What’s Driving the Increase in Adolescent Eating Disorders?
Any eating disorder has the potential to cause serious health damage and even death, but decades of research finds anorexia has the highest death rate of any mental disorder “due to the effects of weight loss and starvation on the body and brain.” Tragically, anorexia is also one of the most common eating disorders seen […]
Understanding Sugar Addiction
Many foods and drinks contain sugars, some that are naturally occurring and some that are added. Regular consumption of foods that contain added sugar can lead to cravings similar to those caused by drug addiction, and, according to many health experts, can pose a significant health threat. Manufacturers add sugars to some foods during processing […]
Dining Out with an Eating Disorder
For many of us, dining out at our favorite restaurant is a real treat. But for those with an eating disorder, just the thought of dining out can cause anxiety. Eating disorders are serious, treatable mental illnesses characterized by abnormal or disturbed eating habits. The most diagnosed eating disorders are anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, and […]
Substance Use Disorder and Eating Disorder as a Dual Diagnosis
Dual diagnosis, also called a co-occurring disorder, means a person suffers from both a substance use disorder (SUD) and mental disorder simultaneously. Although one or the other may have developed first, both disorders are now present. Either disorder can mask or worsen the symptoms of the other disorder. Eating disorders (ED) are one form of […]
National Eating Disorders Awareness Week
The 2020 National Eating Disorders Awareness week takes place from February 24th to March 1st. This year’s theme Come as You Are: Hindsight is 20/20, builds upon issues highlighted in the 2019 Come as You Are celebration. The awareness week is organized and promoted by the National Eating Disorders Association (NEDA). NEDA is a nonprofit […]