Health & Fitness
Hypnotic Help for Eating Disorders
Hypnosis provides aid to people recovering from eating disorders using guided relaxation and confidence-building suggestions.
It always helps when someone famous reveals overcoming a personal issue that affects many people on an everyday basis. In this case the reference is with regard to Katie Couric stating on her show that she "battled" bulimia from the time she was a senior in high school into her twenties. She was comfortable sharing this personal information because she feels it is now "so commonplace." Rightly so. US News Health reports "between 10 and 50 percent of American college women report having binge eaten and then vomited to control their weight."
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office on Women's Health states someone with bulimia "eats a lot of food in a short amount of time (binging) and then tries to prevent weight gain by getting rid of the food (purging)." As reported by womenshealth.gov, the common mental views of those afflicted with eating disorders include a fear of gaining weight, a desperation to lose weight, and an unhappiness with body size and shape.
Even though Katie was able to recover with the help of a therapist, often times a team of doctors, nutritionists, and therapists are needed. Treatment often includes cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) which deals with the link between feelings and actions. That is where hypnosis can help, not as a primary therapy, but as a supportive aid as suggested by local Certified Clinical Hypnotist, Maggie O'Malley.
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She reports a hypnosis program for bulimics includes sessions for overcoming guilt and fear, building self acceptance, establishing a healthy perspective toward eating and exercising, and managing stress. O'Malley emphasizes, "The biggest advantage to adding hypnosis to an eating disorder recovery regimen is that clients learn self-hypnosis, a life-long tool to help deal with any issue. That's empowering." It is important to note a hypnotist's goal is to help clients help themselves.
Maggie O’Malley, founder of Focus Point Hypnosis Center in Pottstown, PA, is available for further discussion about this subject. She can be contacted by phone at 610-310-3425 or by email at maggie@FocusPointHypnosis.com.
