Eating Disorders: Signs, Symptoms and Rehab Treatment

Eating disorders such as bulimia nervosa, anorexia nervosa, binge eating are life-threatening illnesses. These conditions can become worse, or even be fatal, if an eating disorder is ignored and left untreated for a long time. If you or a loved one has an eating disorder of any sort, we can help you.

We have helped hundreds of clients overcome their eating disorder and achieve a permanent healthy lifestyle. Our eating disorder rehab treatment also includes relapse prevention further strengthened with 1yr free aftercare support.

Call Primrose Lodge today on 0203 553 9263 to speak to one of our specialists about your eating disorder.

Our Eating Disorder Clinic

At Primrose Lodge, we are an experienced team of specialists with the resources and facilities to help you overcome your eating disorder safely and effectively. Our comfortable and welcoming clinic is easily accessible from all parts of the UK. We care for eating disorder patients by first carefully accessing the condition, after which we can tailor the most appropriate course of treatment to suit the patient’s needs.

We can provide you an inpatient or outpatient treatment programme to guide you safely towards recovery. We are staffed by competent and compassionate professionals who will be there to keep you healthy, comfortable, and safe at all times. Get in touch with us today to book an appointment

What are Eating Disorders?

Eating disorders can be described as illnesses that cause severe disturbances in a person’s eating behaviours, thoughts and emotions. Most eating disorders cause patients to become preoccupied with their weight and food.

There are generally three acknowledged eating disorders, namely bulimia nervosa, anorexia nervosa, and binge eating disorder. Individuals with bulimia nervosa and anorexia nervosa are typically perfectionists who suffer from low self-esteem and become critical if they are perceived as fat. These individuals will “feel fat” and believe they are overweight even if they are not.

This mindset can lead to life-threatening malnutrition or starvation as their fear of weight gain becomes all-pervasive. Another characteristic of people with eating disorders is that they typically deny they have a problem, especially in the early stages of the illness.

What Causes Eating Disorders?

Various factors can contribute to the development of an eating disorder. The cause may be biological in nature, or even environmental or psychological, or be a combination of all three.

Generally, the following can lead to, or contribute to, the rise of an eating disorder:

• Difficulty handling stress or anxiety
• Eating problems from early childhood or infancy
• Having a negative self-image or body image
• Having the wrong ideas concerning beauty and health
• Susceptibility to depression and anxiety
• Being overly worried about weight and body shape
• Physical, sexual, or emotional abuse
• Family or other relationship problems
• Being bullied
• Fear of failure or pressure to succeed

Environmental factors, such as the fashion industry and media’s portrayal of how being thin is beautiful, can also negatively impact an individual’s perception of food. Treatment for Eating Disorders in our clinic will take into consideration all pertinent factors and help you change how you perceive your body and food.

Signs & Symptoms

The earlier you become aware of an eating disorder, the sooner you can get help and avoid any lasting damage to your health. There are a number of warning signs that can alert you to the presence of an eating disorder. Physical symptoms may include:

• Development of brittle bones (Osteoporosis)
• Absence of menstruation (in females)
• Brittle nails
• Dehydration
• Dizziness or fainting
• Dry skin
• Extreme weight loss and thin appearance
• Fatigue
• Intolerance of cold
• Irregular heart rhythm
• Seizures
• Thinning hair
• Low blood pressure

There can also be behavioural symptoms such as:

• Preoccupation with dieting
• Denial of hunger, even when starving
• Developing negative eating habits, such as spitting food out after chewing
• Difficulty concentrating
• Eating only a few certain foods considered safe, usually those low in fat and calories
• Excessive exercise
• Making excuses for not eating
• Obsession with body size and shape
• Refusal to eat
• Skipping meals
• Weighing food
• Repeated weighing of themselves
• Frequent checking in the mirror for perceived flaws

If you or a loved one are exhibiting two or more of the above symptoms, please call us immediately for professional assistance.

How do We Treat Eating Disorders?

The best approach to treating an eating disorder will depend on the unique needs of each patient and a variety of other factors. To make sure you get the best possible treatment, you will first undergo our evaluation process. The results of the evaluation will be used to personalise treatment to best suit your needs.

Generally, our eating disorder treatment uses psychotherapy, medication, family therapy, and nutrition counselling. The goal of the treatment plan developed for you will be to achieve the following:

• Restore you to a healthy body weight
• Address distorted thinking
• Treat emotional problems such as low self-esteem
• Help you make behavioural changes that will help you achieve lasting recovery

For the best results, treatment may be long term, especially because there is the possibility of a relapse

16 – 18 Treatment

If you have a loved one between the ages of 16 and 18 with an eating disorder, our sister centre in Banbury Lodge in Oxfordshire can be of assistance. Treating an eating disorder such as bulimia or anorexia isn’t the same for adults and teenagers, because of the developmental problems that may occur in younger individuals. Our sister centre in Banbury has the necessary resources and expertise to help your teenager retake control of his/her life, recover from an eating disorder, and stay healthy long term.

Contact us today so we can help arrange the admission of your loved one.

Eating Disorders Post Treatment Support

After you are discharged from our facility, you can take advantage of our post-treatment support through aftercare services. This will help you stay focused on living a healthy lifestyle and preventing relapse. Our follow-up care and continued support guarantees that the positive effects of your treatment are not short lived. Our support system will also help you overcome any stressors or triggers that might cause you to relapse into negative eating behaviours again.

In Summary

If you or a loved one suffer from an eating disorder, we can help. Call our confidential helpline today by dialling 0203 553 9263 to get started on the safe and effective path to recovery.