Life coaching is a natural therapy that is used to treat a wide array of conditions, including anorexia nervosa.
What is Anorexia Nervosa?
Anorexia nervosa is psychological condition that is characterised by feelings of low self esteem centred on body image – specifically the desire to be thin or not fat. This results in sufferers avoiding or severely limiting their food intake, and in some cases vomiting their meal up after eating. This can have serious implications for an anorexia sufferer’s health, with a range of negative physical and psychological effects. Physical impacts include reduced fertility, heart conditions and poor bone density; amongst others. Psychological effects include social isolation, depression, and a destructive attitude toward their body and food in general. While the condition is primarily identified in adolescents, some of these individuals carry anorexia through into adulthood. The social stigma attached to anorexia nervosa often means that sufferer’s do not seek help, and remain isolated - which only exacerbates the condition.
Anorexia Symptoms
Symptoms of anorexia can take the form of a change in physical appearance – a direct result of the drastic reduction in nutritional intake that sufferers inflict upon themselves. This can take the form of a range of obvious visual signs; from a dramatic drop in weight, a fine covering of hair covering the body (called lanugo), to a very obvious jaw line. Behavioural changes that often accompany the condition include avoiding meals and food, depression and in severe cases self harm and suicide.
Life Coaching for Anorexia
Life coaching is designed to promote discovery, awareness, and empowerment, and aid individuals to make changes to their lives. In contrast to talking therapies, life coaching does not delve into the past of a client. Rather it is more concerned with effecting change; though does assume that the client arrives prepared to do this, with the life coach acting as a mentor, providing impartial guidance and suggestions for the client. Typical steps that a life coach would undertake in treating a client include:
- Identifying problems and issues, i.e. acknowledging an eating disorder
- Identifying specific needs and desires of the client – do they want to change?
- Setting achievable targets – getting comfortable around food
- Cultivating tools and strategies to achieve these targets; and
- Making these targets happen
For anorexia sufferers life coaching can provide the valuable support in the transition period after counselling has finished, and provide direction for an individual to begin to rebuild their life.
Find out about other natural treatments for anorexia nervosa.
Originally published on Aug 30, 2010
