Worrying about weight might seem like a common occurrence in our image-obsessed society. For some people, the worry takes over in the form of an eating disorder, ruling almost every waking moment. Persons with eating disorders spend up to 90 percent of their day obsessing about their appearance, say treatment professionals with the Eating Disorders Program at The Menninger Clinic in Houston.

Cynthia Nelson, a 31-year-old Houstonian, understands the impact of eating disorders. She struggled with anorexia nervosa for 11 years and says she still battles negative thoughts about her size almost daily.

Nationally recognized experts will discuss eating disorders treatment at the 2008 Eating Disorders Conference of Houston: Perspectives on Treatment and Prevention, on Friday, February 22, at the Power Center, 12401 S. Post Oak Road, Houston, Texas. The conference, from 8 am to 3:30 pm, is open to health professionals for continuing education credit, as well as families and the public. It kicks off National Eating Disorders Awareness Week, February 24 to March 1. Conference presentations and discussions will focus on the link between self-image and eating disorders.

“Negative self-image is one of the most difficult things to change when treating an eating disorder and is the last symptom to resolve from treatment,” says Theresa Fassihi, PhD, a psychologist with the Eating Disorders Program at The Menninger Clinic, who will be presenting at the conference on self-image and risk for relapse. “If a patient does not make some improvement on body image issues early in treatment, it is a significant risk factor for relapse into the eating disorder.”

Cynthia attests to the difficulty of reaching the decision to “give up your eating disorder” in order to get on the road to a healthy weight and eventually, recovery. Cynthia explains that her eating disorder became such a part of her identity that the thought of giving it up seemed impossible.

At age 17, when Cynthia was first diagnosed with anorexia, her eating disorder began to rule her life. As a perfectionist, being skinny became her way of trying to feel good enough at something, please everyone and eventually became her primary focus.

“Being from an affluent area where everything is important, from your grades to how you look, I remember being self-conscious about my body beginning in junior high school,” said Cynthia. “My junior year is when I remember noticing models on TV and in magazines and thinking how great it would be if I looked like them. I started losing weight to look better and to be accepted by everyone. Eventually it was the only thing I could think about.”

During her senior year in high school, Cynthia’s eating disorder escalated to the point her parents decided to find an outpatient treatment program. Because the eating disorder had consumed her entire identity, she didn’t care to engage in treatment. She was eventually hospitalized and fed through a feeding tube. She was close to dying, although she said at that point she didn’t care if she died. All she cared about was losing weight. She was stabilized enough to enter a treatment center specifically for people struggling with eating disorders. That is where she learned about anorexia and the underlying reasons for why she was starving herself.

Treatment professionals helped Cynthia learn how to make use of therapy and gain weight. It would take 10 more years of therapy followed by relapses and several more hospitalizations for Cynthia to struggle through giving up, one piece at a time, the eating disorder that defined her.

According to Dr. Fassihi, “on average, it takes three to seven years for people with eating disorders to fully recover and lapses or relapses are a common part of the process. With treatment and hard work, up to 90 percent of people with eating disorders can fully recover.”

“I experienced a lot of self-hatred, mostly because I never thought I lost enough weight, Cynthia explains. “My sister and friends didn’t like to go to the mall with me because the entire time I would compare myself to others, constantly afraid there was someone skinnier than me.”

Cynthia counts her blessings that her family did not give up on her. She said it wasn’t easy for them. “It was difficult for my younger sister, who was afraid I was going to die, plus, there was some denial at first but they got through that and learned how to offer support for someone with an eating disorder, which was critical during the long recovery process.”

During her last hospitalization, Cynthia achieved a normal weight and has been able to maintain her weight for the past five years.

Cynthia continues to see a therapist and dietitian to help her stay on track. She said her obsession with body image remains a challenging part of her life but she is determined not to miss out on anything else in life like she did when her life was consumed by anorexia.

Although Cynthia had to wait a year after high school to go to college, because of her struggles with anorexia, she was able to complete an undergraduate degree in philosophy and biology and obtain a master’s degree in public health. She is currently enrolled in a master of science physician assistant program. Upon graduating, she plans to work in pediatrics and clinical research.

She believes the most important message she can convey to parents and the families of people with eating disorders is to catch the signs of the disease early. Eating disorders experts agree, people with eating disorders have a better chance of recovering if they enter treatment within the first six months of any signs of an eating disorder.

“Early intervention offers the best prognosis for recovery, and recovery tends to happen more quickly because the behaviors are not as entrenched,” said Dr. Fassihi.

Additional topics covered at the Eating Disorders Conference of Houston will include the prevention of eating disorders and obesity in children. In the United States, as many as 10 million females and 1 million males suffer from an eating disorder, according to the National Eating Disorders Association.

Source: Menninger Clinic