Professional Help?
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I needed help with food, exercise, and body image isues. What looked like "eating back your exercise calories " in my case was turning into exercise bulimia and it was a professional who picked it up. Sometimes things can seem minor or controllable. But if it's troubling or disruptive, humility and sacrifice may be needed in seeking out a professional.8
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You very well might have seen me be one of those people who have recommended professional help, especially in regards to BED. I got through it with professional help, and I don't know where I'd be in terms of my weight and health without it. It wasn't JUST the counseling that got me here today. But it just did aide my efforts.
Partially why a lot of people recommend professional help is because we are not qualified to diagnose or treat anything. When someone on a forum asks a question ED related, we are giving a subtle nod that it is not safe to give suggestions specifically because we don't know you and you don't know us. Plus there is the factor of someone else coming later and reading the suggestions and deciding to try them for themselves. Again, not safe.
There is absolutely nothing wrong with professional help. I have turned to professional help twice in my life and it was eye opening and healing. The argument about access to it is another that I am not versed enough to go into, but I will ALWAYS highly recommend counseling for EDs.10 -
Christine_72 wrote: »I've noticed this site is very "seek therapy" driven. I live in Australia where this is still a very foreign concept.
I live in Australia, and this comment is rubbish.
There is nothing wrong with getting psychological help, and many people do, and it helps.9 -
You know most eating disorders are actually caused by depression or some other mental health disorder. The eating disorder part might be more of a symptom to the actual problem then the problem itself. I have personally sought help for depression and PTSD. Sometimes I would binge, sometimes I would purge and sometimes I would starve myself. It was scary to get help and sometimes it IS embarrassing to tell my therapist things I've done and how I feel. That's the whole point of therapy. To come to terms with your problems and overcome them no matter how uncomfortable they may make you feel.
I work at a very progressive community health clinic. We serve people regardless of their ability to pay, which means we serve a large majority of our community. We also practice integrated care and I would say about 1/2 or maybe more of our patients utilize our behavioral health team. Which in my opinion means we need to work harder to destigmatize help for psychological health. Posts like this are just asinine and I hope you don't spew garbage like this at people you know in real life.7 -
If an issue is beyond the scope of what a random person or collective of laypersons on the internet can responsibly help with then it is actually really good advice that a person seek professional advice.
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Not everyone can afford specialist care, but if you have internet access you can generally access self help resources at the very least. Such resources are likely to be more beneficial than any advice gleaned from people who are not qualified to comment.
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Christine_72 wrote: »I've noticed this site is very "seek therapy" driven. I live in Australia where this is still a very foreign concept.
I live in Australia, and this comment is rubbish.
There is nothing wrong with getting psychological help, and many people do, and it helps.
Another Australian here. I second this.
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I've seen several posts on this forum suggesting professional help is needed for various food issues - I'm
not talking about anorexia or bulimia . While I agree that professional help may be the needed in some of these food issues and also that we lay people are not equipped to deal with such possible disorders, I just have to vent and say that this makes me sad. MOST of us cannot seek professional help for eating disorders, even though we know we have them, because it's likely cost prohibitive or maybe embarrassing. I had a rather comparatively small eating disorder in that I would get up in the middle of the night to eat. I would wake up out of a sound sleep and have to eat. My choice was anything carbs. I would eat chips, toast, crackers, etc., to excess before I could fall asleep. I've sort of solved my issue, but I can't imagine seeking professional help. I am sad for those folks that can't solve their food issues.
I'm sad that you are not able to see the benefit of people seeking professional help when needed.
I hope noone in your family ever suffers mental health issues.4 -
I interpreted the OP as being sad that people struggle and are unable to seek help. I didn't interpret a sense of superiority, rather empathy.11
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msjennigirl wrote: »I interpreted the OP as being sad that people struggle and are unable to seek help. I didn't interpret a sense of superiority, rather empathy.
Thank you msjennigirl. That's exactly what I meant, but sadly rather clumsily expressed myself. Many, many folks do not have health insurance or the co-pays for treatment are outrageous. Some health insurances do not cover counseling, but I think more are doing so. I had occasion to see a counselor several years ago. My session was $75.00 for 30 minutes. My own father was hospitalized for 3 months following a nervous breakdown, so I understand the value and necessity for mental health treatment. I apologize for my clumsy post. I did not mean to offend.8 -
msjennigirl wrote: »I interpreted the OP as being sad that people struggle and are unable to seek help. I didn't interpret a sense of superiority, rather empathy.
No, the OP said that it was sad people had to turn to professional help instead of figuring it out themselves, like they "sort of" did2 -
Incorrect
You said "we lay people are not equipped to deal with such possible disorders"
And also "I can't imagine seeking professional help".
Don't try to make it sound otherwise.msjennigirl wrote: »I interpreted the OP as being sad that people struggle and are unable to seek help. I didn't interpret a sense of superiority, rather empathy.
Thank you msjennigirl. That's exactly what I meant, but sadly rather clumsily expressed myself. Many, many folks do not have health insurance or the co-pays for treatment are outrageous. Some health insurances do not cover counseling, but I think more are doing so. I had occasion to see a counselor several years ago. My session was $75.00 for 30 minutes. My own father was hospitalized for 3 months following a nervous breakdown, so I understand the value and necessity for mental health treatment. I apologize for my clumsy post. I did not mean to offend.1 -
If you are able to sort things out without help, good for you. But sometimes it is not so simple. And that's why we have professional people.
A good analogy is I can sew. Pretty adequately. But I wouldn't try to sew a silk bridal gown. Someone else could but I have limits.
Same with emotional or mental stuff.
And mental health may not actually be accessible for many US citizens. Many do not have insurance or adequate leave time. Or transportation if one does not have a car. Or a provider... Wait time for intake can be weeks or months if openings available at all. The barriers are real.5 -
For those who are interested in seeking professional help (for any reason, not just ED's) and are afraid that the cost will be prohibitive, the National Alliance on Mental Illness is a great clearinghouse for information. There are local chapters all over the US also, where you can get information about low cost or free programs in your area, how to navigate your insurance, available financial assistance, etc.
Here is the website for the National organization https://www.nami.org/14 -
kenyonhaff wrote: »If you are able to sort things out without help, good for you. But sometimes it is not so simple. And that's why we have professional people.
A good analogy is I can sew. Pretty adequately. But I wouldn't try to sew a silk bridal gown. Someone else could but I have limits.
Same with emotional or mental stuff.
And mental health may not actually be accessible for many US citizens. Many do not have insurance or adequate leave time. Or transportation if one does not have a car. Or a provider... Wait time for intake can be weeks or months if openings available at all. The barriers are real.
The Americans with Disabilities Act (aka ADA) requires employers to allow leave for any health related issue, including mental health. If you have a therapists appointment, they need to let you go. Whether or not you get paid for that time is up to the employer so yes, some cannot afford to lose 2 hours of pay.
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Full disclosure, my Ph.D. is in Psychology.
Absolutely, some folks can sort out their issues on their own. But for some, the problem lies so deep and the food-related behaviors are just a symptom of a much more serious condition that's it's not going to be something they can fix by themselves. If you wouldn't try and remove a bullet from your body, why would you think you can fix the human brain on your own?
There shouldn't be any shame seeking mental health support any more than there is going to a medical doctor to treat a physical ailment.
But people do see matters of the mind differently, unfortunately.
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I wonder if there is a correlation between higher education and acceptance of mental health treatment.3
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kshama2001 wrote: »I wonder if there is a correlation between higher education and acceptance of mental health treatment.
I don't know. Many campus counseling centers, though they meet or exceed accreditation staffing levels have weeks-long wait lists.
For the students, they pay fees which enables them access with no parental knowledge or involvement. That could be part of it as I see cultural stigmas for some students in seeking help no matter how serious the issue. For some, cutting is a more acceptable release than seeing a licensed counselor.
There are lots of issues and behaviors which must have been presenting for years, which remain undiagnosed until college. This is also true of learning disabilities. And schizophrenia often emerges during the early 20's. I have seen a number of students not seek help until they're forced to (involuntary commitment for suicide ideation or attempt). And even then the families can cause greater damage.
Last year, a student was hearing voices telling him to kill himself. When he didn't, they started telling him to kill his mom, too. He tried to throw himself off a bridge on campus, but two other students were nearby and restrained him until campus police arrived. He was hospitalized. His parents picked him up and brought him immediately back to campus, with mom telling him not to miss class. They did not follow the doctors' recommendations about withdrawing him from school of filling his prescriptions. They didn't believe in seeing doctor's for head issues and said he just needed to focus more on school. I have lots of anecdotes like that, unfortunately. Both the parents in this case had advanced degrees.1 -
kshama2001 wrote: »I wonder if there is a correlation between higher education and acceptance of mental health treatment.
I don't know. Many campus counseling centers, though they meet or exceed accreditation staffing levels have weeks-long wait lists.
For the students, they pay fees which enables them access with no parental knowledge or involvement. That could be part of it as I see cultural stigmas for some students in seeking help no matter how serious the issue. For some, cutting is a more acceptable release than seeing a licensed counselor.
There are lots of issues and behaviors which must have been presenting for years, which remain undiagnosed until college. This is also true of learning disabilities. And schizophrenia often emerges during the early 20's. I have seen a number of students not seek help until they're forced to (involuntary commitment for suicide ideation or attempt). And even then the families can cause greater damage.
Last year, a student was hearing voices telling him to kill himself. When he didn't, they started telling him to kill his mom, too. He tried to throw himself off a bridge on campus, but two other students were nearby and restrained him until campus police arrived. He was hospitalized. His parents picked him up and brought him immediately back to campus, with mom telling him not to miss class. They did not follow the doctors' recommendations about withdrawing him from school of filling his prescriptions. They didn't believe in seeing doctor's for head issues and said he just needed to focus more on school. I have lots of anecdotes like that, unfortunately. Both the parents in this case had advanced degrees.
That poor boy.1
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