Eating Disorders
-
Posted: July 01, 2013
Here is a note from a recovering eating disorder and depression survivor, who needed a hospitalization to get her through some very bad times. Here she writes about the healing power of conscious breathing, something she learned from her therapist at the Menninger Clinic and from listening to recordings. As you’ll see, she writes very lyrically:
I sing guided imagery's praises at nearly every opportunity that presents itself. To say that guided imagery has helped lead the way out of a dusty barren landscape would not be hyperbole. Your audios were first introduced to me by Dr. Meredith Titus during a stay at Menninger Clinic in Topeka, Kansas. I was there because I needed help finding my way out of the grasp of an eating disorder and severe depression. I truly did not care if I lived or died. -
Posted: May 05, 2013
Belgian researchers from the University Psychiatric Center, KULeuven Campus in Kortenberg investigated the efficacy of a manualized cognitive-behavioral (CBT) approach for patients with obesity and binge eating disorder (BED), on the short and longer term.
Investigators used a prospective study without a control group, consisting of three measurements (a baseline measurement and two follow-up assessments, up to 5 years after the start of the CBT treatment).
A total of 56 patients with obesity and BED (mean age = 39.7 ± 10-9 years; body mass index [BMI] = 38.5 ± 8.3 kg/m (2)) participated in the study.
BMI, number of binges per week, general psychological well-being, mood, attitude toward one's body, and loss of control over the eating behavior were evaluated by means of mixed models. -
Posted: October 29, 2011
We’ve been getting an increase in queries about what to do for sugar addiction, which seems to be on the rise. We wondered how effective our program for Alcohol and Other Drugs would be for a sugar problem…
Feedback and common sense led us to assume that craving sugar would in effect be a form of chemical dependency, and that the suggestions on this guided imagery audio would work just fine for sugar addiction. But still, it was good to get this feedback, posted as a review this past week on our catalog page.So we thank “Kelly” for posting this and wish her the best of luck:
I am not a user of drugs or alcohol, but of sugar. I own Health Journeys' Weight Loss meditation, but it doesn't touch on the deep shame and guilt that lifelong sugar cravings and obsession have caused, and this meditation bridges that gap nicely. I am getting a lot out of it. -
Posted: October 07, 2011
Question:
Help Belleruth,
My therapist recommended your book and it really helped me take charge of my life when I understood that ptsd is in fact a very somatic disorder. I started walking daily, eating healthy and actually felt better that I had in years.
And now it's all gone, my system is more activated and distressed than ever. I just want to hurt myself compulsively, I experience a self-loathing that's never been this bad, and I can't seem to stop eating compulsively.
According to my therapist, I am now starting to feel the stress I've numbed myself to previously, but I don't understand! How come I've first experienced two months of Paradise and now this? It actually makes it a lot worse that it's now worse than ever after these two wonderful months. Please help.Kind regards,
R. from the Netherlands
-
Posted: May 09, 2010
Researchers from Seattle Children's Hospital ran a pilot study designed to assess the impact of individualized yoga treatment on adolescents receiving outpatient care for diagnosed eating disorders (anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, eating disorder not otherwise specified).
A total of 50 girls and 4 boys, aged 11-21 years, were randomized to an 8-week trial of standard care (n = 27) vs. individualized yoga therapy (n = 26) plus standard care. Standard care consisted of an appointment every other week with a physician and/or dietician. (This arm was offered yoga after completion of the study as an incentive to maintain participation.) -
Posted: November 30, 1999Researchers from the Eating Disorders Research Program at the University of Minnesota examined long-term outcomes of cognitive behavioral therapy, delivered 3 different ways to 51 people suffering from a binge eating disorder.Read more »
There was a therapist-led condition, where the psychologist provided psycho-educational information for the first half hour and led a group discussion for the second half hour of each session; there was a partial self-help condition, where participants viewed a 30-min psycho-educational videotape, followed by a therapist-led discussion; and finally, there was a structured self-help condition, where participants watched a psycho-educational videotape and led their own discussion.
-
Posted: November 30, 1999A randomized controlled trial compared a group of bulimic patients receiving 6 weeks of individual guided imagery therapy with a control group receiving standard care. Fifty participants who met the criteria for bulimia nervosa completed the study. Measures of eating disorder symptoms, psychological functioning and the response to the guided imagery experience were used. The guided imagery treatment substantially reduced bingeing and purging episodes; the imagery group had a 74% mean reduction of bingeing and a 73% reduction of vomiting. The imagery treatment also demonstrated improvement in attitudes about eating, dieting and body weight in comparison to the control group. In addition, the guided imagery group demonstrated improvement on psychological measures of aloneness and the ability for self-comforting. The study concludes that guided imagery is an effective treatment for bulimia nervosa, at least in the short-term.Read more »
Citation: Esplen MJ, Garfinkel PE, Olmsted M, Gallop RM, Kennedy S. A randomized controlled trial of guided imagery in bulimia nervosa.Psychol Med 1998 Nov;28(6):1347-57.