Eating Disorders

They are high-profile problems, often in the news, linked to celebrities. Yet most of us have little real understanding of anorexia and bulimia, which remain notoriously difficult to treat. Perhaps this is because eating disorders are on one level about food – refusing food, bingeing on food, “purging” food – yet they can also involve complex emotional and psychological problems.

In anorexia nervosa, people (mostly young women) starve themselves, sometimes to the point of death. Anorexics often become skeleton-thin, yet they don’t see themselves that way. Emotionally they may become irritable, isolated, depressed – even suicidal. Excessive exercising is sometimes a part of the picture, coupled with loss of sleep.

With extreme weight loss also come the unpleasant symptoms of malnutrition and dehydration. As body fat is lost and muscle protein broken down to provide energy; women’s periods will stop, teeth will decay or be lost, the blood will lose important minerals, there will be increased risk of osteoporosis in later life – and there may also be inflammation and even rupture of the stomach and oesophagus.

In bulimia nervosa (which is more common than anorexia and often follows it), binge eating is followed by self-induced vomiting, periods of starvation and/or purging with laxatives. People with bulimia – mostly women, and generally of an older age group than anorexics – also go through emotional extremes, often feeling out of control, helpless and lonely.

Because self-induced vomiting is a source of shame, people with bulimia are often devious and deceptive about their problem, going to the bathroom after meals to “get rid” secretly of what they’ve eaten. Habitual vomiting can also erode tooth enamel and cause sore throats, while menstrual disorders may follow and again the risk of osteoporosis is increased.

So what leads (mostly) women to such desperate measures? Some authorities believe that anorexia and bulimia may be ways of avoiding other, more painful emotional problems, or of coping with long-buried stresses. Their figures show that a third of anorexics and bulimics who seek therapy have been sexually abused.

Alternatively, it may be a way of exerting control, especially tempting to a women who may feel that their bodies are about the only thing in life they can control. People with eating disorders commonly see “control” over eating as the answer to other problems – until anorexia or bulimia begins to make them so ill that the condition becomes the number one concern.

These problems are not helped by the fashion industry’s promotion of unnaturally thin models. The pressure an already stressed person feels to strive for this public image of beauty may be the trigger that starts the illness.

Another theory is that some eating disorders have a straightforward physiological origin, beginning with food allergy which results in food “addiction”.

Only in the last 20 years have anorexia and bulimia been recognized by the medical profession as “diseases”. People with anorexia and bulimia can and do get better – especially when the disorder is recognized early and treated.

The Orthodox Approach

Orthodox treatments try to address the emotional and psychological issues as well as the question of body weight. They usually include some form of counselling (such as psychotherapy, or group or family therapy) together with weight monitoring and advice on diet. There may also be treatment with drugs. Cognitive behaviour therapy has been found to be especially effective for people with bulimia.

The Hale Approach

Once a counsellor trained in eating disorders has been found, through either your physician or the Hale Clinic, orthodox treatment should be necessary only on the advice of the counsellor.

Anorexia and bulimia can benefit both from treatments which are orientated towards the physical body and from therapies such as hypnosis and psychology which are focussed on the mental state. Each case is individual to that particular person, but in general terms the Hale Clinic approach would be to focus on strengthening the physical body. This could be achieved by seeing a nutrition specialist and an acupuncturist or homeopath to build up the constitution in general.

At the same time we would advise a course of psychology or hypnosis to deal with the emotional background which allowed the illness to take hold in the first place.

Naturopathy and Nutrition

Bioenergetics

Toxicity is a causative factor in food cravings. High consumption of refined sugar and exposure to chemicals, petrochemicals and pollution stresses the intricate function of the endocrine system. The resulting subtle imbalances and malabsorption of vitamins, minerals, and amino acids cause food cravings and cellulite. By supporting and detoxifying the system, we can restore a healthy balance. Bioenergetic testing combined with homeopathic treatment creates a dynamic and supportive solution to this increasing problem.

Psychotherapy and Counselling

Treatment focuses on identifying the origins of the problem and how this has led to anorexia or bulimia. Counselling pinpoints negative thinking patterns about weight and shape, which may be keeping the whole process going. Attention is also paid to basic eating patterns.

A crucial element of treatment is the development of problem-solving skills, because the eating disorder is often a smoke screen for other problems which seem insurmountable. Losing and then regaining control of an eating pattern becomes an important way for people to hold on to the illusion of being in control of their lives. But repeated “failures” simply reinforce the desire to try even harder to achieve unrealistic goals in order to boost ourselves up again.

Because these problems are so closely associated with our self-image, treatment can take from four months to two years, and follow-up appointments may be needed to prevent relapses.

Colonic Hydrotherapy

Eating disorders can – among other things – put your entire digestive system in turmoil and colonic irrigation can help to return it to health.  Colonics can encourage healthy bacteria soothing bowel inflammation, detoxifying the system and helping with rehydration. However, given the link between eating disorders and “purging” behaviours, it is important to approach this therapy with care.  It is suitable for people who are in recovery from eating disorders, which may have lasted many years.

Acupuncture and Chinese medicine

In Chinese medicine, practically everything about the way we live – and the way we have lived since babyhood – is seen as having an influence on our health. So when it comes to treating eating disorders, practitioners look at the broader picture of our day-to-day existence.

The organs of the body co-operate in complex ways, with implications for our emotions.  The different organs help each other like a company: the kidney should help the liver, the liver should help the heart and so on. Strong, lasting emotions (especially anger) can disturb the liver, but when the body is strong it can control the emotions properly. If the body is weak, however – perhaps because it has had too much cold for many years – it cannot do this.

If you have too much stress in your life (maybe from work or a relationship) this affects your liver, which then produces too much ‘fire’ in your system. This in turn affects stomach function so that food is burned too quickly – and therefore you feel hungry all the time. The spleen works to transport this food in the body, but if by overeating you put too much stress on the spleen (which has many functions) your stomach will feel bloated and you will feel tired and heavy.

Hypnotherapy

Both bulimia and obesity are closely linked to the binge/purge mentality. It is therefore important to develop strategies to intervene and disrupt the existing behavioural patterns, to enable the patient to realize that he or she has the ability to change. Hypnosis is a powerful tool which can facilitate these strategies for change.

Anorexia is distinct from bulimia or obesity and can often be traced to family dysfunction. Using family therapy to get members to change their behaviour can bring swift benefits for the patient.

Supportive Treatments

Maya Abdominal Massage

A non-invasive massage technique that specialises in treating gynaecological and digestive conditions. It improves organ function by relieving congestion, enhancing blood supply; increasing lymphatic drainage and aiding nerve supply to the pelvic and reproductive organs.

Chi Kung/T’ai Chi

These traditional Chinese health exercises are especially beneficial for those of us who feel stressed and depressed by the rollercoaster of eating disorders. The exercises can help us to centre ourselves, calming the mind and emotions. And as chi (intrinsic) energy circulates, it energizes the internal organs, leaving us revitalized and refreshed. The “Open and Closed” Chi Kung exercises (which can be learned in two or three lessons and then practiced at home) are particularly recommended: they are to do with digestion and can help to restore balance within mind and body. Physical balance and breathing in harmony with the exercises are very important parts of this self-help practice.

Yoga

Yoga as therapy can help people with eating disorders by focusing their awareness on their own bodies, making them aware of their physical needs and relaxing the anxiety which can upset eating patterns. Yoga also aids digestion, redirects the energies and strengthens and calms both mind and body. Above all, it gives us back a sense of control over ourselves, empowering us to make changes.

Energy Healing

Healers are sometimes able to relieve conditions which orthodox medicine has difficulty in treating. By channelling a higher source of energy to realign and correct a patient’s electro-magnetic field (aura), healing can help to eliminate the kind of negative emotions which are often at the root of eating disorders, empowering the patient to regain control of her health.

Metamorphic technique - depending on a patient’s condition and unique Life Force, ‘The Metamorphic Technique’ may be used to shift any blocks and regulate the energy balance of the body.
Debilitating patterns and other blocks are gently loosened up through a light touch on spinal reflex points.

Homeopathy

Homeopathy would aim to treat the underlying problem causing eating disorders, possibly working in conjunction with a psychotherapist. Constitutional treatment based on the individual case is most appropriate with anorexia, but specific remedies to counteract the “bingeing” aspect of bulimia may be recommended:

If the patient puts on weight on the buttocks and thighs, and responds badly to expressions of concern – Natrum mur.

If the patient is overweight, shy and anxious – Calcarea.