EATING DISORDERS

Eating disorders are among the most challenging issues to overcome, since abstinence is not part of the solution. PRANA BALI’s experience with behaviors of this nature suggests that treatments of a longer duration – from 6 to 10 weeks – are most effective.

The long term effects on health of eating disorders can be serious, in some cases even irreversible if the behavior is not stemmed in time. As with other addictions involving the use of substances, it is the way in which the sufferer uses food to modulate how they feel that is problematic, and not eating in itself. It is a person’s whole emotional and physical relationship to food, eating and nutrition that needs to be healed in order for them to resume a balanced, healthy and harmonious dietary lifestyle.

Emotional issues are particularly prevalent among the causes of eating disorders, and treatment will involve changing the way a person relates to their feelings and to emotional discomfort and pain. Clients may need to ‘retrain’ themselves to eat in a more normal, natural and intuitive way, and to listen to their body without overriding its messages by using food in a dysfunctional manner. This is why, from a therapeutic perspective, a cognitive and behavioral approach is recommended, in order to create new habits and new responses to negative events and feelings.

Eating disorders take on different forms, such as bulimia, compulsive eating, over-eating and emotional binge-eating on one hand, and anorexia at the other extreme. Addictions to sugar or caffeine can also become disorders.

When sending us your enquiry, please give details of the challenges the potential client is facing, and a general idea of their overall health, (such as height and weight and any current medical issues).