges without resorting to disordered eating behaviours as a coping mechanism.

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Nutritional guidance is a further element of the therapy to support you to better meet your nutritional needs and improve your physical health. 

 

Eating disorder therapy also helps you to address the root causes of your problem. By understanding and working through the factors that contributed to the development of your eating disorder you can lead a healthier, more fulfilling life in which you no longer need your eating disorder to support you.