Does your relationship with food worry you? Do you focus a lot of time and thought on your appearance? Sometimes you may feel that controlling your eating habits is a way of asserting authority over part of a life that otherwise feels out of control. You may be consuming far fewer calories than you need to maintain basic good health or binge eating before making yourself vomit. Perhaps you find comfort eating a bulwark against sadness and depression – but find equally that it does not provide any lasting relief.
At a time when so much attention is focused on appearance it’s no wonder that many people experience body image problems. Of course, we all have moments when we compare our appearance to others and feel insecure, but when this feeling persists and leads to a lack of self-worth and low self-esteem it can become a much larger problem.
A disordered attitude to food and eating can lead to conditions such as anorexia, bulimia and binge or comfort eating. These can all have a lasting negative effect on your physical and mental well-being and lead to social problems, affecting your relationships with family members, friends and colleagues.
Therapy for an eating disorder
If you are concerned that an eating disorder is affecting your life, then you can benefit from psychotherapy. By tracing your current mind-set back to its source it is possible to overcome the issues that are controlling your life and holding you back.
If you are willing to undergo therapy in a safe, controlled environment to address your food issues, whether these involve weight loss or weight gain, you can begin to restore self-esteem and maintain healthy weight control.