Christian Counseling for Eating Disorders

Because there is a tendency for people to stigmatize eating disorders, seeing them as minor problems or just another diet trend. People who suffer from them tend to be close-mouthed, driven to secrecy out of shame, self-loathing, and desperation. Furthermore, eating disorders typically trace back to a painful source – possibly a person or circumstance. At Culver City Christian Counseling, we are committed to helping people get over these eating disorders and guiding them to the promises of Jesus Christ and to Christ, Himself. There is hope and freedom in breaking away from the bondage that has imprisoned you for so long.

Anorexia Nervosa

Anorexia nervosa is an eating disorder wherein a person is characterized as basing their worth on the thinness of their body. The person has an extreme fear of putting on weight that in turn causes them to exhibit extreme behaviors such as declining food, exercising too much, and even going to the extent of taking drugs like diuretics and laxatives, or vomiting what they just ate. People who are suffering from anorexia also wrongly perceive themselves as fat even if other people around them say they are thin. Christian counseling has been proven to treat Anorexia Nervosa.

Signs and Symptoms of Anorexia

The physical symptoms of a person suffering from Anorexia Nervosa are associated with too much weight loss while the behavioral symptoms are rooted from an extreme need to take control of one’s body weight

Below are the physical signs and symptoms of anorexia:

• Too much weight loss
• Fatigue
• Dizziness or fainting
• Brittle hair that leads to breakage, hair loss
• Constipation
• Hypotension
• Irregular heart rhythm
• Very sensitive to cold

Emotional and behavioral symptoms of anorexia are the following:

• Extreme reduction of calorie intake through fasting, dieting, and exercising too much
• Constantly thinking of food
• Constantly denying that they feel hungry
• Irritable
• Depressed
• Irrational and extreme fear of putting on weight

The Risks of Anorexia

Anorexia Nervosa is a deadly condition that physically and mentally affects a person’s health. Declining food intake results in poor nutrition that will, in turn, affect the healthy functions of the mind and body.

For instance, anorexia injures your heart. By starving yourself, you weaken your heart in ways that will cause you to have irregular heart rhythms and to feel dizzy and faint. Aside from the irregular heart rhythm, your heart rate slows down and your blood pressure also lowers, leaving you at risk for heart failure.

Anorexia also affects your bone and muscle integrity by reducing bone density, leading to osteoporosis. Your muscles can deteriorate and become weak. It also damages your hair and skin because your body is not receiving the needed nutrients that you were supposed to get from food.

Your energy levels decline and you become easily tired. Having a low body fat makes your body unable to regulate body temperature. You then become very sensitive to cold temperature and to compensate, your body will attempt to grow hair all over, a condition called lanugo.

Anorexia is a grave condition and what makes it so alarming is that those who suffer from it are in a state of denial about just how risky their behavior can be. Incidentally half of those who have anorexia also develop bulimia. If you or someone you know has anorexia, get help immediately. Christian counseling for people who have eating disorders is a must along with medical treatments so that you or your loved one can heal and recover your physical, emotional, mental and spiritual health.

Bulimia Nervosa

Bulimia is being described as an eating disorder wherein a person binge eats and then intentionally purges the food by way of vomiting, using diuretics, enemas or laxatives. Much like those suffering from anorexia, people who suffer from bulimia are obsessed with keeping themselves slim. The difference is that bulimic people are able to retain a healthy weight. Because of this, they are also able to project a normal image of themselves to others for a certain period before finally asking for help since they have a normal appearance and they don’t refuse to eat food. If you know of somebody who might be suffering from Bulimia, Culver City Christian counseling for eating disorders gives people the confidence that they need to be able to overcome this condition.

Symptoms of Bulimia

Bulimia nervosa is a grave condition that can be very damaging to one’s health. Overeating that is followed by purging has physical and psychological consequences.

Physical signs and symptoms of bulimia are the following:

• Persistent consumption of food in large amounts followed by episodes of purging (vomiting, the taking of laxatives, diuretics, enema)
• Swollen cheeks and jaws
• Calloused knuckles and back of the hands
• Teeth staining or discoloration
• Irregular bowel movements

Emotional and behavioral symptoms of bulimia are the following:

• Self-esteem is dependent on body image
• Repeated trips to the bathroom after eating
• Following a very strict and excessive exercise routine
• Binging and purging rituals that have become part of one’s lifestyle
• Not feeling in control of oneself during binging sessions
• Depression

The Hazards of Bulimia

People with bulimia are in danger of doing physical and emotional damage to themselves. For one, the body cannot function to its full potential because of poor nutrition. Add to that, harmful behaviors such as induced vomiting, laxative or diuretic abuse, and overeating which result in a myriad of problems for the bulimic person.

Bulimia nervosa damages your digestive tract, induces tooth decay, can cause a sore throat, a torn esophagus, painful stomach, heartburn, and constipation, and these are just some of the gastrointestinal problems you will experience or might already experience.

Bulimia also affects your cardiovascular system, making your heart weak, abnormally lowering your blood pressure, producing irregular heart rhythms, and consequently putting you at risk for heart failure. Moreover, the forceful act of vomiting can also rupture the eye and facial blood vessels.

Your muscles and skin are also affected by the lack of good nutrition, which causes dehydration and makes your muscles weak. Induced vomiting can also result in scarring of the hands because of the stomach acid they are exposed to.

In addition, bulimia affects women’s reproductive health because of irregular menstrual cycles and may eventually make it difficult for bulimic women to get pregnant. If a woman is already bulimic and pregnant at the same time, both her and her baby’s health is seriously threatened.

Approximately four percent of American women are struggling with bulimia and a high mortality rate related to the condition is reported among these women. The good news is that bulimic people need not go through this alone and counselors at Culver City Christian counseling for eating disorders are committed to helping you get out of this pit of darkness and hopelessness and move towards light and hope in Jesus Christ.

Binge Eating Disorder

When a person eats way too much food for a certain period, then it is called binge eating. It becomes a disorder when this happens at least once a week for three straight months. People who are binge eating feel ashamed of their behavior and become secretive about it. But with Christian counseling, this disorder can be treated.

Signs and Symptoms of Binge Eating Disorder:

If you frequently experience binge eating and feel depressed and shame afterward, then you might have a binge eating disorder. Just like other eating disorders, binge eating can also have physical, mental and emotional consequences. The signs and symptoms of binge eating disorder are the following:

• Food consumption within a specific amount of time (usually 2 hours)
• Eating in secret because of being ashamed
• Feeling like you are no longer in control of your eating behavior
• Always eating until you become uncomfortably full or still always eating even if not really hungry
• Feeling guilty, ashamed and sad with one’s own eating habits
• Dieting but never really losing weight
• Weight gain and chronic obesity

Health Risks of Binge Eating Disorder

Binge eating disorder causes a range of health concerns. People suffering with it have a hard time controlling their eating habits that are usually done on a grand scale, thereby causing life-threatening conditions.

One of the consequences of binge eating disorder is obesity. About two-thirds of people struggling with binge eating disorder are obese. By being obese, the person is at risk for hypertension, sleep apnea, heart disease and diabetes mellitus.

With heart disease, imagine that your heart is working double time to try to compensate. Because of the extra work your heart is doing, it will put you at risk for heart attack or stroke.

Binge eating can also cause Type 2 Diabetes, affecting all other body systems as well, if not treated properly.

Binge eating disorder can result in a lot of grave illnesses. About three percent of adult Americans have this disorder and more than 50 percent of them need professional help. If you have binge eating disorder, then Culver City Christian counseling for eating disorders can give you the help you need.