Treatment for eating disorders

Treatment for eating disorders using holistic approaches appeared to be more effective and safer than the prescriptions of traditional anti-depression, appetite suppression, or stimulating drugs. Eating disorders are increasing day by day. With the widespread internet penetration and promotion of unrealistic body goals on social media, it seems this dangerous condition will see no decrease in the near future. In the US alone, about 30 million people across all genders and ages suffer from this condition. It can affect both men and women but is more prevalent among women. It’s not a lifestyle choice but a complex problem that arises due to a combination of factors, such as emotional, mental, and environmental.

Treatment for eating disorders can be very challenging. However, many people are now resorting to a holistic and alternative approach to treating eating disorders, like homeopathy, acupuncture, and hypnosis. They can provide effective remedies while preventing adverse effects.

Eating Disorders Definition and Eating Disorders Treatment

Treatment for eating disorders is not simple, and unfortunately, modern medicine has no proof of significant success. People with eating disorders experience severe disturbances in their eating behavior and related emotions and thoughts. They deteriorate your health and can affect various aspects of your life. Some common eating disorders include avoidant-restrictive food intake disorder (ARFID), bulimia nervosa, and anorexia.

People with eating disorders concentrate too much on food, body shape, and weight, which leads to severe consequences. This condition severely deteriorates your body’s ability to receive adequate nutrition. They can cause severe damage to your mouth, teeth, bones, digestive system, and heart, leading to other illnesses.

Eating disorders can develop at any age, but they generally manifest during the teenage and young adult years. It can affect both genders but is predominantly prevalent among young women. With effective eating disorder treatment, you can not only eliminate the disorder but even reverse severe complications of the illness.

What causes eating disorders?

Till now, the exact cause of eating disorders has not been ascertained. It’s not a single factor but a combination of various factors that can lead to eating disorders, which include:

• Emotional and psychological health: People experiencing eating disorders generally exhibit emotional and psychological problems that lead to the disorder. They can suffer from low self-esteem, troubled relationships, impulsive behavior, and perfectionism.
• Biology and genetics: Some people possess genes that increase their chances of developing eating disorders. Biological aspects, like changes in brain chemicals, can also contribute to eating disorders.

For effective treatment of eating disorders, all factors must be targeted.

Common Eating Disorders

There are various eating disorders. However, here are some of the most common types:

Bulimia Nervosa: Treatment for bulimia

Generally referred to as bulimia, this eating disorder is dangerous and can be life-threatening. If you’re suffering from bulimia, you’ll have no control over your eating and will indulge in binge episodes and purging. Many bulimia patients limit their eating during the day, which adversely leads to increased binge eating and purging.

When you experience a binge eating episode, you consume massive amounts of food in a short time and then try to purge out the extra calories. Due to shame, guilt, and fear of weight gain from overeating, you may indulge in excessive exercise, force vomiting, or use other methods like using a laxative to empty the calories.

If you’re suffering from bulimia, even if you’re at an average weight, you’ll focus too much on your weight and body shape and suffer from low self-esteem due to your self-perceived imperfections. Treatment for bulimia requires a holistic approach.

Anorexia Nervosa and treatment for anorexia

Commonly known as anorexia, it’s one of the most common eating disorders. It can be life-threatening, and if you’re suffering from anorexia, you’ll have severely low body weight, an unhealthy perception of weight and body shape, and an extreme fear of gaining weight. Anorexia sufferers employ extreme methods to control their shape and weight, which severely deteriorates their health and interferes with every aspect of their lives.

If you are suffering from anorexia, you’ll use excessive methods to limit your calorie intake and employ other methods like laxatives, diet aids, intense exercise, or vomiting after eating. Generally, anorexia patients, even when underweight, try to severely reduce their weight, which leads to serious health consequences, even deadly starvation.

Treatment for anorexia is complicated and needs a thorough examination of the patient. Alternative treatments like acupuncture, hypnosis, and homeopathy can provide an effective treatment for anorexia.

Avoidant Restrictive Food Intake Disorder (ARFID): ARFID eating Disorder: ARFID Treatment

ARFID eating disorder occurs when you don’t get adequate nutrition and have minimal interest in eating food. When you have this eating disorder, you avoid foods with particular characteristics such as taste, smell, color, or texture. Additionally, you’re also paranoid about the consequences of eating, such as fear of choking. With an ARFID eating disorder, you’re not afraid of gaining weight.

This eating disorder can lead to severe weight loss or an inability to maintain a healthy weight in childhood, along with nutritional deficiencies that can lead to serious health problems. ARFID treatments require a holistic and comprehensive approach.

If you’re suffering from this eating disorder and want an effective treatment for ARFID, alternative medicine like homeopathy, acupuncture, and hypnosis may prove beneficial.

Eating Disorder Complications

Complications of Eating disorders can lead to severe consequences, with many of them being life-threatening. The longer you suffer from eating disorders, the more serious the consequences.

Some of the Eating Disorder Complications Include

• Severe health issues
• Problems at school and work
• Relationships and social problems
• Development and growth problems
• Anxiety and depression
• Suicidal thoughts
• Substance use disorders
• In severe cases, it can also lead to death

Eating Disorder Risk factors

In comparison to young boys and men, eating disorders predominantly arise among young girls and women. However, males can also suffer from eating disorders. They can affect various age groups but primarily manifest during teenage years and early ’20s

Certain risk factors for eating disorders can also increase your chances of developing them, such as:

• Stress: Whether looking for a new job, moving to college, or dealing with a relationship or family problem, stress can affect anyone. People suffering from excessive stress may resort to abnormal eating behaviors to deal with their problems.
• Dieting and starvation: People indulging in dieting may possess a higher risk of eating disorders. Starvation can cause mood changes, overthinking, and appetite loss. There is extensive research proof that eating disorder symptoms are starvation symptoms.
• Mental Disorders: People suffering from mental health disorders such as OCD, depression, and anxiety disorder also possess a higher risk of eating disorders.
• Family history: If anyone in your family experiences an eating disorder, there’s a high chance you’ll develop one as well.

Alternative Treatments for Eating Disorders

Alternative treatments like homeopathy, hypnosis, and acupuncture provide holistic and practical eating disorder treatment.

Homeopathy: Effective Eating Disorders Treatment

Homeopathic remedies for eating disorders can be very effective without the side effects that allopathic medicines often bring. An eating disorder is a complicated problem, and effective treatment depends on getting to the core of the issue. This is where homeopathy excels. Before treatment, a comprehensive evaluation of the patient’s medical history and current symptoms is conducted. Then, homeopathic remedies for eating disorders are personalized to target the root of the problem. This makes it possible to find a long-term solution. Homeopathy can not only eliminate a current eating disorder but also prevent it from reoccurring.

There are various homeopathic remedies for eating disorders, some of which include:

• Ignatia: If your eating disorder is characterized by an obsession with perfection or a fear of rejection and gaining weight, this homeopathic remedy can prove to be very beneficial. Along with your eating disorder, you may also suffer from hysteria.
• Natrum Mur: This is a very effective homeopathic remedy for anorexia. Along with the eating disorder, you may also experience fear of rejection and being too self-conscious. Dry lips, a loose appetite, constipation, and dry skin can also characterize it.
• Arsenicum Album: If you have anorexia along with a fear of being poisoned, this homeopathic remedy can be very useful. You may also be very conscious of germs and dirt.
• Hyoscyamus: If you’re suffering from anorexia along with insanity, fear of getting poisoned, and mania, this is a very effective homeopathic remedy. You’ll also experience extreme concern about gaining weight and getting fat.

Homeopathic remedies for eating disorders have no known side effects, and the results can often be very promising. Furthermore, they can be combined with other alternative medicines to increase their effectiveness.

Acupuncture for Eating Disorders: The Most Popular Treatment for Eating Disorders

Acupuncture for eating disorders is also a viable and effective solution. Complications from eating disorders compromise various body systems, including the endocrine, gastrointestinal, and cardiac systems. As a result, you can suffer from various problems, such as infertility or headaches. Depending on your eating disorder, you can also experience acid reflux, irritable bowel syndrome, abdominal discomfort, diarrhea, constipation, nausea, and abdominal bloating.

Acupuncture for eating disorders has been shown to effectively deal with the above problems, reducing discomfort and encouraging the recovery process until your body can function optimally. Chinese medicine believes all these complications occur due to damage to your organs and the meridians of digestion. Acupuncture for eating disorders aims at restoring your normal energy flow and function. Due to this rebalancing, acupuncture can effectively reduce the physical symptoms of an eating disorder.

In addition to physical symptoms, eating disorder patients also experience a variety of mental and emotional illnesses like impulsivity, irritability, social withdrawal, insomnia, obsessive symptoms, anxiety, and depression. Acupuncture for eating disorders imparts physical and mental relaxation, which can reduce these mental and emotional tendencies in a completely different way from other treatments. Acupuncture for eating disorders: rebalancing your body’s energy allows it to reach a healthy state.

This multi-pronged approach to acupuncture for eating disorders makes it a very effective treatment. Additionally, it has very few or no known side effects. You can also combine acupuncture with other treatments to increase the chances of positive results.

Hypnosis for eating disorders is the #1 and most effective treatment for eating disorders.

Hypnosis for eating disorders has shown very promising results. Particularly for patients who don’t respond well to conventional methods or allopathic medications, the results from hypnosis can often be remarkable. During your hypnosis session, you’ll be put in a trance-like state in which you’ll experience heightened concentration and increased susceptibility to suggestions. You’ll be in a composed and relaxed state. This is what makes hypnosis for eating disorders genuinely remarkable. When you’re in a trace, a trained hypnotherapist can make suggestions to alter your eating disorder behavior and direct your mind towards healthier habits.

Hypnosis for eating disorders can get to the root of your problem by accessing your subconscious mind, where memories, habits, fears, and negative self-talk manifest and provide long-term and effective results. Additionally, regression hypnotherapy can also be employed to retrace particular events that may have led to the eating disorder. No other treatment approaches eating disorders as hypnosis does.

Suggestion hypnotherapy is also helpful to motivate more positive thinking and steer the mind from obsessing over food and body shape. For certain patients, neuro-linguistic programming (NLP) can also be utilized. Hypnosis for eating disorders aims to improve confidence, minimize anxiety around food, and raise self-esteem. At times, your hypnotherapists may teach you self-hypnosis techniques, which can be useful throughout the recovery process.

Hypnosis for eating disorders is entirely safe. It’s a complete misconception that hypnosis can lead to brainwashing or mental illness. During a hypnosis session, you’ll be in a trance but will still retain complete control over yourself. Along with other alternative eating disorder treatments, hypnosis can provide long-lasting results. It can not only remedy the existing condition but also prevent you from indulging in abnormal eating behavior in the future.

Is it Safe to Use Holistic Treatments for Eating Disorders?

Alternative treatments for eating disorders are predominantly safe and contain minimal to no side effects. An ill-trained and inexperienced practitioner often causes side effects, so refer to a certified and experienced alternative treatment practitioner. Particularly for patients who don’t see results from conventional and allopathic medications, alternative treatments can prove to be very beneficial.

Conclusion for Eating Disorder Treatments

An eating disorder is often mistaken for a lifestyle choice and ignored. But gradually, this disorder can take over your entire life and even lead to deadly consequences. Many people with eating disorders are reluctant to seek holistic treatment for eating disorders due to shame and guilt. However, this can worsen the situation. If you’re suffering from an eating disorder or know someone who does, it’s essential to seek treatment for eating disorders immediately.

At the Philadelphia Holistic Clinic, Dr. Tsan and associates successfully treat different forms of eating disorders using acupuncture, homeopathy, and hypnosis. All these modalities reside under one roof in our clinic, and you need just one phone call to set up an appointment for an initial evaluation with Victor Tsan, MD, and start your treatment for eating disorders.

Contact our clinic at (267) 403-3085 or book your appointment online.