Eating Disorders
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Ocean View Neuropsychiatry
Child Psychiatrists located in Newport Beach, CA
Around 90% of eating disorders involve young women between the ages of 12-25, although it’s important to remember that young men can also have eating disorders. At Ocean View Neuropsychiatry in Laguna Beach and Irvine, California, Ashraf Elmashat, MD, and Mohamed Yaser Elatrozy, MD, diagnose eating disorders in young people and offer compassionate and customized treatment to address the underlying issues that contribute to an eating disorder and repair your child’s relationship with food. Call or make an appointment online today.
Eating Disorders Q & A
What are eating disorders?
Eating disorders are mental health conditions that impact your thoughts and feelings and lead to disturbed eating behaviors. While eating disorders are mental health conditions, they can lead to severe physical health problems. Eating disorders tend to manifest in three primary illnesses.
Anorexia
Anorexia is characterized by extremely restricted eating, fear of fat, and a distorted body image. A patient with anorexia may also exercise excessively.
Bulimia
While a patient with bulimia may also diet and excessively exercise, they also go through cycles of binging and purging, which means they compulsively eat only to force themselves to vomit immediately afterward or to abuse laxatives. A patient with bulimia may be underweight but is just as likely to have an average weight or be overweight.
Binge eating disorder
Binge eating disorder is a condition where a patient consumes vast quantities of food in a short period of time. They may feel out of control during their binge and suffer from shame, guilt, and depression afterward. However, unlike bulimia, a binge eating disorder doesn’t involve purging tactics such as vomiting or laxative abuse.
What are the signs that my child has an eating disorder?
If your child has an eating disorder, their behavior may change, and you may notice other changes. For example, your child may:
- Avoid family meals
- Adopt a specific diet or meal plan
- Increase their physical activity
- Become withdrawn, secretive, or irritable
- Preoccupied with their appearance or weight
- Abnormal weight changes
If you’re concerned about changes in your child’s appearance, behavior, or eating habits, make an appointment with the doctors at Ocean View Neuropsychiatry for an assessment today.
How are eating disorders treated?
If Dr. Elmashat and Dr. Elatrozy diagnose your child with an eating disorder, they create a customized and comprehensive treatment plan to approach your child’s health from many angles. They may collaborate with your child’s pediatrician and a nutritionist. By combining therapy, medical assessments, and nutritional education, the doctors hope to both resolve the underlying issues that contribute to the disordered eating, protect their physical health, and teach your child about the necessity of proper nutrition.
Recovering from an eating disorder can take time and is often a complicated journey. The doctors can also provide family therapy to help your family deal with any related issues and help you develop the skills to support your child through recovery.
Call or make an appointment online today.
