By Dr Mark Warren

One area that is a constant concern with those with eating disorders has to do with heart rate, in particular, low heart rate. This issue is generally observed at low body weight but can happen anytime there has been a significant amount of weight loss. In general, as one loses weight one loses muscle mass. With the loss of muscle mass there may be loss of heart mass as the heart is a muscle. The body, being generally wise, will try to preserve the heart as long as it can, but under the stress of continued weight loss or malnutrition wasting of the heart muscle can occur. Initially the heart may beat more quickly to compensate for being a smaller size, but this is quite exhausting for the heart and ultimately can lead to further damage. To conserve heart muscle and thus keep the entire body functioning as well as possible there will be a slowing of heart rate, called bradycardia. Bradycardia can be very dangerous and is one of the leading causes of illness, hospitalization, and death for those with eating disorders. Heart rates in the 40s or lower are particularly dangerous. As heart rate goes down the risk of arrhythmia, or abnormal rhythm of the heart, becomes more likely. A heart rate in the 40s will often fall into the 30s while asleep, thus increasing these risks. This is why clients with heart rate in their 40s will be hospitalized, both for safety in the moment and for overnight monitoring.  Read more

For much of the 30 years that bulimia has been recognized as a psychiatric disorder, experts have believed that unlike anorexia, bulimia was purely a psychological issue, and not also a physiological one. Bulimics were thought to be generally normal weight people who have an extreme phobia about weight gain.

 But recent research, published this month in the International Journal of Eating Disorders, has cast doubt on that assumption, and could serve as a motivational tool for bulimics struggling to recover. A study out of Drexel University in Philadelphia found that among two different sets of people studied, one over a period of 20 years and the other for two years, one surprisingly accurate indicator of how patients with bulimia will fare is the discrepancy between their past all-time high weight and their current weight. The larger that discrepancy, known as “weight suppression,” is, the more likely patients are to gain weight while their bulimia continues. Read more

http://www.eatingdisordersblogs.com/nutrition/

Dialectical behavioral therapy (DBT) is a recovery tool designed to help women discover their ability to create a meaningful life for themselves, regardless of past challenges. The dialectic in DBT is that acceptance and change can exist simultaneously. DBT is especially effective in treating those who have experienced repeated relapses of self-harm, eating disorders, co-occurring emotional illnesses, or addiction. 

I saw this story on A Current Affair tonight and was really touched by it and well how could I not be!!!

Please check out The Kissy Project

“I decided to make this website to tell about my 8 year battle with my eating disorder, inform people about the 6 horrible weeks I spent in hospital, blog about my ongoing battle (I’ve relapsed and been sick at home again for the past month) and hopefully help prevent anyone from getting to the point that I have and ruining their own life because of their weight. I’m aware that people have negative responses to what I have done but I have not made this website for sympathy but purely for the fact that this eating disorder has destroyed part of my own life so I may aswell help other people save theirs whilst using this website as a part of my own recovery. Please look through the website and if you do feel like you have or know someone that could have an eating disorder, look through the “Contacts” section and GET HELP. You don’t choose Anorexia, It chooses you..”  Source Kirsten Hertog http://thekissyproject.weebly.com/

Overcoming Disordered Eating - Part B 
Overcoming Disordered Eating - Part B: This information package follows on the Overcoming Disordered Eating - Part A, and provides some strategies and techniques to change the thinking patterns associated with disordered eating. This infopax is organised into modules that are designed to be worked through in sequence.  We recommend that you complete one module before going on to the next.  Each module includes information, worksheets, and suggested exercises or activities.

Overcoming Disordered Eating - Part A 
Overcoming Disordered Eating - Part A: This information package is designed to provide you with some information about disordered eating - how it develops, how it is maintained, and strategies to start to change the problem behaviours associated with disordered eating.  This infopax is organised into modules that are designed to be worked through in sequence.  We recommend that you complete one module before going on to the next. Each module contains information, worksheets, and suggested exercises or activities.

This is a really excellent resource please check it out

TK has received numerous questions from young women seeking advice on how to tell their parents about their struggle with eating disorders, as well as depression, mood disorders and cutting.

Can I Possibly Talk To My Parents About This?

Whether your parents have suspected you have a problem with eating or cutting, or they are completely surprised, it will be difficult for them to hear how much you are hurting. But having this conversation will not only help you overcome your own emotional struggles. Most women in your situation have reported that sharing their secret and getting help for an eating disorder, self-injury or a mood disorder also brings them much closer to their family than they’ve been in years. This article contains input from multiple members of our treatment team, and attempts to answer some of the most common questions that keep young women from starting that process.  While this blog post is oriented primarily toward young women who are living at home with their parents, the principles apply to men and women of any age who need to seek support from loved ones to confront a major challenge.

Eating disorders are commonly perceived as illnesses which only affect females, with a strong association to teenage girls, however, in reality they are suffered by anyone, irrespective of age, social background, race, sexuality or gender. Current research indicates that between 10% to 20% of all cases are male, however, due to the stigma and disadvantage male sufferers face, the true figure is likely to be far higher, due to male sufferers often not seeking medical help. Once a sufferer does seek help there is a worrying lack of awareness and education amongst health professionals when dealing with male cases, often leading to misdiagnoses or delayed treatment, which further increases the isolation and risk to the sufferer. We are calling on the government to make essential changes in the provision of individual, specific care on both a policy and service delivery level to eradicate the barriers faced not only at the point of access but throughout treatment and recovery.

Please sign the petition