The document discusses eating disorders and a therapist's new book on the topic. It notes that over 10 million Americans suffer from anorexia or bulimia, which are the two most common eating disorders. The therapist, Erica Ives, has suffered from and recovered from an eating disorder herself. Her book aims to educate readers on what eating disorders look like and how to help those suffering from them. Ives notes that eating disorders allow people to communicate feelings they can't express otherwise, and that expanding knowledge of the disorders can help identify early signs and support recovery.

1. Therapist offers invaluable
advice for those suffering from
eating disorders
EATING DISORDER
MARCH 24, 2013
BY: ROBIN WULFFSON, M.D.

2. “You can’t be too rich or too thin” is a famous quote that originated in the 1960s.
Unfortunately, you can be too thin. It is estimated that more than 10 million Americans suffer
with eating disorders. According to the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, the
two most common eating disorders are anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa. Anorexia is
self-starvation. Bulimia is a disorder in which a person eats large amounts of food
(“bingeing”) and then rids the body of that food before it can be absorbed (“purging”). A
person who is bulimic purges either by vomiting or using laxatives or diuretics (water pills).
Some people have symptoms of both anorexia and bulimia.
With a mortality rate of 10%, according to The National Institute of Mental Health, eating
disorders are considered the deadliest of all psychiatric illnesses. It most commonly affects
young girl; however, boys can be afflicted as well. The extreme behaviors seen in anorexia
and bulimia might be enough to signal a problem with a friend or loved one, but what about
the beginning stages of these crippling diseases and everything in between? Today we have
new subsets of eating disorders: binge eating, orthorexia, pregorexia, anorexia athletica and
even drunkorexia. Eating disorders are getting a very early head start, being recognized in
kindergarten children, if not earlier. Given these factors, it’s increasingly important that
family, friends and clinicians can spot the early warning signs of eating disorders, before they
take their deadly psychological and physical toll.
In her new book, Eating Disorders: Decode the Controlled Chaos: Your Knowledge May Just
Save a Life (Balboa Press, 2013) licensed therapist and certified eating disorder specialist,
Erica Ives, MA, MFT, CEDS unlocks the hidden secrets of eating disorders. She has an up-
close-and-personal experience with the disorder because she has suffered through and
recovered from it. The focus of her new book is to educate to educate readers, families,
parents, teachers, doctors and those suffering about what an eating disorder looks like and
what we, as a community, can do to help decode the chaos.
According to Ms. Ives, “Eating disorders can serve as a way to communicate. They speak
the unspoken. Every eating disorder has a voice, a story, a thought and a feeling that the
sufferer is trying to express, but the deeper they go, the more disconnected they become.”
Although there is no single cause of eating disorders, which are believed to have numerous
contributing factors, arising from an interplay of psychological, emotional, interpersonal,
biological, social and cultural factors, Ives presents how the “controlled chaos” can be
“decoded” by expanding our knowledge and awareness of what eating disorders actually
look like, even when they remain hidden from view.
She explains, “Many people are unable to spot the early warning signs of an eating disorder
because they do not know what to look for. To complicate things, any individual suffering
from an eating disorder quickly becomes an expert at hiding it. Part of having an eating
disorder is suffering in silence and keeping secrets,” says Ives. “I wrote this book to open the
dialogue for people with eating disorders, their families and treatment providers to become

3. more knowledgeable, to help identify and be more willing to talk about this silent killer
towards the road for recovery.”
Ms. Ives notes that her book can help you to:
• Expand your knowledge of eating disorders
• Grasp the severity and prevalence
• Explore the numerous causes
• Identify early warning signs and recognize current symptoms
• Increase awareness of the potential medical complications
• Understand the meaning and importance of a multi-disciplinary treatment approach
• Learn about the treatment options available
• Facilitate a clinical interview
• Enhance your understanding with the use of clinical vignettes
http://www.examiner.com/article/therapist-offers-invaluable-advice-for-those-suffering-from-
eating-disorders
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