If you’re struggling with body image, self-esteem, and how you feel about yourself, you may have resorted to disordered eating behaviors that are symptomatic of anorexia nervosa. Anorexia nervosa is an eating disorder that’s characterized by disordered eating patterns that include calorie counting, restricted eating (not eating certain foods or food groups), skipping meals, and excessive exercise. Living with anorexia nervosa can lead to a number of negative mental and physical health effects including malnourishment, emotional dysregulation, organ disease and failure, and more. So, for people that are living with this type of eating disorder, it’s incredibly important to seek healing and unlearn destructive eating behaviors and the thought patterns that provoke them. But, many living with this eating disorder may wonder if treatment for anorexia is something that’s truly needed, or if healing from this eating disorder is something that can be done on their own.

Identifying Whether or Not You’re Living With Anorexia

A diagnosis of anorexia occurs when a person has an intense fear of gaining weight or being overweight. This fear can be so intense that people with anorexia may have a skewed sense of self-image. People who experience the symptomatic behaviors of anorexia, like restrictive eating, tend to be underweight. However, even though people with anorexia may be underweight, due to a skewed sense of self-image, they may continue with restrictive eating behaviors because they may not view themselves as underweight. Therefore, leading to malnourishment and a number of negative health symptoms. Because people with anorexia may believe they are ‘fat’ even though they are severely underweight, it can be challenging for them to change their perceptions, feelings, and behaviors. So, intervention and professional treatment are necessary in order to help lead these necessary changes.

Why Don’t People With Anorexia Accept Help?

If you think that you or a loved one may be living with anorexia, there may be some hesitance about getting help. There are a number of reasons why people living with eating disorders including anorexia nervosa may not be willing to get the professional help they need. Some of these reasons can include that people with anorexia nervosa think that they:

• don’t think their symptoms are serious enough
• aren’t willing to accept the fact that they need help
• don’t think they need treatment or therapy

It’s vital that people living with anorexia understand the dangers of this eating disorder. It’s the most deadly of all eating disorders, and not getting help can keep a person in the cycle of disordered eating thought patterns and behaviors long enough to develop lifelong and chronic illness as well as untreatable and irreversible damage to vital organs. Understanding these facts can help a person choose to get the help they need in order to start the healing process before it’s too late.

Getting Help With Outpatient Treatment at Yellowbrick

For more serious cases of anorexia, residential treatment may be necessary in order to begin the process of treatment. However, outpatient treatment and therapy are helpful for people who have completed a residential course of treatment and need additional, prolonged care.

Yellowbrick offers outpatient treatment services for people living with eating disorders, including anorexia nervosa. We provide therapeutic outlets including individualized and group therapy sessions to help provide a supportive environment and encourage lasting, healthy eating behaviors. Find out more about how we help people living with eating disorders through our Soma Self/Eating Disorder Program on our website today.