Eating Disorders - fieldi

182 Afterword
Although total recovery is the ideal outcome, treatment may
improve both the physical and emotional well-being of those whose
recovery may not be complete. Though improved weight and cessation
of purging are concrete signs of improvement, treatment
should also promote better relationships, self-esteem, mood, and
overall well-being. Helping the parents, siblings, partners, and children
of those with eating disorders can also be of significant, if
unmeasured, benefit.
Eating disorders can have a devastating effect on the lives of those
affected. Treatment can be long and difficult, taxing the resources of
patients and families, as well as the patience and skills of the treatment
team. What justifies this enormous commitment if outcome is
uncertain? Patients in our survey were offered the opportunity to
volunteer any further observations they wished. A sample of their
comments expresses the gratification of improvement and the triumph
of recovery:
I want you to know I really am all better. This year I’ve been
dealing with some very drastic circumstances. My feelings are
similar to the ones I felt in 1983 when I was bulimic. However,
this time I didn’t eat away my problems. I got back into therapy
as quickly as I could.
Both individual and group therapy helped me immeasurably. I
learned to like myself and deal with issues that bothered me by
talking about them—not eating my way around them.
Dietary counseling was crucial. I feel that this, more than anything
else, helped me to stop my bulimic and anorexic behavior
so that I could deal with the emotional problems underlying
the eating disorder.
A different reality—
I always basically knew food was not as much the problem as it
was a lack of love, feeling alone, hating myself.
I have a good understanding of what caused the disorder, but,
more important, I have a much better sense of self-worth.