Anorexia/Eating Disorders/Can you please help me?

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Expert: Jeanne Rust, PhD - 1/22/2011


Question
Hi,
I have two questions for you. The first is would you consider this an eating disorder? I am 14 and  have hated almost everything about my body. I would consider myself to fat and I will do anything to change that. My friends say im not fat at all but I don't agree. I try to avoid food and when I do eat I feel miserably guilty afterwards. I am so scared ill get fatter than I already am. I would rather be dead then overweight. I have almost nothing positive to say about my body when I look in the mirror. I am willing to go to  extreme lengths to be thinner.

My second question is if you are anorexic, will your body gain back more weight than it originally had if you eat again? I have heard many people say that if you are anorexic and you eat again you will gain back all the weight and more. Is this true? If you eat healthy will you get fatter than you were originally?
Any help would be much appreciated.

Answer

Jeannie Rust, PhD
Dear Kat,

I'm so sorry that you're locked into this mindset of self-hatred.  This tells me that your eating problem is pretty serious.  What is your height and weight?  What do your parents say about this?  I'm worried about you.

Eating disorders are ways that people react as a way of coping with stress.  As long as you're focused on how much you hate your body, and what you're not going to eat, you don't have time or energy to think about what your underlying issues are.  What are the things that are really causing you stress.  Is it school?  Family problems?  Problems with friends?

It is not true that you'll weigh more than you were originally when you recover from anorexia.  The thing I advise people to do is to recover from the eating disorder, do a lot of therapy on your "underlying issues," the things that are causing the eating disorder and low self-esteem, then you can decide on what size you want to be.  You can be slim -- not overweight -- and not have to use an eating disorder to do that!

Let me know how I can help!

Warmly,
Jeanne Rust, PhD
CEO/Founder
Mirasol
www.mirasol.net
www.edrecovery.com
8888-520-1700

Jeanne Rust, PhD

Expertise

I have been treating eating disorders for over 25 years and I have a doctorate in clinical psychology. I am an expert in anorexia, bulimia and binge eating disorders and in co-occurring disorders as well -- depression, anxiety, obsessive compulsive disorder, etc. I was the official eating disorder therapist for the University of Arizona athletic department and love working with girls and women of all ages! 12 years ago I started my own treatment centers in Arizona where we treat adolescents and adults. I love working with people and have been helping people online since 1994. My hearts go out to the people out there who are unable to find help, who aren't sure whether they need help, and who don't have much of an understanding of the terrible consequences, emotionally and physically, that go hand in hand with the eating disorder. I view eating disorders as coping mechanisms that people use when they are under stress. I believe that eating disorders most times have many similarities whether it is anorexia, bulimia, or binge eating. The good news is that people can heal from an eating disorder and learn to create the lives they would like to live.

Experience

I have 25 years of experience in treating eating disorders of all kinds. I also do consultations for people who are starting treatment centers.

Education/Credentials
Northwestern University -- BA Masters in Counseling Doctorate in Clinical Psychology -- Saybrook institute

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