Eating Disorders

Eating disorders – bulimia, anorexia and compulsive overeating are a very damaging form of addictive illness. In common with all addictions, the behaviours are engaged in compulsively and to the detriment of the sufferer's emotional, physical, spiritual and mental wellbeing. Eating disorders can have severe and permanent physical consequences on the sufferer's body and health in particular, potentially affecting almost every aspect of physical health.

At the heart of all eating disorders is an overwhelming sense of not being 'enough', often manifested in extreme anxiety and dissatisfaction with physical appearance, which is attempted to be controlled, soothed or eliminated by manipulating the body's natural relationship with food: starving, bingeing, purging or a combination of restrictive/excessive eating patterns. The inappropriate use of physical exercise can also be a contributing factor in the stories of many people with eating disorders.

See our individual pages on the different forms that eating disorders can take to find out more. But in every case, the appropriate treatment is similar. At Charter we have a great deal of experience of helping clients to address their eating disorders in a holistic way, using a combination of approaches to allow clients to achieve the manageability and peace of mind which living with an eating disorder destroys.

As well as working with clients on the emotional and psychological aspects of eating disorders, at Charter we understand how important it is to provide nutritional support to clients both during their treatment with us and on an ongoing basis. We work closely with leading nutrition specialist Tina Lond-Caulk, who runs regular groups at Charter and sees clients for 1:1 sessions in order to provide individual support and advice on the crucial area of nutrition, health and wellbeing. For further details of Tina's practice see www.thenutritionguru.co.uk