Do I Have An Eating Disorder?

Eating disorders are considered as complex forms of mental illnesses. Anybody, irrespective of gender, age or background can start to experience one. Most common types of eating disorders include anorexia, bulimia and binge eating disorder.

Ask yourself “do I have an eating disorder”. But how can you be fully convinced that either you have it or don’t? The following set of questions, that you again need to ask yourself will help understand if you behave in a way that exhibits propensities towards you having developed food disorders. You should pay attention and respond back to the questions with honest answers. Only then can you make headway to the right anorexia, bulimia or binge eating treatment followed by a successful recovery.

·         Do I possess eating habits which are dissimilar in comparison to my family and friends? (Yes)

·         Can I live through a day without having to worry about what I will or won’t eat? (No)

·         Do I have a preference to eat alone so that no one gets to see me eating? (Yes)

·         Do I often make excuses like “I have already eaten” or “I am not feeling well”? (Yes)

·         Do I often have unmanageable eating binges when I consume a lot of food and later I deliberately vomit? (Yes)

·         Do I cut food into small portions or hide food? (Yes)

·         Do I have a conceived notion about “safe” foods that I can eat and “unsafe” foods which I feel aren’t good for my health? (Yes)

·         Do I end up furious when others become interested in knowing what I eat or put pressure on me to eat more? (Yes)

·         Am I always afraid that my fears about food and eating would never be understood by anyone? (Yes)

·         Do I enjoy cooking foods for others but rarely eat them myself? (Yes)

·         Do I fast for long periods of time and eat very little to control my weight? (Yes)

·         Do I frequently hear it from my friends that I am thin, yet I don’t believe them because I think I’m fat? (Yes)

·         Do I press the panic button when I discover that I’ve gained weight? (Yes)

·         Do I resort to using laxatives or diuretics as a way to keep my weight under control? (Yes)

·         Do I have a mind-boggling apprehension of putting on weight? (Yes)

·         Do I engage in immoderate exercise to stay in shape and end up getting restless if by chance I miss a workout? (Yes)

·         Am I incapable to maintain a healthy and consistent weight appropriate to my age, height and build? (Yes)

·         Do my menstrual periods stop or become irregular because of no certain medical reasons? (Yes)

·         Do I spend extensive hours reading about dieting, calorie counting exercising or fitness? (Yes)

·         Do I feel depressed and bad-tempered and like to spend most of my time in solitude? (Yes)

·         Do I show tendencies to be a perfectionist and become irritable when things aren’t perfect? (Yes)

If your answers are in congruence to the ones put in parenthesis beside each question then in all earnest probability you’re struck down with an eating disorder. The earlier you get a comprehensive anorexia, bulimia, obesity disorder or binge eating disorder treatment, the better are your chances of a fast recovery.

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The Importance of Relapse Prevention in Alcohol Addiction Treatment

A relapse is always ominously close to people who have recovered from an alcohol addiction. The perils of an imminent relapse continuously unnerve a person who’s either in the early recovery phase or maintaining sobriety for many years. It has been observed that people who undergo a detoxification on their own under no medical intervention frequently bring on a relapse that happens due to the arousal of severe physical and psychological withdrawal symptoms.

Relapse prevention plays a vital role in addiction to alcohol treatment. This is because abstinence from alcohol leads to a significant void. Once the detox is completed, relapse prevention alcohol counseling is initiated with the primary focus on coming to the aid and abet of patients to identify triggers and stressors and build robust coping mechanisms to stay away from alcohol addiction or tackle it in a more effective manner. Alcohol addiction counseling and recovery also incorporate the aspects to help clients get better in health and wellness, practise living a self-steered life and make an effort to achieve their full potential.

Benefits of relapse prevention alcohol counseling

At RiverMend’s Atlanta recovery center, clients gain an understanding of the distinctive tone of alcohol addiction by hearing it from others. Specially designed group activities enlighten them of the fact that they’re not fighting alone. They are provided with a set of treatment programs and skills to put to use during stressful situations. The principal focus is imposed on activities that foster a healthful and satisfying lifestyle, for example, yoga, fitness, mindfulness, CBT, equine and expressive therapies and self-care know-how.

A professional who specializes in relapse prevention alcohol counseling gives assistance to clients while they embark on the transition to a new and novel support system and fade away from their past negative experiences. Eventually, the goal is centered on helping clients to draw up better choices, fight shy of high-risk circumstances and plan much in advance so as to avoid a relapse when the cravings show a sudden surge. In addition, the Atlanta recovery center also brings into practice real-life skills that reinforce independence, the capacity to recover quickly from difficulties and a healthy way of life that aims at putting up a fight against even a chronic relapse. Benefits include:

• ·         Improved coping skills
• ·         Reduced guilt and shame
• ·         Diminished negative emotions and stress
• ·         Enhanced self-confidence
• ·         Improved ability to find a balance
• ·         Refined self-care
• ·         Better self-control and decreased impulsivity
• ·         Greater understanding of addiction and relapse
• ·         Decreased hazard of a relapse
• ·         Minimized risk of re-hospitalization

How does a relapse prevention alcohol counseling help?

Researches indicate that a deft handling of coping skills in the early stage of the alcohol treatment process remarkably diminishes the threats of relapse. A crucial facet of alcohol counseling is educating clients about the physical, emotional and mental stages of relapse.

Relapse prevention bails the clients out of difficult situations by discerning and circumventing external triggers that give rise to cravings for alcohol. Hanging out with drinking buddies is one such notable external trigger. Moreover, during alcohol counseling, underlying triggers like anxiety, depression, stress and boredom are recognized. Clients acquire knowledge of ways to alter unhealthy behavioral and thinking patterns and develop strategies to curtail urges and cravings