Why Diets Can Be Dangerous

Why Diets Can Be Dangerous

Plenty of people are on diets. But there are times when a diet turns into a whole other process and becomes an eating disorder. No one intends for this to happen, but it can when someone becomes so exhilarated at seeing a weight loss and feeling so in control of their weight that they make their diet even stricter and more weight loss follows. And then the diet becomes even stricter, and so on and so on. Without realizing how and when it happened, food choices become more and more narrow, and dieting becomes addictively out of control, like a runaway train. That is how someone who started a diet can become anorexic. When losing weight takes over your life, and your behavior around food becomes more secretive, you may find your life becoming more and more isolated. No matter how little you actually eat, thinking about food can take over your mind. After awhile, some people find themselves binge eating, then purging to rid themselves of the food.

Eating disorders are potentially life-threatening conditions. If you find that your dieting has begun to get out of control, do not wait to get the professional help you need. The longer you wait, the more entrenched the eating disorder becomes. Make sure that you consult with a psychotherapist who has had specialized training and experience in treating people with eating disorders. Being in treatment with someone who has not had specialized training and experience can result in your condition becoming worse. Directories of mental health professionals who specialize in eating disorders can be found online at the websites for National Eating Disorder Association, Academy for Eating Disorders, EDReferral, National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders, and even one with the odd name of Something Fishy. People can and do recover from eating disorders, so do not wait.