In the book,The Taming of the Chew by Denise Lamothe, Psy.D., H.H.D., Ms. Lamothe talks about compulsive eating disorders, anorexia, bulimia and the importance of taking a holistic approach to food and body image.
In the introduction, she uses the phrase, “This means to cultivate knowledge and understanding of compulsive eating from many perspectives – considering mind, body and spirit as well as societal factors.” Later on in the introduction she says, “To do this successfully it is essential to understand ourselves in this way. This means to truly know ourselves physically, mentally and spiritually and to understand the impact that societal messages have had on us.” page xix
Do you remember “Twiggy” the anorexic model? Young girls starved themselves to look like her, not considering that her body was like that of a 12 year old boy.
When did it become “in fashion” for women to look like 12 year old boys? What does it say about our society when we celebrate young women morphing themselves into an unrealistic body image? Early in the 1900s, women curves where celebrated and “sexy” was considered as having curves in all the right places and a little meat on the bones.
On the other side of the coin is the extreme morbid obesity that is becoming more the norm that in recent years. Television shows are made about 600 pound people and their struggles in society. They are put on reality shows that shadow the “fat lady” at the carnival and people staring at them and pointing.
Both of these conditions were almost none existent 70 years ago. So, what happened?
Someone tells a young person they are fat and makes fun of them, a form of bullying. The young person in some cases goes to the extreme and starves themselves or they turn to food to fill the void in their lives. They use food to manipulate family and friends to get the attention they are “craving”.
In reality, this is a form of addiction. It is just as difficult to deal with as a person addicted to heroine or cocaine. As a general approach, health care for these individuals is disjointed. An individual will go to their primary care doctor who might send them to a nutritionist if they are malnourish or overweight, if they are lucky. More often than not, the physician will give the individual medication. Medication to increase the appetite if they are malnourished or a diet pill if they are overweight. At some point, the physician may refer the individual to a mental health provider who may offer some form of behavioral, cognitive or insight-oriented therapy. Seldom do these providers collaborate with each other in a case conference to map out a plan of care for the client. Even more rarely do they refer the person to a spiritual provider to incorporate this area of need in the client’s life.
Hypnosis is used with success in treating these eating disorders, but only if the client really wants help.
Is one treatment better than another? Is there one treatment with high success rates that are lasting? Or is the holistic approach better?
In the next posting, we will look at compulsive eating, the impact it has on the chemicals in the brain, what causes cravings, what research findings are published, and approaches that are helpful.
My recommendations are if you have any of these disorders, please seek help from a health care provider. Even though the programs may be somewhat disjointed, they are better than continuing down the current path you are own.
In the next posting, we will investigate “Food Cravings”. We will discuss the role of insulin, cortisol, and serotonin in food cravings.