Eating Disorder Resources and Information What is an eating disorder? Anorexia, bulimia and binge eating are the three most common eating disorders. Someone with anorexia has an intense fear of gaining weight and typically has lost 15% of their original body weight. They have a distorted body image and often engage in intense and excessive exercise. Women may experience an interruption in their menstrual cycle due to weight loss and inadequate nutrition. They may experience hunger but feel in control when they resist the urge to eat. Someone with bulimia typically engages in binge eating - eating large portions of food at one sitting, often in response to emotional, environmental stressors , or dieting. These episodes are often characterized by a feeling of being out of control of their eating. Very often they purge after binging to alleviate the discomfort and guilt created by food intake. Those with binge eating tend to eat more than what is needed to maintain a healthy body. Generally they eat in response to emotional or environmental stressors as well as responding to intense hunger from deprivation and dieting. They have usually dieted repeatedly in the past and have experienced shame about food and body. They feel discouraged and view their ability to handle their problems as inadequate. All of these eating disorders are serious health problems, perhaps life threatening, and can benefit from professional treatment available at UO. TEAM APPROACH UO offers a team approach to working with clients experiencing eating disorders. We have found that a comprehensive approach seems to be the most beneficial to clients because it maximizes services and support. Our team consists of members from the following disciplines: Psychology, Medical, Nutrition and Exercise. All members work together to help you achieve the best and healthiest results for you. Following is a description of the services offered according to specialty area. There are very few resources available for clients with eating disorders in the Eugene area. The following are currently functioning:
Some other helpful websites are:
How much of your mental energy is spent on body image? Is your self-esteem affected by the extent to which you maintain control over your diet and weight? To help you become more aware of these destructive thoughts, we invite you to take a week and challenge yourself each day with the following.
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Challenge
Yourself to Have a Positive Relationship with Your Body
Monday-
We challenge you to refuse to diet or engage in any dieting behavior.
Studies have shown that weight-loss dieting only serves to promote
diet/weight preoccupation and eating disorders.
