Why Would I Consider Going to Therapy for My Eating Disorder?

If you are reading this page right now then you are probably wondering if counseling will help you to recover from your eating disorder. That’s a fair question. I want to convey to you that there is hope.

This is why I believe that counseling can help…

A therapist’s main role is to earn your trust and develop a good rapport, so that you will feel safe and comfortable in order to share about yourself. Receiving validation for your thoughts and feelings regarding your experience helps you to begin the healing process. Many of us don’t find that kind of support at home. Support comes through empathy and compassion for your difficulties. You have to acknowledge and grieve experiences that were difficult and painful in order to move on.

I believe that psychoeducation is an important part of counseling. Understanding societies misleading messages about beauty, thinness, or muscularity will help you to improve your negative body image. You will find that you don’t have to be “perfect” to feel good about yourself. Counseling can help you to see that you are of value, effective, and beautiful in your own unique way.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) helps you to become aware of the negative statements that you make to yourself and helps you to figure out where you first heard those things. You can begin to handle toxic situations and relationships and even learn to set boundaries by respectfully sharing with others how you “really” feel.

Counseling encourages you to take care of "you" and teaches you how to improve your self-esteem. You will learn how to regulate and tolerate emotions like anxiety and depression; feelings that may have been overwhelming for you. You can then begin to replace old harmful habits with new healthier behaviors.

At first this may seem out of reach for you but change and growth happens in small baby steps. I know this because I developed an eating disorder at age 15. I worked with an excellent therapist who helped me to beat my eating disorder and now I help others to do the same. There is life after an eating disorder and I am proof of it.

I facilitate and eating disorder and body image group because it is very effective when treating an eating disorder. I also work with clients individually or with their families as eating disorders is a family system issue. Often loved ones will come to counseling to learn how to best support the eating disordered person.

If you think I may be able to help you or a loved one recover from an eating disorder, please feel free to call me. I would be happy to talk with you about your situation and answer any questions you may have.

You don’t have to do this alone…

Sincerely,

Ilissa Banhazl,MFT

Do you Struggle with Anxiety Every Freakin Day of Your Life??

Are you feeling uncomfortable physically?
Would you like to feel less stressed out?
Are you afraid of something in particular?
Does going out to a party make you feel anxious?
Wouldn't it be nice not to have anxiety zap all of your energy?
Wouldn't it be better to focus that energy on creating positive new experiences?

In counseling, I strive to create a safe and calming environment where we can address these kinds of feelings. Cognitive Behavioral (CBT) is very useful in treating anxiety disorders. The cognitive element helps people change their thinking patterns that support their fears, while the behavioral component helps people change the way they react to anxiety provoking situations.

If you would like to learn more information about treating anxiety or any other mood issues, visit the National Institute for Mental Health.

Here are some tips to help you cope with your anxiety today.
1. Use relaxation techniques like imagery or meditation
2. Get at least some moderate exercise
3. Good nutrition is very important. You'd be surprised how what you eat can make you feel anxious. Watch your sugar intake.

If you would like to work with me on coping with your anxiety, please feel free to contact me at 626-335-0903.

Hope you have a less anxious day! Ilissa Banhazl, Marriage & Family Therapy in Glendora.

How Much Time Do You Waste Obsessing About Your Body?

How much time each day do YOU spend obsessing about your body? If you're feeling badly about your body image then you may stay back from social activities or career opportunities and you may be suffering from low self-esteem. The body is just the outer shell. Use that time to grow in other more important ways. If you're eating healthily and exercising moderately than you shouldn't need to obsess at all. Your healthy habits should keep your body healthy and toned.

She's healthy, a size 8, and involved in a nice relationship. So why does she spend so much time obsessing over her belly? And how much time is she spending? Valerie Frankel clocks her central preoccupation.

Surely you've heard the statistic that men think about sex 200 times a day. Amazingly, there are no empirical or scientific studies to back up the claim. Women, I've long believed, spend just as much time contemplating female bodies and what they'd like to do with them. Read More>>>

How Men Really Feel About Their Bodies

We read and hear so much about women and their bodies. What about men??

Ilissa

We know they obsess over our bodies. But have you heard them obsess about theirs? Ted Spiker breaks the code of silence and takes you where no woman has gone before.

Dressed only in my underwear, I'm eight years old and sitting on the pediatrician's exam table, waiting for my checkup. My mother points to the two mounds of fatty flesh between my chest and belly. She asks the doctor, "Could they be tumors?"

"No," he says, "it's just fat."

Since that day, my fat has absorbed more darts than the back wall of a bar. Read More>>>

Eating Disorder Recovery and Self Esteem 1

Eating Disorders: Making Mistakes

We are harder on ourselves than we are to others...

Ilissa

Eating Disorders Speaking Engagement

Ilissa Banhazl, Marriage and Family Therapist is speaking on Eating Disorders at UWest (University of the West) (Wellness center) in Rosemead on Thursday March 10, 2011 from 1-2pm. Please contact Ilissa for more information (626)335-0903

Beauty and Body Image in the Media

How many of us are feeling pressure from the media to look a certain way? We can reject the media's message of thinness! Beauty comes in all different forms. Let's not forget that true beauty builds from the inside out. People think that if they achieve the perfect body that they will be completely happy. It's not true. Yes, you'll be skinny, but you'll still have the same problems!

Ilissa

"We don’t need Afghan-style burquas to disappear as women. We disappear in reverse—by revamping and revealing our bodies to meet externally imposed visions of female beauty."

Images of female bodies are everywhere. Women—and their body parts—sell everything from food to cars. Popular film and television actresses are becoming younger, taller and thinner. Some have even been known to faint on the set from lack of food. Women’s magazines are full of articles urging that if they can just lose those last twenty pounds, they’ll have it all—the perfect marriage, loving children, great sex, and a rewarding career. Read More>>>

Are Parents To Blame For Their Childrens Eating Disorders?

I am a psychotherapist and I work with people who have eating disorders. I agree with this article that parents don't intentionally hurt their children but I want to ask parents to do something. Please don't label your child as the "sick one". Eating disorders is a family system problem. Sometimes the eating disordered person is actually the healthiest because they are silently screaming that something is wrong here. Please come with your child to counseling. No one wants to blame you. But owning what you've done (unintentionally) is very validating and healing for the eating disordered person. This is the way to recovery. If you have any questions, I'd be happy to answer them. Please visit www.eatingdisordersgroup.com

Ilissa

In society our parents are probably the most important people who impact ones life. They are the ones who provide us with our life skills and teach us something new everyday. Helping us grow into the world , parents are the ones we look up to the most. Read More>>>