Eating Disorders

 

One thing that Dianne (RD) is heavily involved with at the university is counseling with students that have eating disorders. She walked me through a counseling session and what she does and how she goes about trying to change these individuals’ attitudes about food. She also shared with me her personal philosophy about eating and having a healthy relationship with food.

The session begins with Dianne giving the individual an “Eating Issues & Body Image Contiuum”. This provides a range of 1-5 on what level of disordered eating they are at.

1 – eating is not an issue. Eat to survive, never think much of what they eat, listen to their body, satisfied with body image.

2- eating is a healthy concern.  They try to eat healthy, they are a little concerned about body image but it only occupies a small amount of their thoughts

3-Food preoccupied/obsessed. Afraid to get fat, think about food a lot

4-Disruptive eating patterns. Tried dieting, diet pills, laxatives, vomiting. Wishes they could change how they look

5- Eating disordered. Afraid to eat in front of others, terrified to getting fat, binge and purge, hates body.

She then reviews their benefits of change as well as the barriers that are keeping from changing their harmful behaviors. The key to this part of the session is that the benefits of change, or why they would want to change need to be personal and for themselves. Often times, individuals will list that their parents will stop worrying, or their boyfriend will be happy, etc. These benefits of change need to be for themselves or any progress they make will be futile. Knowing the barriers can help Dianne talk through each barrier and how to overcome it.

Some keys during the counseling session are to listen and not judge. Often times, the dietitian is seen as the food police or someone who will only make them gain weight. So it is so important for the dietitian to only listen and to never judge. Also, the dietitian should never tie food with weight gain. Food is essential for survival and maintaining essential body functions, but it should never be talked in association with weight gain. It is important to really emphasize the point that the average college female needs 1,400 calories for her organs to function properly. Without that, they will start to deteriorate and she will die. Many people don’t realize this and think that any calories consumed will contribute weight gain.

Another thing that Dianne does is argue with the students. She allows them to argue and fight back so she can talk them through it. By allowing an argument the student’s concerns arise, and Dianne is able to talk them through all their concerns and eventually lead to a small step of progress. She also emphasizes that she cannot make them do anything. It is up to them. 

Finally, Dianne really pushed that individuals with eating disorders need their thinking changed. It is the root of the problem. You can change their behaviors, but if their thinking has not been changed, the behaviors will return. These counseling sessions are crucial in identifying what the individuals are thinking and their though processes on why they are doing what they are doing. Once their thinking is changed, the correct and healthy behaviors will follow.

One more thing! The last thing I learned from Dianne is her unconditional love and kindness. You could tell she really cared about these students and their health. She really wanted to see them succeed. Dianne is the kind of person who would do anything for you. This kind of personality is important for this type of a job. These girls open up quickly and trust her because they really know she cares about them and believes in them. She is a powerful example to me, and I hope to implement some of her characteristics in my own life.