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An eating disorder is a psychological problem rooted in a negative perception of oneself and in feelings and events in a person's life. At CSM, qualified specialists use modern, evidence-based methods to help people cope with eating disorders.
Have you noticed that someone close to you has been losing weight rapidly and avoids shared lunches and dinners? Do you have episodes of binge eating that you compensate for by vomiting? Eating disorders should be treated with the help of experienced specialists, because it is practically impossible to overcome them on your own. At CSM Clinic you can find out how an eating disorder is treated and get help in working toward recovery. Treatment of eating disorders at the clinic uses international and proprietary approaches that have proven themselves in practice.
Eating disorders are a group of behavioral psychogenic syndromes accompanied by various disturbances in eating and digesting food. Eating problems are caused by negative experiences, feelings and events in the patient's life. The person cannot resolve them in relationships with other people and tries to compensate for their state with food. Eating disorders show up as food restriction, binge eating, self-induced vomiting, the use of laxatives and other abnormal behaviors.
Need help with an eating disorder? Book a consultation with a psychiatrist or a psychologist at CSM Clinic in Kyiv.
Specialists distinguish the following main types of eating disorders:
Rare types of eating disorders include various appetite perversions, pregorexia, drunkorexia and pica.
The causes of eating disorders include various psychogenic, social and physiological factors. They are identified by the doctor during the patient's diagnosis. Most often several factors lead to an eating disorder at once, and one or two of them act as triggers of the condition.
Possible causes of an eating disorder include:
All eating disorders become established at both the physiological and the mental level. First, a conflict arises between the basic need for food and the reactions to stress, to one's own self-esteem and to relationships with society. The desire gives rise to an overvalued and obsessive idea, which shapes the corresponding behavior and determines motives.
In bulimia nervosa, a person is afraid of gaining weight; in compulsive overeating, they seek to release tension and relax; in anorexia, they want to lose weight at any cost; in orthorexia, they are afraid of eating harmful foods. In babyrexia, the child becomes a hostage of their parents, and their eating behavior is entirely subordinated to the adults.
Mental changes and eating disturbances lead to impaired digestion and to deficiencies of vitamins, trace elements and nutrients.
The signs of eating disorders take a long time to develop. At first they are carefully hidden from others, but later they become obvious.
Symptoms of an eating disorder vary and depend on the type of disturbance.
The child's eating disorder is entirely induced by the parents. Children are made to follow strict raw-food diets, veganism or other inadequate eating systems. A mother who suffers from bulimia may induce vomiting in the child after meals.
Treatment of babyrexia is impossible without the parents' help. There is a known tragic case in which a 3-year-old child died from vegetarianism imposed by the parents, who did not want to make any attempt at treatment.
The symptoms of eating disorders and the reasons they develop are usually the same in children from age 11 and in adults. The disorders are found most often in girls, and especially often arise in adolescence. When disorders develop before the age of 10-11 (other than babyrexia), their main feature is that it is unclear why they appear. Eating disorders often occur in children from families in which normal ideas about food and appearance are disturbed.
The first sign that calls for seeing a doctor may be selective eating. Children persistently and for a long time refuse certain dishes and foods. When an eating disturbance develops, it is hard for a child to hide the symptoms, and noticing them should be a reason to contact specialists immediately.
Treatment from age 11-12 differs little from the principles of therapy in adults. For younger children, treatment is delivered in a play format and consists of light psychological support. The main work to resolve the eating disorder is done with the parents.
Eating disorders are diagnosed by a psychiatrist and a clinical psychologist. During the conversation, the doctor clarifies all the details of the history and symptoms, and asks the patient and relatives additional questions about stressful and traumatic situations, eating habits and the patient's attitude toward their appearance and weight. To confirm the diagnosis, bioimpedance analysis is performed and various tests for eating disorders are used: an eating behavior rating scale, the SMIL (MMPI) personality inventory, the Dembo-Rubinstein method, the Eysenck questionnaire and others.
To identify the consequences of eating disturbances, consultations with a general practitioner or pediatrician, nephrologist, gastroenterologist, endocrinologist, neurologist, cardiologist and other specialists are prescribed. Blood and urine tests, abdominal ultrasound and other instrumental examinations are performed.
A comprehensive approach is used to treat eating disorders. Treatment is aimed at correcting eating disturbances and at helping the body recover from the effects of the disorder.
Comprehensive correction of eating behavior includes:
Patients treated at CSM Clinic can take a course of the "Fisiotherapy" program. This proprietary method by Valerii Patonych, a specialist in eating disorders, aims to help not only relieve symptoms but also work toward recovery from the disorder.
During treatment under the Fisiotherapy program, each patient gets a personal consultant whom they can call or message 24/7 for the support they need. The proprietary method has been used for many years in the Revocanda plus psychological centers.
To prevent eating disorders, you need to:
Do you need a course of treatment for eating disturbances and are looking for an experienced doctor? Contact CSM Clinic by calling the contact center or filling out the special form on the website to book online or request a callback. Our specialists will contact you quickly, answer all your questions and book you with the right doctor (a psychologist, a dietitian, etc.) at a time convenient for you.
