Our therapists offer eating disorder therapy in Fort Worth, TX

Far from a picky phase, eating disorders are potentially deadly illnesses. They can rob an individual of their mental and physical health. They can even steal a person’s life. They are also an illness that has treatments.

There are no quick-fixes or easy solutions, but many people are finding holistic healing that their mind and body need. That is Thriveworks Counseling in Fort Worth, TX provides therapy for eating disorders. Call our office at (682) 223-4725 to schedule today.

Eating Disorders: Signs and Symptoms

The symptoms of anorexia include:

• Restricting food intake so that a substantially lower body weight is achieved (in comparison to normal standards for an individual’s developmental trajectory, sex, age, and physical health).
• Despising one’s body shape or weight.
• Experiencing terror at the thought of putting on weight.
• Perceiving one’s body shape and weight inaccurately—seeing oneself as larger and heavier than one is in reality.
• Interfering with healthy weight maintenance or gain.
• A host of negative health effects often accompanying eating disorders. Anorexia may cause abnormal heartbeat, risk of heart failure and disease, infertility, disruptions in the menstrual cycle, kidney damage, premature osteoporosis, low white blood cell counts, disruptions in the endocrine system, low heart rate, low blood pressure, anemia, and ultimately death.

The symptoms of bulimia include:

• Iterative incidents of binge eating defined by:
• Lost control over how much food and drink are consumed.
• Ingesting more food in a specific time period than others could eat in the same period and in the same circumstances.
• A self-perception that overly emphasizes body weight and shape while downplaying the importance of other identifying characteristics such as intellect, emotional intelligence, personality, and more.
• Attempting to offset the eating binge through actions such as overusing/misusing laxatives and diuretics, forced vomiting, extreme fasting, extreme exercising.
• Bulimia can cause ulcers, constipation, electrolyte imbalance, gastric rupture, tooth decay, gastroesophageal reflux disease, kidney damage, and heart failure.

Eating Disorders: Causes

What causes an eating disorder and how it develops is often a unique process for each individual. The details are very personal, but there are general patterns. In fact, mental health professionals often speak about two categories of causes for eating disorders:

1. Environmental causes: family or childhood trauma; culture fixated upon certain body types, thinness, and narrow ideals of beauty; and peer pressure.
2. Biological causes: nutritional deficiencies, irregular hormone functions, and genetics.

Appointments at Thriveworks Counseling in Fort Worth for Eating Disorders

If you or a loved one is struggling with an eating disorder, know that help is available. Eating disorders are the most deadly psychological disorder, but treatments are available.

Reach out to Thriveworks in Fort Worth to schedule your appointment at (682) 223-4725 today.