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Ways Of Coping And Possible Recovery
According to several websites, recovery from eating disorders IS possible, though the process tends to be lengthy. In the class handout titled "Treatment For Anorexia Nervosa", it states that operant conditioning is utilised. This rewards the sufferer when weight has been gained and offers no reinforcement for not eating or failing to gain weight occurs. It is my opinion that this won't solve the problem. According to Susie Orbach, she argues that force feeding sufferers is doomed to failure, and that for treatment to be successful, the clinician must address the underlying issue of why the sufferer needs to be in such control, and what not eating (or eating too much, purging, etc) does for him or her.
Telling someone who is anorexic to eat is about as useful as telling a dog not to pee on a fire hydrant. Some things simply can't be taken care of so easily. In the same way as trying to get through to an anorexic individual that they really need to eat, is like attempting to solve a binge eater's disorder with a diet and excercise. The problem is not in what is being eaten, but when and why. So the problem must be addressed by psychotherapy, and possibly the use of certain antidepressants such as serotonin reuptake inhibitors. SSRI's are commonly prescribed for those with bulimia, but they can help those who have binge disorders also, because the main problem there, is the fact that the brain takes up the serotonin too quickly, which results in a feeling of low. The idea is to keep the serotonin flowing a little longer. This helps to impede further bingeing.
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