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Exploring the Levels of Care Available at Eating Disorder Treatment Centers

Binge eating disorder revolves around the compulsive urge to consume huge amounts of food in a set period of time. People with binge eating disorder often feel like they cannot control this urge to overeat nor stop eating when satisfied or even full. This disorder may or may not involve purging after binge eating, but it is not a requirement for diagnosis. The obsessive nature of this disorder makes it a complex condition to treat, necessitating assistance from highly trained and compassionate eating disorder support professionals. People can work with these support professionals at local binge eating disorder recovery centers in their area.

To help clients achieve their goals at binge eating disorder treatment centers, education remains an integral part of the eating disorder treatment process. Both clients and their family members receive information and insights about binge eating disorder symptoms, causes and treatment options. With this knowledge, clients can confidently move through the treatment process to achieve their goal of becoming recovered.

Binge Eating Disorder Symptoms

People with binge eating disorder exhibit characteristic symptoms that can help indicate that there is a problem. These symptoms revolve around the person’s urge to overeat far beyond satiation and lack of control over this compulsion. Many clients will maintain relatively normal eating habits in company, and then engage in disordered behaviors while solo. They may stockpile large amounts of food to consume when they are alone and unable to resist the urge to binge eat.

An inability to cope with stress or anxiety with healthy coping mechanisms is also a hallmark symptom of binge eating disorder. Many clients rely on binge eating behaviors for the relief of stress, anxiety and low moods. Engaging in binge eating behaviors may cause feelings of numbness that persist long afterward. Over time, the continual stretching of the stomach from overeating causes a loss of feeling, making it so clients can no longer tell when they are full.

Unlike other eating disorders, binge eating disorder does not often result in weight loss, even when combined with purging. Instead, clients are likely to remain the same weight or gain a little weight (although weight fluctuations are common), making it a poor indicator of a problem. Impacts on the person’s quality of life and any physical and mental health complications that occur are often better indicators of the need for treatment.

Impact on Quality of Life

Eating disorders can have a seriously negative impact on the quality of life of clients and their families – and binge eating disorder is no exception. This condition can cause impairments that impede the client’s ability to fulfill their personal and professional obligations.

Eating disorder symptoms can start to take up a large portion of the day as clients focus on following their disordered thought patterns. The destructive behaviors that follow can cause physical health repercussions and worsen mental health effects. Quality of life often continues to decline until people with binge eating disorder seek treatment from a qualified care center.

Without prompt treatment that promotes binge eating recovery, clients may start to quickly develop serious physical and mental health issues. These health problems can also cause quality of life declines and even threaten the lives of clients who forgo receiving help at binge eating disorder treatment centers.

Physical and Mental Health Effects

Poor eating habits common with people who have binge eating disorder can lead to a number of serious physical health complications. These health complications may include diabetes, menstrual irregularities, cancer, and heart disease. Before these health complications develop, adverse effects may occur as a result of binge eating, including dehydration, tooth enamel erosion, esophageal tears, and heart palpitations. These signs of a problem require prompt attention to help facilitate the client’s journey toward binge eating disorder recovery.

Mental health problems can develop as well as a result of binge eating disorder. Depression and anxiety, for example, can develop as eating disorder symptoms start to impact the quality of life. Mental health conditions can also contribute to the development of eating disorders or simply co-occur alongside binge eating disorder. While at binge eating disorder treatment centers, clients receive care for all their physical and mental health conditions along with their eating disorders. This multi-faceted approach to care helps clients achieve better outcomes in becoming recovered and graduating from binge eating treatment centers.

Common Causes of Binge Eating Disorders

The causes of binge eating disorders, and eating disorders, in general, is a complex mix of genetics, environmental factors, social pressures, and brain chemistry. Not any single factor stands out, however, as the main cause of eating disorders. Genetics and brain chemistry can both increase the likelihood of developing eating disorders, but do not fully explain what triggers their development. Despite that, doctors will utilize family history and mental health disorders to determine their client’s risk of developing eating disorders.

Social pressure and environmental factors also increase risk but fail to fully explain why binge eating disorder occurs.  Social pressure can often skew body image and self-perceptions in a negative way, resulting in the need to make changes and deflect comments. Living in high-stress environments without proper structure can also trigger the development of binge eating disorder, as clients look for a way to exhibit control over their lives and selves.

Furthermore, people with eating disorders tend to lack healthy coping skills or the ability to apply those skills in the face of serious stressors. With so many potential causes of eating disorders, personalized treatment is the only effective option for people who want to achieve their binge eating disorder recovery goals.

Treatments for Binge Eating Disorders

Treatment for binge eating disorder recovery focuses on teaching clients how to accept their natural body size and shape. The treatment process revolves around the elimination of destructive thought patterns and behaviors that contribute to the persistent nature of eating disorders. With the elimination of these thoughts and actions, clients can utilize the proper perspective in all their interactions and life situations for a healthier self.

Most effective binge eating treatment centers have different levels of care available to their clients. By offering both inpatient and outpatient care programs, eating disorder support professionals can ensure clients receive personalized treatment for their eating disorders and co-occurring conditions. Clients can transition between the different levels of treatment as they work toward becoming recovered and returning home.

The personalized treatment plans have individual, group and family therapy at their core to give clients the support they need every step of the way. Binge eating disorder treatment centers may employ a variety of therapy approaches to help their clients overcome their challenges on the road to making a full recovery. The therapy models used with great success for binge eating disorders include cognitive behavioral therapy and dialectical behavioral therapy. These approaches allow for sensitive exposure to triggers and allow clients to build their healthy coping skills in safe environments.

Through therapy and daily activities, clients in binge eating disorder recovery programs learn how to practice the healthy expression of emotions and challenge disordered thought patterns. The treatment program helps clients accept their body size, weight, and shape to develop motivations for improved self-care habits. Clients also learn about the connection between nutrition, exercise, and health to develop positive perceptions and habits. Through mindfulness training and regular journaling, clients learn to identify their triggers and halt destructive urges using healthy coping skills and recovery tools.

Binge eating disorder treatment centers involve the family in the recovery process to build the client’s social circle. Families may come in for individual and group therapy sessions, for example, to gain an understanding of binge eating disorder and the treatment process. The therapy sessions also give the family opportunities to vent their frustrations, express their worries and receive guidance from a skilled therapist. Eating disorder therapists act as mediators and guides for clients and families looking to achieve or promote binge eating disorder recovery.

Barriers to Achieving Binge Eating Disorder Recovery

Achieving recovery at binge eating disorder treatment centers depends on the purposeful identification and removal of barriers to success. Common barriers that can stand in the way of binge eating disorder recovery include fear of the unknown, lack of social support and inability to source adequate care from skilled professionals.

Mental health conditions and other co-occurring conditions can also act as barriers to recovery by complicating the treatment process. Anxiety, depression and other mental health disorders, for example, can skew perceptions and decrease motivations to pursue recovery from binge eating disorders. Substance abuse disorders are also particularly important to treat, as they can fully impede the process of recovering from eating disorders.

Effective binge eating treatment centers focus on providing comprehensive treatment for not only the eating disorders affecting the client but also all co-occurring conditions. Depending on the unique needs of the client, an entire team of doctors, psychiatrists, nutritionists, and other providers come together to identify and utilize the most effective evidence-based treatment strategies and protocols. With these providers giving their full support, clients can work toward the elimination of their eating disorder symptoms.

What to Look for in Professionals Who Help with Binge Eating Disorder Recovery

Excellent binge eating disorder recovery centers provide truth without judgement to nurture and challenge clients. The focus always remains on strengthening the client’s healthy self through the elimination of destructive thought patterns and behaviors. Clients learn how to reach out to those in their social circle for support rather than turning to harmful eating disorder behaviors. Those in the client’s inner social circle also receive support to ensure they can be there for the client.

Eating disorder providers should utilize evidence-based treatments and state of the art practices with a balanced mindset and compassionate approach. Excellent binge eating disorder treatment centers should have recovered staff on hand who act as key role models for clients. These providers should openly collaborate with their teammates to create and follow individualized treatment plans for every client.

When clients can find the best binge eating disorder treatment centers for their needs, they can receive comprehensive support that facilitates their goal of becoming recovered. Through every level of care and after, clients will always receive quality care and encouragement from their eating disorder care team.

Acquiring Care from Binge Eating Treatment Centers

To start down the road to binge eating disorder recovery, clients or their loved ones must reach out to admissions specialists at their treatment center of choice. The admissions specialists will help clients determine the appropriate level of care to acquire as they work toward binge eating recovery.

To get started in acquiring care at quality binge eating disorder treatment centers, clients can call 888-228-1253 to speak to the admissions specialists at Monte Nido. The admissions process involves a simple 30 to 40-minute phone interview where clients can share their challenges and goals in addition to asking any questions they may have. After this process, clients receive access to the care they need from highly trained and compassionate recovered staff members.