EATING DISORDERS AND DISORDERED EATING
Some of the signs that you or someone you know may have an eating disorder are:
- Intensely fearful of gaining weight or becoming “fat”
- Persistent preoccupation with body image
- Inability to make an objective, non-judgmental assessment of body shape and size
- High levels of self-criticism
- Strong denial or lack of understanding of the serious long-term health consequences of low body fat percentage
- Self-induced vomiting
- Misuse of laxatives, diuretics, enemas, or other medications
- Excessive exercise
- Eating a large amount of food in a short period of time with a sense of loss of control
- Overly rapid eating
- Eating past the point of being comfortably full
- Eating large amounts when not physically hungry
- Inability to eat with other people present and/or eating alone to avoid embarrassment
- Refusal or restriction in the kinds of food eaten
- Disgust with self, low mood, or intense guilt after eating
A lot of us have difficulties in our relationships with food. It can be hard to honestly face how we feel about food and our bodies, and the types, amounts, and frequency in our eating and exercise habits.
Mediated images and societal pressure often create a compelling argument for unhealthy weight control measures, and a lot of the feelings that arise in our work, family, and social lives can affect the way we relate to food and ourselves, physically and psychologically.
Working with your medical, nutritional, and dental care providers, Marlise is an eating disorder therapist who can help you to:
- Develop a wholesome relationship with food
- Learn to cope with difficult feelings
- Improve communication and relationships
- Become friendlier with your body
- Find kindness and compassion for yourself
- Devise strategies and support systems to recover from—and reduce likelihood of—relapse
If you’re seeking support in recovering from anorexia, bulimia, binge-eating, or some other difficult relationship with food and your body, Marlise provides individual, family, and group eating disorder therapy in Ottawa. She has experience as the Clinical Team Leader at a publicly-funded residential eating disorder treatment centre, and she has worked with both men and women with eating disorders, their partners, and their families in private practice since 2008.
You don't need to feel alone. Help is closer than you think.