We offer treatment of eating disorders

People with eating disorders think almost constantly about food. There is a pathological focus on the number of calories consumed and burned. Even a modest weight loss will be accompanied by an almost euphoric control-and-victory experience. In the same manner, a weight gain of just a few hundred grams gives rise to self-hatred – some even feel a need for self-harm – and a feeling of complete loss of control.

There is also a focus on avoiding fatty foods, a desire to skip meals whenever possible, hiding food inside the mouth (in order to spit it out later), or moving food around on the plate to hide the minimal food intake. Foodstuffs are often carefully weighed during preparation and again during intake, and many want to prepare their own food, because they don’t trust others to follow their own rigid rules: no fat and no sugar in the food. Many engage in excessive exercise. This may take place daily at a fitness center, but even ordinary, daily activities can be transformed so that one “always walks” instead of taking the bus, and takes the stairs instead of the elevator. Many have also tried slimming, laxative and diuretic agents to prevent weight gain. Others provoke vomiting, or try fasting for several days at a time.

It is not unusual for a person with an eating disorder to be placed within the bipolar spectrum (mood fluctuations). For people with bulimia,​ eating binges are more common in depressive phases. Some eating disorders also involve a need for order, and rigid rules are made to regulate eating scenarios. Food may have to be eaten in a certain order, or the table must be set in a certain way. Many avoid eating with others, and going out with friends for a restaurant meal is completely out of the question. Others are extremely focused on how they sit at the dining table, or how the food is arranged on the plate.

Anorexia

Anorexia is characterized by a self-provoked weight loss and a highly distorted body image in which body weight and form is overestimated. People with anorexia starve themselves and exercise excessively to the point of extreme underweight, which causes much suffering to the patient and to the family that witnesses it. A person with anorexia seldom responds to the family’s worries and assurances that they are “thin enough”.

As the undernourishment continues, hormonal disturbances develop, including cessation of menstruation, reduced desire for sex and reduced potency. Increased body hair growth may be seen (long down), especially under the arms and on the cheeks. Cognitive disturbances may occur in the form of concentration difficulties, sleep disturbances and lowered mood and energy. People with anorexia rarely seek treatment on their own due to lack of insight into their own illness and a fear of treatment that will require them to eat more and gain weight.

Bulimia

Bulimia involves an irresistible urge to eat and uncontrollable eating binges in which the patient ingests huge amounts of food. A variety of compensatory behavior is used to combat weight gain, primarily self-provoked vomiting. A person with bulimia has a distorted body image and a fear of fatness, but will usually have a normal body weight. Feelings of shame and guilt are usually associated with the bulimic behavior pattern; these feelings are therefore often kept hidden from family members.

About the treatment of eating disorders

Treatment of eating disorders is often lengthy. Anorexia can have serious, life-threatening consequences such as heart failure, osteoporosis and damage to the liver and kidneys. But with early initiation of treatment, the prognosis is usually good.

A treatment plan is tailor-made for the individual patient and will typically involve weekly weighing, follow-ups on food intake, psycho-education about eating disorders and cognitive behavior therapy. Medication as a supplement to psychotherapy may be beneficial to consider if conditions such as anxiety, obsessions/compulsions or depressive phases are present in addition to the eating disorder.

Call us at 38 28 88 72 to hear more about the treatment of eating disorders, or send us a message on pboks.dk.

We have patients from Copenhagen, Greater Copenhagen and Northern Zealand. 

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We are always open for questions.

Adress: Østerbrogade 62, 4. tv., 2100 København Ø

38 28 88 72

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