Eating disorders affect millions of people every year. This complicated relationship with food may result from cultural pressure to look a certain way or from other factors in a patient’s own brain and biology. The result is that anyone can experience an eating disorder and the devastating consequences that result without intervention.
Dr. Sehdev with Aware Behavioral Health provides eating disorder treatment in Dallas and Fort Worth for adults, teens, and children. His goal is to help patients understand why the eating disorder affects them while also managing symptoms and progressing towards a lasting recovery. Learn more about eating disorders and available treatment in Dallas when you call us at 888-677-4562.
Types of Eating Disorders We Treat
An eating disorder is a mental health condition that influences a person’s relationship with food and eating habits, as well as sometimes exercise and body image. About twice as many women experience an eating order as men, and the condition more frequently affects adolescents, although anyone can be diagnosed with an eating disorder.
There are several recognized eating disorders that we offer treatment for. The most common are:
- Anorexia Nervosa – Those with anorexia perceive themselves as being overweight and severely limit their food intake beyond what is healthy, resulting in dangerous weight loss. They may equate their self worth to their weight and body image and will often have obsessive thoughts over what and when they can eat. Our anorexia treatment in Dallas helps patients achieve a healthier self image.
- Bulimia Nervosa – Bulimia is characterized by a patient eating to excess on a binge episode and then vomiting, using a laxative, or extreme fasting to purge the calories just consumed. Like anorexia, those diagnosed with bulimia are extremely focused on their weight and appearance. We provide bulimia treatment that helps manage the thoughts behind the behavior and supports you as you return to good eating habits.
- Binge Eating Disorder – This disorder has the same binging behavior as bulimia where the person will eat excessively in a limited period of time, often feeling like they cannot stop, but does not include any purging behavior afterwards. There is less likely to be a focus on weight and body image, but patients often still experience shame over the binge episodes.
- Avoidant Restrictive Food Intake Disorder – Often referred to as ARFID, those with this disorder avoid food due to lack of interest or dislike. Unlike picky eaters, those with ARFID are unable to get enough calories and nutrients to remain healthy. We provide ARFID treatment for children, when the disorder most often develops, and adults.
- Pica – Patients with pica regularly feel compelled to eat substances that would not be considered food by others and are not nutritional, such as soil, paper, soap, and paint. Because many of these substances are not made to be consumed, eating them can result in poisoning, illness, and infections. Or treatment for pica helps you manage the compulsive behaviors that prompt pica and other similar mental health conditions.
Because these disorders severely impact your physical and mental health, they often lead to additional problems. Unstable weight, damage to organs, and infertility are some physical effects of a long term eating disorder. Mentally, the trauma and stress around an eating disorder can lead to anxiety or panic disorder, PTSD, and clinical depression.
At Aware Behavioral Health, we prioritize your overall health. Helping you overcome the eating disorder and its underlying causes is important, but it is only part of the recovery process. We use personalized care plans that address all facets of your wellbeing and emphasize your importance as a person, not a disorder.
What to Expect with Our Eating Disorder Treatment
Treatment for an eating disorder may involve several professionals. A doctor and dentist can help manage any physical symptoms or challenges that result from the disorder, and a registered dietician can help you plan eating habits to help you gain, lose, and/or maintain weight at a healthy level.
But an eating disorder starts as a mental health condition, and treatment needs to help you understand the underlying thoughts and feelings that caused your eating disorder. At Aware Behavioral Health, we have expertise in treating eating disorders and correlated mental health conditions like depression, generalized anxiety, and OCD.
As a psychiatrist, Dr. Sehdev works with you to build healthy thoughts and behaviors around eating. If food is tied to emotions like stress, unhappiness or lack of self esteem, we help you manage moods and build healthier habits for coping.
Medically assisted therapy is a large part of the work Dr. Sehdev does as a psychiatrist and medication can help you to manage the condition and remove unhealthy thoughts. We often prescribe antidepressants to control symptoms of depression and anxiety tied to an eating disorder. We can also provide psychotherapy, or talk therapy, to develop your skills that promote your recovery.
Why Treat an Eating Disorder with Aware Behavioral Health
Every person has a different journey to recover from an eating disorder. Dr. Sehdev uses individualized treatment plans that place your needs and goals first.
Whether you or a family member is just beginning the process of eating disorder treatment in Dallas or you are seeking help from a psychiatrist to continue improving your mental and physical health, call Aware Behavioral Health at 888-677-4562 or fill out the form below to get started with support from an expert team.