Anorexia/Bulimia – Relapses & Treatment

If you or the person you love who is affected by an eating disorder has gotten to the point where you are beginning to talk about treatment, there is cause for celebration. While a person with an eating disorder who starts treatment is not out of the woods by a long shot, it is the first step needed to get back on the road to recovery.

The truth is, even if a person with an eating disorder starts treatment, it doesn't mean that they have embraced the idea of changing their life and behavior. Treatment for an eating disorder is a long process, and many patients go into treatment kicking and screaming, if they are standing at all.

Sometimes a person starts treatment after they've collapsed from weakness or malnutrition. A hospital can feed them intravenously to keep them alive; however, that doesn't mean any other treatment will be successful. To be fully successful, the person with the eating disorder needs to be a willing participant in treatment. Because having an eating disorder doesn't just mean that you're not eating food, you can't simply start eating and expect everything to be all right. Not eating is only a symptom of a bigger problem.

Anorexia and bulimia nervosa are psychological problems as well as physical problems. Until the person gets to the root of why they are being destructive with their eating habits, they can't start the healing process. A person with anorexia or bulimia can be hospitalized and monitored while they eat. That process will keep them alive. But that doesn't mean when they walk out the door of the hospital they won't revert to their old habits. In fact, relapses are very common and people who are in recovery need monitoring to make sure they not only stay on their treatment program, but that their body is responding properly to treatment.

Years ago I was saddened to hear that Karen Carpenter had died. Up until this point, I had never heard of anyone dying from an eating disorder. During her two-month stay in a treatment facility for anorexia, Karen Carpenter gained 30 pounds. Even though most of the weight gain was due to intravenous feeding, she seemed to be on the road to recovery.

However, the weight gain in such a short amount of time put a strain on her already weakened heart, which was due to years of dealing with her anorexia. Karen Carpenter died of heart failure as a result of her battle with anorexia.

Often times, because a person has suddenly started to gain weight, there is a false sense of security that the person with anorexia or bulimia is out of the woods. It can trick people into believing that treatment is no longer needed. The person who has been suffering with anorexia and bulimia will sometimes use this false sense of security that others feel as a way to revert back to old habits, and in turn, suffer a relapse.

Because of this, psychoanalysis and medical treatment must go hand in hand when treating a person with anorexia or bulimia. Simply gaining weight isn't enough to make the problem go away. In fact, even when a person has been successfully treated for anorexia or bulimia, the struggle can sometimes continue their whole life.

Because each person is unique and their reasons for becoming anorexic or bulimic are uniquely their own, treatment will not be a one-size-fits-all approach. Before treatment can begin, the doctor and therapist need to assess at what point the patient is in their struggle with anorexia and bulimia. It may even take consultation with several therapists and medical professionals to decide just how advanced the disease is in that patient.