Call 888-647-0579 to speak with an alcohol or drug abuse counselor.

Who Answers?

An Overview of Anorexia Treatments

The Dangers of Anorexia

Anorexia is an eating disorder that can result in a person losing vital nutrients they need for good health, and in a person losing bone mass. People who suffer from anorexia commonly have a distorted body image of their self, and frequently will not consume a healthy amount of food, if any.

According to the National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders, anorexia is characterized by a relentless strive for thinness and the unwillingness to maintain a normal or healthy weight, as well as a distortion of body image and fear of putting on weight, and disturbed eating behavior. In addition, a lack of menstruation is common.

People with anorexia will lose, or attempt to lose, weight in different ways. Some people excessively exercise and diet, while others will eat and then make themselves throw up the food, or they will misuse laxatives. Anorexia is a difficult disorder for any person to live with, and it can cause a person a great deal of pain and health concerns if they do receive help for their disorder.

Anorexia Treatments

Therapy is a main component of treatment for anorexia, and group therapy can be a great help.

According to the National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders, cognitive behavioral therapies and psychodynamic therapies are the most common used treatments of anorexia. Since there is not one definitive form of therapy that is recommended for eating disorders, often a therapist will evaluate where the patient is and then decide on the best therapy approach to take.

Depending on the level of treatment needed, a person with anorexia may need to be hospitalized if they have deprived their self of food for too long. There is also inpatient treatment programs and outpatient treatment programs available to help a person recover from their disorder and to help them learn to begin eating healthy again. In treatment programs, therapy is the main source of treatment.

There are different types of therapy available to help people overcome anorexia, and each individual will need a therapy that caters to their individualized needs. If a person attends an inpatient program they will reside at the program and receive 24/7 care and will engage in therapy sessions extremely frequently. At an outpatient program a person will attend therapy meetings on particular days and times that fit around their schedule, so that they can still keep their daily responsibilities while receiving treatment. In addition to therapy, through anorexia treatment programs, a person will also have a nutritionist to help them learn healthy ways of eating again.

More Treatment & Detox Articles

Frightening rise in binge drinking among California teens

Debbie Allen felt sick when she heard about the death of 15-year-old Sarah Botill after a night of drinking Dec. 5 at a weekend sleepover in Gilroy. Her daughter, Shelby Lyn, died under eerily similar circumstances Dec. 19 last year in Redding. Like Sarah, Shelby Lyn Allen, 17, was drinking with two friends late at….

Drinkers Warned About Risk Of ‘Shakes’

People who consume three alcoholic drinks every day double their risk of getting the “shakes” in later life, researchers have found. Essential tremor, a common neurological disorder, affects an estimated 650,000 people in the UK. Although there are a number of factors which can cause the condition including an overactive thyroid and Parkinson’s disease, alcoholics….

How Treatment Centers Help You Overcome Alcohol Withdrawal Syndrome Safely

Once a person’s body becomes accustomed to large amounts of alcohol on a daily basis, the brain and body cannot function normally without alcohol in the system. This condition can develop in matter of weeks in cases of frequent binge drinking or when consuming large quantities on a daily basis. Under these conditions, cutting back….

Minneapolis lawmaker wants to legalize teen drinking in some situations

The hazards of binge drinking have been well documented, both for those of legal drinking age and those under 21. The problem, as State Representative Phyllis Kahn sees it, is that young people never learn first-hand how to drink responsibly. The veteran Minneapolis Democrat’s solution would be to legalize teen drinking in certain circumstances, in….

Commitment intended to break alcohol cycle

The Salvation Army’s Clitheroe Center is gearing up to accept alcoholics involuntarily committed to a new detoxification program, becoming the only rehabilitation facility currently in town that will hold patients for a month or more to force them to sober up. The scheduled opening this month comes on the heels of a spate of homeless….