I’m not going to make friends with my colleagues by saying this but I believe that the experts who work in residential treatment facilities or those involved with OA are doing more damage than good when it comes to helping people heal compulsive overeating.
They work hard at restricting diets, creating rules, finding triggers and talking about emotional issues which get their clients thinking and doing. This is how the disorder has been dealt with for the past few decades. But what if this traditional method of treatment is actually making people hang on to compulsive overeating longer than others who tried a different approach?
Let’s take for example Overeaters Anonymous (OA). Their 12 Step Program is based on the original 12 Steps for Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) which encourages abstinence from the substance altogether. Well we know we can’t do that with food or we will die so the next best thing is restriction.
One of the consequences of not following the OA diet is having your sponsor treat you like a five year old. You are sent to the corner of the room and you can only come out when you behave yourself and start following the rules. I’ve seen this happen. Unfortunately, I don’t think they understand that food is not the main issue for binge eaters.
By having to constantly repeat that you are a compulsive overeater, in the eyes of OA, you will always be one. They do not believe that you can be completely free of this disorder. What if their way of thinking is just years and years worth of the same old beliefs that have never been challenged? What would all the people who are in OA do if they found out it those beliefs weren’t true?
Residential facilities are somewhat similar to OA in that they require you follow their eating schedule and eat their provided meals. They have group therapy sessions and private ones. You meet with a psychiatrist for your private session and although talking about your issues is a very important element, I have never seen a facility hold classes to teach people how to reduce stress or teach them the tools they need to fend for themselves when they return to reality.
Could all the traditional or old ways of thinking and treating clients be just that…old?
Instead of using the old ways of thinking, let’s help people get to the root cause of their disorder and help them to reduce stress so they can better handle those difficult situations that come up. What if we teach them to approach goal setting in small little increments that actually encourage the brain to want to keep achieving? And how about we make them feel good about food again instead of making them fear it?
We could send a message to the world that compulsive overeating is no longer a disorder you must live with forever.
This old versus new way of thinking reminds me of my dads cardiologist. He graduated from medical school in 1968 and at first glance of his credentials you would think, Terrific, he has so much experience, but then you find that there is a new cardiologist who graduated in 1990 who specializes in a new procedure that virtually eliminates the need for open heart surgery with a success rate of 98%.
Its the new way of thinking and doing that is making great improvements to peoples lives.
