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Counseling And Psychological Services |
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General Signs and SymptomsSince these symptoms below include signs from the entire spectrum of eating disorders, all of them will not apply to any one person at the same time.
Weight and body:
Food and Eating:
Feelings and Behavior:
I'm worried about a friend
The Fact and Fiction of Food and DietingTrue or False?
I think I might have a problem
I think I might have a problem...
How do I know?
What do I do?The sooner someone seeks help for an eating problem, the greater the likelihood that it will be resolved fully and soon. Call the Counseling Center at (732) 932-7884 and schedule an initial appointment. You and one of our psychologists will decide together where you can get the help that best suits your needs.What help is available at Rutgers?
I'm worried about my friend...
Should I be?
If you have experienced this or are still unsure how concerned to be, call the Counseling Center at (732) 932-7884 and schedule an appointment with one of our psychologists to talk about this. We can help you decide whether your friend needs help, and how best to approach them. Most people with eating issues have strongly conflicting attitudes about others' knowledge of their struggles. They are often ashamed of the things they do to control their weight and want to "hide", but also feel intensely alone in their struggle and want very much to be "seen" and accepted. Being the recipient of both these feelings is very difficult, and confusing, for the friends of those struggling with eating problems. By consulting with a psychologist, you can help yourself sort this out, and you may also be helping your friend take the first steps toward helping him or herself.
What do I do?DOs and DON'Ts in reaching out to someone who may have an eating disorder
For ease of reference, complications are presented separately for anorexia and bulimia. As you will see, there is a lot of overlap in the dangers that can result from eating struggles. Moreover, anyone who has the primary symptom (very low weight for anorexia, purging by vomiting or laxative/diuretic abuse for bulimia) of both disorders is at risk for the medical consequences of both. Finally, be aware that the physical consequences of eating struggles can be apparent when a person does not meet the diagnostic criteria for either anorexia or bulimia, but is engaged in problem eating behaviors. You will notice that there is not a listing of medical complications of obesity - popularly considered for decades to be the greatest eating-related health risk. This is not an oversight. More recent research has found that for the middle 60% of the weight distribution there is no relationship between weight and mortality (for example, for women 5'3" to 5'6" the risk of death is equivalent for all those between 194 and 115 pounds). Other work has shown that the obese do not eat more than thinner persons, and are not more psychologically disturbed. Moreover, the "treatment" encouraged popularly for obesity - dieting - has been shown to be singularly ineffective in the long-term. Ninety-nine percent of dieters gain back more weight than they lost. Dieting also leads to slowed metabolic rates and, in many cases, the "yo-yo" dieting which has been shown to have negative health consequences. Lastly, although not everyone who diets develops eating problems, almost everyone who has an eating problem began on that road by dieting. While extreme obesity can certainly have negative health consequences, for the great majority of people, repeat dieting poses a greater health risk than mild to moderate obesity.
A wide variety of help is available, including psychological assessment and treatment recommendations, short-term individual psychotherapy, group psychotherapy, nutritional information and assessment, medical assessment and monitoring, and psychiatric evaluation and monitoring of medication usage. If you think you have an eating problem, or want to talk with a professional who can assess whether you have cause for concern and what to do about it, contact one of the professionals below. We believe in the multidimensional, or team, approach to treating eating problems. Eating problems are not about food, but about feelings and, as such, psychotherapy is essential to treatment. Optimally, this includes individual therapy to examine the precise meaning your eating struggle serves in your life, and group therapy to explore most fully its function in your relationships with others. However, eating problems also put you at significant medical risk, and it is crucial to be assessed and monitored by a medical professional who is both knowledgeable about eating issues and aware that you are struggling with one. Because many people with eating issues often base their diet on erroneous nutritional information, we also have a nutritionist working with the treatment team. Your initial contact person will refer you to any other members of the team she or he thinks should be involved in your treatment.
Rutgers University Counseling and Psychological Services :
Other Campus Resources:
Eating Issues Resources on the Internet:
For comments on this web-site, contact Mark J. Forest, Ph.D. or call 732-932-3966.
This page last updated: June 27, 2007 Rutgers, the State University is an equal opportunity affirmative action institution.
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