Eating Disorders are a serious mental health condition affecting around 16% of Australians during their lifetime. These include anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, binge eating disorder, avoidant restrictive food intake disorder (ARFID) and other specified feeding or eating disorder (OSFED).
Effects include being concerned/dissatisfied with your appearance, fear of weight gain, body dysmorphia, secretiveness around food, anxiety, guilt, shame, feeling not in control, compulsive and disinhibited, a preoccupation with food and weight, punishing yourself and inventing rules around food consumption.
“Counting calories is not the answer, because eating is not the problem.”
Psychotherapy for eating disorders will equip you with tools to loosen the hold of the condition. Cognitive Behavioural Therapy For Eating Disorders (CBT-E) can help unbox your history of disordered eating before we identify the triggers and change the core beliefs you have developed in relation to yourself and your body. By gaining an understanding of what mechanisms are in in place, you will feel empowered to loosen the grip of the distorted behaviour and respond in healthy ways to life’s adversities and stressors. This involves creating a detailed eating disorder plan.