Treatment and Prevention
People with anorexia rarely seek or want treatment, since they usually don't acknowledge or admit they have a problem. It's often left to family members and friends to recognize the eating disorder and urge them to get treatment.
Anorexia doesn't get better without treatment - people with anorexia need medical and professional help to get better. The biggest obstacle to treating anorexia is the person's unwillingness to undergo treatment.
The primary goal of therapy is to get the person to eat again and gain weight. In general, people with anorexia don't consider their behavior to be abnormal or unhealthy, so it's very difficult to convince them that they have a serious problem and to get them to eat normally. If the condition is severe, to the point of emaciation, hospitalization is usually necessary.
Counseling, both individual and family, is commonly part of a treatment plan. This involves cognitive behavioral therapy, where patients are counseled about body image issues, weight management, normal eating habits, nutrition, and the effects of starvation. Drug therapy with medications such as antidepressants are only useful for associated problems such as depression, anxiety, or obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). About 70% of people who receive therapy in a timely manner will make a full recovery. But in some cases, anorexia becomes a lifelong problem and may require long-term and counseling and management.
People with bulimia usually want and seek treatment, since they recognize their eating disorder is abnormal and is harmful to their health and happiness.
People with bulimia rarely require hospitalization. They're usually treated with a combination of cognitive-behavioral therapy and medications. Antidepressants are often prescribed, which often reduce food craving and binge-eating episodes. Psychotherapy is used to create awareness and to educate about eating patterns and behaviors, as well as to deal with distorted thoughts about body image and weight. Group and family therapy are commonly used to manage bulimia, and are quite effective. As with anorexia, people with bulimia who get early and prompt treatment will have a full recovery and suffer minimal long-term ill effects.