What We Treat
DEFINING EATING DISORDERS
A person with an eating disorder may have an unhealthy weight. There are various signs of an eating disorder, including having an unhealthy weight, a skewed sense of what they look like, or bad breath from purging.
The Los Angeles Outpatient Center specializes in the management and treatment of eating disorders. We offer acceptance and commitment therapy and also help you work through the underlying needs and issues at the root of the eating disorder. You'll work with an ED specialist in individual therapy and participate in an array of groups led by a specialist and mental health professionals. Our therapeutic program helps the whole person, not just the symptoms of the disorder.
Anorexia
TREATMENT CAN HELP ANOREXIA
Anorexia nervosa, often just called anorexia, is a mental health disorder that is characterized by very low weight, typically less than 85% of normal body weight, a constant fear of gaining weight, and a distorted view of their own body or shape, often believing that they’re overweight or just out of shape.
Bulemia
TREATMENT CAN HELP BULIMIA
Bulimia nervosa, commonly known as bulimia, is mental health disorder characterized by uncontrollable binge eating past the feeling of fullness. Binge eating is followed by excessive exercise and purging done by self-induced vomiting, taking laxatives or diuretics.
Bulimia is diagnosed when patterns of behavior associated with binging and purging cycle or repeat for over 3 months. People with bulimia suffer from guilt and low self-esteem because of their behavior which often triggers more episodes of binging and purging.
Binge Eating
TREATMENT CAN HELP BINGE EATING
Binge eating disorder is a characterized by compulsive overeating where a person eats a large amount of food beyond the point of fullness or comfort in a short period of time A person with binge eating disorder often feels shame, disgust and depression about their eating habits and tend to hide when they eat.
Food Addiction
TREATMENT CAN HELP FOOD ADDICTION
Most people admit to having cravings for some types of food or liking one type of food so much that they eat it often. Food addiction is different than just cravings or eating your favorite food every week.
Some of the signs of food addiction are eating more than intended, past the point of fullness and satisfaction. Compulsive overeating is a type of addiction where a person derives great pleasure of eating and has lost their control over their behavior to limit themselves even when they are harming themselves.
Laxatives Abuse
TREATMENT CAN HELP LAXATIVES ABUSE
Laxative abuse occurs when one misuses diuretics or laxatives in order to lose weight. A person who abuses laxatives wants to feel as though their bodies have absorbed less of the food so that they feel emptier and thinner.
Compulsive Overeating
TREATMENT CAN HELP COMPULSIVE OVEREATING
Many of us struggle with overeating, yo-yo dieting, and sometimes eating the wrong foods. A person who compulsively overeats has no control over their eating habits and use eating as a stress reliever. Compulsive eaters use food as a way to deal with stress.
Rumination
TREATMENT CAN HELP RUMINATION
Rumination is an eating disorder where an individual will chew, swallow and then regurgitate food back into their own mouth in order to re-chew it or spit it out. Rumination can be involuntary or voluntary with some ruminators enjoying the process.
The side effects of Rumination can be minor or life threatening. Some of the side effects include weight loss, tooth decay, bad breath, frequent stomach aches or indirection, chapped lips, electrolyte imbalance and inhalation of food which can lead to pneumonia.
ARFID
TREATMENT CAN HELP ARFID
Avoidant Restrictive Food Intake Disorder or ARFID is similar to anorexia nervosa where caloric intake is restricted, but a person with ARFID doesn’t feel overweight or have a skewed perspective of themselves.
Individuals with ARFID are often described as a really picky eaters. They restrict what food goes in their bodies and are obsessed with caloric intake and fat percentage.
Orthorexia
TREATMENT CAN HELP ORTHOREXIA
Orthorexia is a mental health condition that is characterized by obsessively eating a restrictive or healthy diet. It’s a way of eating that focuses on the purity of the food, the cleanliness of the food and health of the food. A person who is obsessed with the food content, the nutritional intake and how it was made or grown.
Some of the signs of orthorexia are having an obsession with not eating foods that contain artificial sweeteners, preservatives, animal fat, sugar, and dairy. A person with orthorexia may avoid food that have been genetically modified or contain dairy. This sounds fairly normal, especially for those who are into nutrition and planning meals, however, when it becomes obsessive to the point of damaging their own wellbeing, is orthorexia.
OSFED
TREATMENT CAN HELP OSFED
OSFED stands for Other Specified Feeding or Eating Disorders. Other Specified Feeding covers eating disorders that don’t share all of the symptoms of anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, orthorexia or binge eating.
OSFED is an eating disorder that shapeshifts. A person with OSFED might have symptoms of anorexia and another eating disorder at some time later.
