Basic info
Eating disorders are an increasingly prominent feature of our society. The term includes: anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, and the compulsive overeating disorder. All three can lead to permanent health damage, with anorexia and bulimia being potentially lethal. It is a popular misconception that eating disorders are simply distorted eating patterns or extreme dieting. In fact, they are a disease related to a number of complex issues and are, in my belief, always symptoms of a deeper underlying pain or struggle.
Eating disorders can affect anyone. Race, religion, age or gender do not make anyone immune. Professional women, mothers of families, men or boys who are well-liked by their peers and popular among girls - all can suffer from an eating disorder, often unknown to their closest environment.
It is estimated that 70 million people around the world suffer from eating disorders. Many individuals do not have a full-blown eating disorder, but their suffering and the damage to the body may be no less.
Fortunately, there is a lot of support available for both the sufferers and their loved ones.
Treatment news
If you or someone you know are in need of help, please check out the Maudsley Method, known also as the Maudsley Approach.
It is an in-home treatment with a 90% recovery rate, and is known to have successfully helped patients with a history of on or more hospitalizations. It was developed in England, but is now spreading around the world. In the USA, there are, according to my knowledge, two groups of researchers who practice Madlsley Method as well as work on developing and adapting it, and on spreading the understanding of it. One is headed by Daniel Le Grange and James Lock, the other by Marcia Herrin, who works in conjuction with a hypnotherapist and a physician.
While the tratement was developed originally for adolescents with anorexia, I know that Dr. Herrin treats successfully also bulimic patients and patients of any age. In one case, an independent and professionally working women took a vacation back at her parents' home to receive the treatment.
If you are in Europe and in need of assistance, please check Mira M. Czarnawska's practice. Mira is currently in the process of incorporating this new approach into her therapy work.
In my own words, the Maudsley Method harnesses the healing power of family. The treatment shifts the focus from looking for blame and concentrating on shortcomings, to seeing to disorder as an objective illness (that no one is to blame for) and the parents as responsible for taking care of their sick child. This simplicity carries a powerful message to both the paretns and the patient: to the paretents, that they are capable of helping and do not need to feel guilty, and to the child, that they are loved and cared for very deeply, and that their parents will not let them perish nor hurt themselves. Thus, at the essence of the approach there is a deep respect for all the individuals concerned.
The family is of course closely assisted in the healing process, and parents are coached by a skilled therapist about how to be non-judgmental but steadfast, all in a family setting.
