Eating Disorder Treatment Anorexia, Bulimia, and binge eating are twice as common today as they were in 1980, and these problems are continuing to rise.  While most suffering are females, the rate of eating disorders in males is also rising, and increasingly younger people are showing signs of eating disorders.  Athletes are at particularly high risk for developing eating disorders, especially in sports such as gymnastics, distance running, and wrestling.  A recent study found that 62% of female gymnasts, figure skaters, and ballerinas showed significant signs of an eating disorder. Common signs of eating disorders include depression, irritability, obsessing about food, hiding one’s problems with food, bingeing (consuming large quantities of food until uncomfortably full), purging (vomiting or using laxatives), severely restricting calories, fearing various types of food, fearing eating in front of others, dehydration, hair loss, osteoporosis, menstrual problems, and heart problems.   Of all mental health issues, eating disorders are believed to be the most deadly, claiming numerous lives through heart problems and other means.  According to an article in the American Journal of Psychiatry, about 6% of females who have Anorexia between the ages of 15 and 24 will die from this disorder, which is about 12 times higher than the annual death rate due to all causes of death among females between 15 and 24.  Dr. Bowman is an expert in treating eating disorders, which account for about forty percent of his clientele.  He has worked successfully with numerous people suffering from severe eating disorders, including many who failed to improve at all after spending weeks or months in residential programs.  One of the keys to his approach is to empathize with those suffering from eating problems:  these are not bad people who are trying to destroy themselves and their families; they are goal-directed people, trying to have the best bodies they can.  Their main problem is they are pursuing their goals in the wrong way.  For example, severely restricting calories or purging leaves people so weak they are unable to exercise and develop muscles and tone.  In fact, restricting and purging often causes such weakness that people can hardly do anything at all.  Also, people can get so caught up in their goals that their goals take over their lives, and they end up sacrificing the quality of their lives to pursue something that cannot bring happiness.   Family members can greatly aid recovery, but they have to learn their place in recovery is to follow professional advice and not to nag people about eating who are typically already too hard on themselves.  Nagging leads to an intensification of the problem, but appropriate support, especially for teens, is extremely helpful according to a recent article (Sept. 2007) in the Archives of General Psychiatry.   Dr. Bowman helps people with eating disorders create healthier bodies; his goal is never to simply add or reduce pounds, but rather to promote and develop health, wellness, beauty, and energy.  As a sport psychologist, who has worked with many professional and elite athletes, he has a great respect for the body, and an even greater respect for how the mind gets in its way.  He is committed to helping you or your loved one develop the best, healthiest body possible and to live free. Click here for a recent interview of Dr. Bowman by Birmingham Parent on Sports and Eating Disorders:

Dr. Bowman is our eating disorder specialist.