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Anorexia/Eating Disorders/Eating Disorder diagnosis / admission criteria

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Expert: Jeanne Rust, PhD - 2/21/2011


Question
I have been secretly battling with disordered eating for almost over a decade. Seemingly no one really notices from the outside, but I have really gotten to the stage where I have just had enough, but my life is just ruled by food and exercise and then feeling guilty when I try to take control.

I feel that I should enter an inpatient facility for recovery, but seemingly here in Australia you have to be a walking skeleton to even be treated like you has a problem.

I am 163cm tall, currently weigh 41.5kg - 42.5 kilos and sadly have to admit I can binge and purge up to 3 times a day on a bad day. I don't want to have the humiliation of being too fat to be an inpatient or having to admit i have bulimia.

A week or so ago I was down to 40.4kg and felt quite weak and lethargic and actually went to see my GP as I had been ill with a viral illness and he said I was in good shape for someone who had a baby a year ago?

I rate the Australian health system, but I am afraid there are otehrs like me who want to get help but feel that they are too fat for care, even be it outpatient care.

What's your opinion and what steps might be sensible to take?

Answer

Jeanne Rust, PhD
Dear Salaire,

I am so glad that you wrote!  Did you know that half of the patients at most treatment centers are normal weight bulimics?  Given your height and weight, you are anorexic and bulimic, I'm sorry to say.

When someone who is your height starts weighing below 43 kgs, a person's thinking is not as clearly as when you weigh more.  This is what comes to mind when I hear that you think you're maybe too fat to go to treatment.  The more weight you lose, the more cognitive ability you'll lose!  This is the scary part of anorexia and bulimia.  I have seen girls in treatment programs that are 31 kgs, moving their little arms up and down because they think they're fat.  It's so sad to see.  You are at the place where you are just in time for treatment before you get worse!

A person's body works like a little stove -- food goes in (the fuel) and energy comes out.  If your little stove doesn't get enough fuel, the body will literally feed off of itself.  It will feed off of your muscle mass, the major organs in the body including your heart and your brain.  This is why most anorexics die of heart attacks.  I don't want to scare you but I want you to be aware of what's going on.

The steps you need to take right now are to see if you can find a doctor that knows something about eating disorders!  A treatment center could give you a referral.  You can also find a psychotherapist who specializes in eating disorders.  Let me know if you need any help and let me know what happens.

Remember the good news with an eating disorder is that you can become completely well.  I'm a recovered anorexic/bulimic and I remember the feelings quite well - the despair and feeling like you've just had enough!

Warmly,
Jeanne Rust, PhD
CEO/Founder
Mirasol, Inc.
www.mirasol.net
www.edrecovery.com
1-888-520-1700  

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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