How Online Therapy Can Help You with
Your Eating Disorder
No matter
whether you are a dancer or teacher, farmer or businessman, stress
and anxiety can wreak havoc on your body. In some people it can cause
anxiety disorders like obsessive compulsive disorder or generalized anxiety
disorder while in others it may present itself as depression or bipolar
disorder. However, in many people, especially dancers, anxiety can lead to an
eating disorder. There are several types of eating disorders such as bulimia
nervosa, anorexia nervosa, and binge eating disorder.
Anorexia
Is
characterized by someone who is not
eating enough to sustain their health. They will be extremely underweight
but see themselves as being fat. Even to the point of their bones and ribs
sticking out. When they look in the mirror, they see something different than
the rest of us.
Binge Eating
Secretly
eating a bunch of food in one sitting, sometimes even up to 5,000 calories, and
then feeling
guilty afterward is a red flag of binge eating. They will try to hide how
much they ate and say they are never going to do it again, but then they do it
again. Those with binge eating disorder are usually overweight or obese and can
end up with diabetes, hypertension, high cholesterol, and heart disorders.
Bulimia
Bulimia is
similar to binge eating but the person will make themselves vomit
or take laxatives to purge the large amount of foods they eat. This is just
as dangerous as anorexia as their body still does not get the nutrients from
the food. Their teeth will lose enamel, they may have ulcers, and it can also
cause damage to the heart.
According to
the National Eating Disorder Foundation, approximately 10 million women and 1
million men have eating disorders. Although anyone can suffer from an eating
disorder, it is most
common in certain people such as:
·
Women
·
Family
history of an eating disorder or other mental health condition
·
Those
with low self esteem
·
Previous
diagnosis of anxiety or depressive disorder
·
Having
a major life change like divorce or loss of a loved one
·
Living
with people (family or roommates) who are pressured to be thin (such as
dancers)
·
Anyone
who was called fat or overweight as a child
·
Victims
of sexual, physical, verbal, or mental abuse
·
Those
who feel their life is out of control
Although
being a dancer means that you need to stay in top physical shape, it does not
mean that you need to starve yourself to do it. In fact, if your body does not get
enough nutrients, you will not be able to dance. You will get
sick; your bones will become brittle, you will constantly feel exhausted,
you may have heart or kidney problems, and you can end up with life-threatening
anemia or other blood disorders. This can suck the motivation
right out of you and you will not be able to do anything, let alone dancing.
Without motivation, you may not even want to get out of bed. That is not going
to get you anywhere.
If you or
someone you love has symptoms of any type of eating disorder, contact a
professional right away. Online
therapy is very effective in treating eating disorders. In fact, studies
show that online therapy is just as good, if not better, than traditional face
to face therapy. And one of the best benefits of being able to talk
to your therapist online is that you do not need an appointment so you can
do it whenever you want. 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. In addition, you do not
have to leave the house to talk to your therapist. In fact, you can do it right
from your own couch, easy chair, or even from bed.
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