Eating disorders

Eating disorders are characterised by two key features: disturbed eating habits and disturbed weight control behaviours.

Disturbed eating habits can include restricted food intake, strict dietary rules, binge eating or overeating, preoccupation with food, and altered eating behaviours.

Most of us overeat from time to time, and some of us often feel we have eaten more than we should have. Eating a lot of food does not necessarily mean that you have binge eating disorder. Experts generally agree that most people with serious binge eating problems often eat an unusually large amount of food and feel their eating is out of control.

People with binge eating disorder also may:

eat much more quickly than usual during binge episodes
eat until they are uncomfortably full
eat large amounts of food even when they are not really hungry
eat alone because they are embarrassed about the amount of food they eat
feel disgusted, depressed, or guilty after overeating.

Disturbed weight control behaviours may involve excessive exercise, vomiting, or the misuse of laxatives or diuretics (pills to reduce water retention).

These eating habits and behaviours are termed ‘disturbed’ when they become harmful through extreme use. For example, many people go on diets and restrict their food intake. This dieting only becomes ‘disturbed’ when dietary rules become so strict that daily food consumption is inadequate for health, either through being insufficient or nutritionally unbalanced. Likewise, moderate exercise is a healthy behaviour. However, exercise behaviour becomes ‘disturbed’ when it is too frequent, obsessive, driven, or used for extreme weight control so that it interferes with other aspects of a person’s life. If someone is exercising excessively, they will feel upset if they are prevented from exercising and will continue exercising despite injuries or bad weather. They may also prioritise their exercise regimen over having fun or spending time with others.

It is also important to realise that people with eating disorders have a high chance of experiencing physical and medical complications. The most serious problems are related to impaired functioning of the heart. Disordered eating and/or weight control behaviours may lead to a heart attack, coma or death.

Therefore, if you have concerns that you or someone close to you has an eating disorder, it is important to take the issue seriously, and to seek medical advice.

Disordered eating becomes a full-blown eating disorder when it gets bad enough to meet the criteria for a specific diagnosis. These standards are set by expert health professionals. Most people have heard of Anorexia Nervosa and Bulimia Nervosa, and these disorders are very serious. However, you can have an eating disorder with just as severe symptoms, even if your pattern of symptoms doesn’t quite fit the pattern of Anorexia Nervosa or Bulimia Nervosa.

OUR TREATMENT APPROACH

Eating disorders can also co-occur with difficulties such as depression and substance dependency. If you are experiencing an eating disorder the Bayberry recovery program can provide you with psychological treatment including engaging you with a 12-step solution which many have found of benefit.

In some cases such as Anorexia Nervosa the weight loss may be too severe (BMI below 15) for admission at Bayberry and hospitalisation may be required as we do not have the medical facilities and nursing staff to treat severe Anorexia Nervosa. When a BMI of at least 16.5 is achieved we can arrange transfer to Bayberry. Clients with eating disorders are placed on food plans to help them define their abstinence and they need to be able to plate their own food. However support will be provided if there are some remaining difficulties with this. All residents are encouraged to eat healthily (no unrefined flour and unrefined sugar) and must eat three meals a day and 2-3 healthy snacks.

The Bayberry recovery program is effective, and is specialised to meet your individual needs. Our residential treatment programme is evidence based and takes place in a welcoming Therapeutic Community in a lovely house in rural Oxfordshire. Peer groups are small and our compassionate and highly specialised clinical staff create an atmosphere of democratic participation in the treatment programme.