Use Behavior Therapy to Treat Overeating
Behavior therapy, which seeks to isolate the feelings and thoughts that cause undesirable behaviors from the behaviors themselves, is often a front-line treatment option for eating disorders such as compulsive overeating. By learning behavior-modification techniques that will help you to redefine your attitudes and beliefs about food as well as your self-esteem, you can use behavior therapy to treat compulsive overeating.
Instructions
1. Find a mental health care professional, preferably a psychiatrist or licensed clinical psychologist, who has experience in using behavior therapy to treat eating disorders such as compulsive overeating. Use your family doctor, mental health clinic or nearby hospital to obtain a referral for a qualified behavioral therapist.
2. Ask the behavior therapist questions about their background, philosophy, experience, education and appropriate licensing before you agree to therapy sessions with them. Often, the therapist recommends a "trial session" in order to determine whether there is a good fit between the two of you and whether or not you feel relaxed and comfortable with the atmosphere.
3. Agree to a time period in which the goals of the behavior therapy should be met. Since behavior therapy seeks to treat the behavior and not the underlying causes, results can be achieved within 6 to 10 weeks in most cases.
4. Consider a combination of cognitive behavior therapy and an antidepressant such as Prozac, which is the front-line treatment choice of most mental health care professionals in dealing with eating disorders. Cognitive behavior therapy uses behavioral modification techniques to replace existing thoughts and beliefs with ones that are associated with more desirable behaviors or responses. And anti-depressants, Prozac in particular, have been shown to be very effective in reducing the feeling of depression that can exacerbate compulsive overeating patterns.
5. Supplement the behavior therapy with plenty of exercise. Studies show that such activities as yoga, tai chi, stretching exercises and walking help to raise serotonin levels in the brain that can combat feelings of depression. In addition, developing a more healthy lifestyle will lead to a better self-image, which will aid in changing your attitudes and beliefs about food and your body.
Tags: behavior therapy, compulsive overeating, eating disorders, mental health, about food, attitudes beliefs