Hypnotherapy help and support for eating disorders.

Anorexia Nervosa

Anorexia affects approximately 60,000 to 200,000 people and it's estimated that 1% of people aged between 10 and 20 suffer from anorexia each year. The condition can be characterised by an obsession with weight loss resulting in refusal to eat or irregularity in eating patterns.

Sufferers may become obsessive about eating rituals and develop an unusual way of eating, e.g. becoming more calorie conscious, skipping meals and avoiding certain food, selecting a small variety of foods and only eating them in very small quantities.

This is all usually done secretly. Sufferers may also go to great lengths to pretend that everything is OK, such as gathering and saving food crumbs to leave on plates, to give the impression they are eating.

Bulimia Nervosa

Approximately 4% of people aged 16 - 25 suffer from bulimia, and like anorexia, bulimia is a serious psychological eating disorder that can be life threatening if left untreated.

A person suffering with Bulimia nervosa usually has regular episodes of overeating and feels a huge loss of control. Sufferers use what may be considered unnatural ways to get rid of the food (e.g. forced vomiting, taking laxatives or excessive exercise).

Some sufferers may force themselves to get rid of the food even if they haven't binge eaten, but feel they have eaten more than they should have. As many sufferers are deeply ashamed of their behaviour, they almost always relieve themselves by forced vomiting in secret.

The exact causes of bulimia are unknown, but from experience of working with sufferers there are often psychological, trauma, family, social and cultural factors that have helped create the behaviour.

Binge eating, compulsive eating - I can't stop eating!

Although binge-eating disorder is not as well known as anorexia or bulimia, it still affects millions of people around the world and research suggests it affects about 2% of all adults.

Binge-eating disorder is characterised by eating large amounts of food and being unable to control the habit. Unlike bulimia, individuals suffering from this disorder do not vomit or use laxatives to relieve themselves, and are therefore usually very likely to gain weight.

Many sufferers eat secretly and then feel guilty and shameful about what they are doing, which then fuels the negative feelings they may have, creating a vicious spiral.

Misophonia

Whilst not really a disorder, with the people I work with it occurs more around the whole environment of food and eating.

Misophonia sufferers typically have strong negative emotional reactions to certain sounds, often around the sound of someone eating.

These reactions range from annoyance and anger to extreme rage. In many cases these feelings are vented on loved ones such as parents, siblings, and partners, but can eventually spread to anyone.

The sounds that generally trigger the emotions are chewing, crunching, slurping, breathing and talking. This can trigger a need (fight or flight) to get away from the environment, and so the sufferer may create an argument, or make harsh and cruel comments to create an atmosphere of silence or create an opportunity to leave the situation.