(Oxford) Diploma : Mental health – eating disorder therapy

This is a course about a major problem of healthy eating – eating disorder therapy – when the ‘healthy’ aspect become UNhealthy. There are two Instructors: Chris Sivewright and Johana Alandete.

Johana writes:

“I start by clarifying that I am not a health professional, I am not a doctor, a psychiatrist, a psychologist, or anything like that. I am, in fact, a Master in Administration, a writer by passion, a singer, an actress and a comedian with my friends and family… In fact, I always dreamt of being a comedy actress. BUT mental issues are important for me, reason why I research a lot from science papers, books, experts, and people who lives with. I am also a person who has gone through a depression diagnosed as severe, according to my psychiatrist. The madness (that is what I called my depression), manifested itself after I developed an eating disorder that began in near anorexia-bulimia and mutated into an orthorexia (not yet included in the DSM-5). At first, I started removing certain foods from my diet (sugar, grease, carbs, process food, some fruits), until I was afraid to eat two leaves of lettuce because it was too much. When I was almost in the bones, the depression began… I isolated myself, became almost a zombie, a body without a soul and the histrionic Johana who used to speak so much, who was exaggerating everything as a joke, who loved to laugh out loud, had become only “something”, a physical body that inhabited an empty space. I stopped being someone.”

• Orthorexia is an eating disorder that haven’t been included yet on the DSM because is relative “new” in comparison with Bulimia, Anorexia and Binge Eating Disorder.
• Vegans, Vegetarians, Fitness people, Athletes, often have this condition because is an absolutely control for what you eat and the way it was prepared.
• How clean is, how many calories does it has, how many macros… if it has a any quantity of carbs and you have a dinner with your family, so you discount all the carbs in your day to drink a wine at night.
• To social meetings use to take their own meals and the food becomes their whole world, triggering an absolutely stress to the point they start to isolate, feeling guilty all the time, feeling sad, their personal relationships collapse, their mind is a calculator of macros and calories to the point they don’t think in anything else, they have purges like vomit, laxatives and the body begins to feel unbalanced, and the person begin to lack vitamins and minerals.
• Also, they have binge, mostly of peanut butter and have a high intensity training everyday. Sometimes, when they feel ate “bad”, because they ate for example, two cookies, so the go to the gym to do up to 3 or 4 hours of training.
• Finally, this take the people to a severe depression and high levels of anxiety.

Johana writes: “I lived with the illness for 5 years and is not so “Nice”. So, now in the social media era, where the teen and young adult users who spend the most time on Instagram, and other digital platforms, showed a substantially higher rate of depression (13 to 66 percent) than those who spend less time on their cell phones. Study by the Child Mind Institute 2017. Is absolutely important to be armored because the comparison between lives, bodies, success and all that things, are ruining our lives.”

This includes Johana’s articles from the website “Asunto de Mujeres” (Women Affairs).

Eating disorder therapy – orthorexia – obsession.

Topics covered in the 2024 update:

Therapeutic Options for Eating Disorders

1. Psychological Therapies

• Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
• Family-Based Therapy (FBT)
• Maudsley Anorexia Nervosa Treatment for Adults (MANTRA)
• Specialist Supportive Clinical Management (SSCM)

2. Nutritional Education and Support

3. Medical Monitoring and Treatment

4. Medication

5. Support Groups and Peer Support

Coping Strategies for Individuals with Eating Disorders

1. Establishing a Support Network

2. Engaging in Therapy

3. Practicing Self-Care

4. Setting Realistic Goals

5. Utilizing Nutritional Guidance

Plus Case Studies and specific art therapy exercises written especially for people with an Eating Disorder.