All About Eating Problems and How to Overcome them with Psychological Therapy & Counselling

What are Eating Problems?

Eating problems are frequently linked to a poor self image which you may try to manage through your relationship with food.

If you have an eating problem you may focus excessively on your weight or body shape causing you to make unhealthy choices about food.

There is an enormous amount of social pressure on people to meet or conform to what the media portrays, unrealistically, as being normal or attractive.

Eating disorders exist in many different forms and most are at least problematic.

Despite the fact that these problems are a form of self-harm, the majority of sufferers use eating as a way of solving emotional problems without fully considering the downside of their actions.

What are the different types of eating problems?

There are as many different eating problems as there are ways that human beings try to solve emotional problems, but the most well known ones include:

Bulimia:– Is an eating problem in which you may attempt to control your weight by stuffing food followed by purging; deliberately making yourself sick in order to counteract the overeating.

This binge-purge cycle is usually kept very secret and almost always leads to feelings of guilt.

(See Binge Eating)

Compulsive Eating:– Is a condition where you may continue to eat food even when feeling full.

You may struggle to maintain a healthy weight because you use food as a way to alleviate or relieve emotional problems such as depression, stress or anxiety.

(See Compulsions)

Anorexia Nervosa:– The principle characteristic of this serious eating problem is that you may believe that you are fat even if you have a normal or very low body weight.

Without the right support, you might continue to reduce your food intake so drastically that your body is unable to function properly.

What causes eating problems?

There are no definitive causes of eating problems, but there are a number of adversities which may be influential, including:

• A family history of eating problems.
• Being exposed to harsh criticism about weight or shape.
• Working in an environment in which there is pressure to be slim.
• A history of Depression.
• Sexual or Emotional Trauma.
• Abusive relationships.
• High levels of stress at work, home or school.

There are clear indicators that eating problems are linked to the desire to maintain a degree of control over aspects of your life.

This is particularly true if, during your earlier developmental years, you were exposed to high degrees of control or coercion.

Therapy & Counselling for Eating Problems

We offer a number of different types of therapy and counselling for eating problems and food-related issues.

Choosing the most suitable therapy depends on a number of different considerations including factors such as:

• How long you have had the problem.
• Your personal preferences.
• How your problem is affecting you today.

You can read more about the different types of therapy for eating issues on the following links:

• Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for Eating Problems
• Counselling for Food Related Problems
• Pluralistic Therapy for Eating Problems

Although all therapies use slightly different approaches, the one thing they all have in common is the relationship that is formed between the client and therapist.

Research suggests that this therapy relationship may be the most important factor in achieving a good therapy outcome.

The Behaviour Change Framework

All of our counselling sessions and programmes for eating problems use the Behaviour Change Framework (BCF).

This scientifically proven protocol defines the stages of behaviour change that you need to go through in order to achieve long lasting and sustainable change.

The framework provides a roadmap that indicates if more change is required before entering the next phase of mental health therapy.

In this way, we are able to ensure that you get the best possible level of support in overcoming your mental health problems as well preventing early termination of therapy.

You can read more about the Science of Change here.

Arrange your FREE initial consultation here.

If you’d like to find out more about overcoming eating problems or recovering from any of your mental health problems then why not arrange a free initial consultation with us.

During this consultation we will discuss your particular issues and the different types of mental health counselling we offer without you having to commit to any counselling going forward.

The consultation lasts around 50 minutes and is a great opportunity to meet with either Paul or Joan and decide if you would like to proceed with any support.