Defeating Your Eating Disorder

Written by HealthyPlace.com Staff Writer

online conference transcript

Bob M is the moderator.

BEGINNING

Bob M: Good Evening and welcome everyone. Our topic tonight is "Defeating Your Eating Disorder". Our guest is Dr. Ira Sacker. Dr. Sacker has a "bit" :) of knowledge on the subject of eating disorders. He's the director and founder of HEED--Helping to End Eating Disorders at the Brookdale University and Hospital Medical Center in New York. He's also the author of the well-known book: Dying to Be Thin: Understanding and Defeating Eating Disorders. And he's written numerous articles on all facets of eating disorders--anorexia, bulimia, and compulsive overeating. I'm Bob McMillan, the moderator for tonight's conference. As we proceed through the conference, we'll not only be talking about how to defeat your eating disorder, but I also want to address some new research reports that came out talking about psychological disorders in relatives of women with eating disorders. I want to welcome Dr. Sacker to the Concerned Counseling Website...and maybe we could start with you telling us a bit more about your expertise in the area of eating disorders.

Dr. Sacker: Thank you, Bob. I have been involved in eating disorders for the past 25 years. During that time, I have treated many individuals with anorexia, bulimia and bulimarexia. We are now seeing an increased incidence of second generation eating disorders.

Bob M: And I want to address that issue later in the conference. So we are on the same track tonight, since we are talking about "defeating your eating disorder", can you define what the word "recovered" means when it comes to the various eating disorders?

Dr. Sacker: Well, this is a difficult issue since we see a lot of recurrence with eating disorders. Recovery generally implies that the individual is at a relatively normal weight for height, has greater than 17% body fat and psychologically is able to more effectively deal with his or her issues.

Bob M: What if you've added weight, but you still have some eating disordered behaviors. Are you still considered recovered? And is "cured" the same as "recovered"? Or is a person with an eating disorder never really "cured"?

Dr. Sacker: Most eating disorder patients still have some eating disordered behaviors, i.e., still concerned with portion size, etc. I would still consider them in recovery.

Bob M: What makes it so difficult to recover from an eating disorder?

Dr. Sacker: Eating disorders are not about food, but about underlying issues of control, low self-esteem, underlying depression, obsessive-compulsive behaviors which are being masked by food.

Bob M: For those of you just joining us, I'm glad you could make it. Our guest is Dr. Ira Sacker, eating disorders treatment expert and author of the book: Dying to Be Thin. We're discussing "defeating your eating disorder". So are you saying that for a person really to get on the road to recovery, they have to deal with the other issues first?

Dr. Sacker: Absolutely . Often the eating disorder acts as a protection from the underlying feelings of being overwhelmed. With anorexia and bulimia, the behaviors of restriction as well as bingeing and vomiting causes a release of endorphins which give the individual a false "high". To treat these disorders one needs to have a treatment team composed of a physician, nutritionist and therapist all well versed in eating disorders.

Bob M: Your book talks about "defeating" your eating disorder. What do you think are the most effective ways of treating an eating disorder and defeating it?

Dr. Sacker: The key is forming a relationship with your client. This involves not only an understanding of the illnesses, but also a sensitivity to the individual and the family.

Bob M: So are you saying there's no "magical" cure, no drug that will do it "once and for all"? That really the key to eating disorders recovery is getting a good therapist who will work with you through your problems?

Dr. Sacker: Cognitive behavioral therapy, oftentimes in conjunction with specific SSRI medications, i.e., Prozac or Paxil etc. has been effective in decreasing the binge-purge cycle. But it is certainly not a magical cure by itself. Finding a good therapist is like going shopping. You must be comfortable with the individual.

Bob M: Here are a couple of audience comments, then onto audience questions:

Horace: I believe that recovery is about healing the eating disordered behaviors plus dealing with the underlying issues. You cannot have one without the other. Recovery is about integrating behavior + emotional healing.

Chelsie: I've been dealing with anorexia for 10 years and my fears just keep winning. HELP!

Dr. Sacker: Chelsie, many of our clients have had anorexia for over 10 years and are presently in recovery. The key here is not to beat yourself up when you have setbacks. It may be a good time to seek out another therapist or eating disorders specialist for a consultation. Sometimes people who have acted as kind and supportive therapists, do not have enough training in eating disorders.

otherpea: I'm on a food plan done by a nutritionist, and have an experienced therapist, and support groups. I would like to know if an ED person with those underlying feelings and emotions that cause the eating disordered behaviors to surface can ever get over or be free from these "horrible" feelings and emotions?

Dr. Sacker: You can certainly get beyond them, but even in recovery eating disorder patients will still compare themselves to other thin individuals. In today's society, everyone does that. So, of course, the eating disorder patient does it more.