Eating Disorder Therapy Program at Alina Lodge
Eating disorders have much in common with addiction. In fact, they often co-occur. But while addiction is recognized as a chronic disease that requires medical treatment, stigmas still surround those who struggle with emotional eating. This may make it difficult to reach out for help. If you or a loved one needs an eating disorder therapy program, there’s no better time than now to contact Alina Lodge and learn more about the therapy programs we offer.
Similarities Between Substance Use and Eating Disorders
Just like substance use disorder, chronic overeating, or not eating enough, is rooted in feelings and emotions. There are differences, however. Chemical addiction causes changes to take place in brain chemistry. Eating disorders, on the contrary, are emotion-based. But both have things in common. Basically, those who struggle with them are trying to achieve one of two things:
- They want to feel better.
- They want to escape pain.
Regardless of whether you self-medicate with drugs, alcohol, or comfort food, you need treatment. Self-medication is only a way of avoiding negative thoughts or past trauma. Until you deal with the emotions involved, it will be difficult or impossible to achieve recovery. This is where an eating disorder therapy program becomes vital.
How Addiction Treatment Helps Heal Eating Disorders
Behavioral therapy is a powerful weapon against addiction. It involves recognizing negative thought patterns and learning how to re-channel and refocus them. Those in treatment for substance use disorder use behavioral therapy to achieve multiple goals, including:
- Moving past old trauma
- Healing cognitive distortions
- Recognizing and overcoming triggers
- Learning healthier coping skills
- Cultivating healthier recovery behaviors
If you struggle with an unhealthy relationship with food, an eating disorder therapy program can help in much the same way behavioral therapy helps those addicted to chemicals. By learning how to face your feelings, move safely through them, and then leave them behind, you’ll find it unnecessary to continue to use food as medication.
Common Types of Eating Disorders
Those who struggle with emotional eating may eat too much or too little. Both are unhealthy and may lead to more serious medical conditions such as cardiac disease, high blood pressure, low blood pressure, and diabetes. Some emotional eaters will binge then purge, which can cause damage to the lining of the stomach and esophagus. An eating disorder therapy program can help you let go of an unhealthy relationship with food and heal from common eating disorders, including:
- Anorexia nervosa — Severe restriction of calories that may cause starvation
- Bulemia nervosa — Binging, then purging
- Binge eating disorder — Binging without purging, leading to obesity
- Pica — eating non-food items such as hair or dirt
Sometimes, eating disorders such as these develop out of a heightened sense of awareness about appearance, body weight, or shape. Other times, they develop because someone is desperate to feel a sense of control over their own life, and controlled eating is the only way they know to achieve it. There are many reasons people suffer from eating disorders, including genetics. Having a twin sibling with an eating disorder puts you at greater risk of developing one, too. Fortunately, an eating disorder therapy program can help.
The Eating Disorder Therapy Program at Alina Lodge
At Alina Lodge, in New Jersey, we offer time — time to recover, time to heal. There is no quick in and out for guests at Alina Lodge. To the contrary, we emphasize letting go of the concept of time and simply focusing on feeling better. Most who recover with us enter an addiction treatment program that lasts at least 28 days, but many stay longer. The ultimate goal is to recover. Alina Lodge is committed to helping guests learn how to lead happy, successful lives, free from addiction.
Choose to Make a Change in Your Life at Alina Lodge
The eating disorder therapy program at Alina Lodge helps those who struggle with emotional eating learn healthier ways of coping. If you or a loved one has developed an eating disorder, contact us today at 800.575.6343 to learn more about the eating disorder therapy program at Alina Lodge in Blairstown, New Jersey.
