Holly Wincote - Professional, Qualified Hypnotherapist and Hypnotherapy & Training in Sheffield, Chesterfield, London, Doncaster, Oxford, Birmingham

HYPNOTHERAPY FOR EATING DISORDERS

Eating disorders are an 'abnormal' attitude towards food which causes a person to change their eating habits and behaviours. Some eating disorders involve an obsession with weight and body shape, while others are more of a phobia, concerning the type of food eaten. The most common types of eating disorder are :-

Anorexia Nervosa
Keeping weight as low as possible, through eating as little as possible, starving and sometimes excessive exercise. Even when a person with anorexia becomes extremely underweight, they are still feel the need to continue losing weight. About 1 in 250 women and 1 in 2000 men experience this disorder, usually starting around age 15.

Bulimia
Controlling weight by forced vomiting or use of laxatives after eating, often following binge eating. Men and women can develop bulimia although women are 10 times more likely to develop it than men. It is thought about 8% or 1 in 12 women suffer from bulimia at some time in their life, usually beginning around age 18.

Binge Eating
Eating overly large quantities of (often sugary) food on a regular basis. People often plan binges and carry out binge eating over a short period of time in private, with specially bought binge food. They feel they have no control over the binge eating and often feel disgusted or guilty after. Unlike people with bulimia, binge eaters do not make themselves sick after and often become overweight or obese. Men and women are affected equally by binge eating and it usually begins in later adulthood.

Selective Eating Disorder (SED)
A very limited diet with an unwillingness to try different foods. People with SED will only eat very specific foods which they consider to be safe or acceptable, often becoming distressed if presented with any other food. Sufferers sometimes have a fear or phobia of other food, finding the texture or smell to cause nausea or vomiting and often a fear of choking or being sick if they eat it. SED may cause people to avoid whole food groups such as fruit, vegetables or pulses and even certain brands of foods they do eat. Common in childhood, if unaddressed SED can continue into adulthood.

There are different causes, symptoms and effects for different people and different disorders.

Anorexia can be caused by the way a person thinks, combined with pressure or expectation to be thin and further reinforced by a change in brain chemistry due to lack of a normal diet. People with anorexia are obsessed with being thin, usually believing they are 'fat', no matter how much weight they lose and believe that the thinner they are, the more other people will like them. Anorexia can lead to infertility, weakening of bones, kidney disease and heart failure, with about 5% dying from complications caused by malnutrition.

Some of the causes of bulimia include low self-esteem, stress, social pressure, depression, emotional problems, puberty, family environment and traumatic events. People with bulimia are extremely fearful pf putting on weight and set strict rules for dieting and exercising. When they fail, they enter a vicious cycle of bingeing, guilt and purging (through vomiting or laxatives). The effects of bulimia include dental problems (due to acid from vomiting), irregular periods and difficulty in becoming pregnant, poor skin and hair, tiredness, weakness, abnormal heart rhythms, kidney damage, fits, bowel and heart problems.
Binge eating can be caused by anxiety, stress, low self-esteem or confidence, reaction to specific events, anger, boredom, sadness, trying to lose weight, or as a way of coping with unhappiness and depression. Frequently people become trapped in a cycle of bingeing, guilt, restraint and bingeing and experience effects such as intolerance to hot and cold, stomach pains, headaches and sugar cravings. Binge eating often results in obesity which leads to joint and back pain, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes and heart disease, as well as shortening your life expectancy.

Selective Eating Disorder may be triggered by trauma or unpleasant memories, for example if something was eaten while hearing bad news or if someone was sick as a child after eating a certain food. Also SED can develop following a dislike of a food which escalates into a fear or aversion. People with SED may find it extremely difficult to socialise normally, being unable to eat out or with friends and often wanting to hide their 'fussy eating' from others. SED can cause dental problems from excessive sugar, significant worry and even depression. Long term, SED has serious health risks associated, including malnutrition.

• Eating Disorder Hypnotherapy helps you to overcome the reasons behind your specific eating disorder and change the way you think and behave around food.
• Whether this is dealing with a past problematic event, changing your body self-image, increasing your confidence, learning to enjoy appropriate eating or all of these, you will be able to change your eating habits and be calm, positive and relaxed.
• Hypnotherapy for eating disorders works at a subconscious level, so the work is not undone by your conscious mind.
• In my Sheffield Hypnotherapy Practice I will teach you powerful techniques to use at any time or place, in any situation, to enable you to be confident and really take control of your thoughts and actions.

If you have an eating disorder, as well as choosing hypnotherapy to help you, it is essential you contact your GP for additional specialist advice.

Timeframe: usually 2 - 4 sessions for SED, or up to 8 sessions for anorexia, bulimia or binge eating. Sessions are tailored to your specific circumstances, using some or all of the techniques below

Consultation: determine events which caused your eating disorder

Hypnosis: at a deep and lasting level to increase your confidence, raise your self-esteem, learn to like yourself and your body, banish guilt, deal with stress, anxiety or depression and change your eating habits

Visualisation: develop alternative strategies for dealing with past, present and future events

NLP: change your thoughts and behaviours towards food and eating

Cognitive/Behavioural Therapy (CBT): to work out new ways of thinking about situations and feelings

Self hypnosis: learn self hypnosis to be confident, in control and free of your eating disorder

If you would like more information on Hypnotherapy for Anorexia, Hypnotherapy for Bulimia, Hypnotherapy for Binge-Eating or Hypnotherapy for SED (Selective Eating Disorder) in Sheffield, or you would like to book an appointment, please contact me.

Holly Wincote Hypnotherapy Sheffield
Tel: 07986 539747
Email: holly@atherapy.co.uk