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Eating disorders stem from muddled perceptions, social pressures, doctor tells USU By
Maria Moncur
Eating disorders are difficult obsessions to conquer, a psychologist told USU Thursday. Dr. Harold Frost said a patient's husband once told him, "It's like my wife is having an affair," after he threatened to divorce her over her eating problem. "I wish my wife was having an affair. Then I could find this guy and beat him up, but what can I do about this?" In conjunction with National Eating Disorder Awareness Week, the USU Counseling Center hosted the Center for Change, from Orem, to speak to USU students about eating disorders. The room was packed as Frost, a psychologist from the Center of Change, spoke of his career in dealing with eating disorder patients. He was joined by Megan Gygi, a former BYU student who told of her recovery from an eating disorder, and USU Wellness Center's Brooke Parker, an in-house dietitian. Frost began by giving facts about bulimia and anorexia nervosa. He said victims of bulimia binge and purge to control their intake and outtake. They purge in three ways: through vomiting, laxative abuse, or engaging in excessive exercise. By starving themselves of important nutrients, both anorexics and bulimics are at high risks for several side effects. Frost said victims may suffer from both osteoporosis and electrolyte disturbances. Because eating disorder cause the whole body to shrink, he said vital organs may also begin to shrink and atrophy of brain mass along with atrophy of muscle mass may result. According to Frost, there are two major causes of eating disorders. First, victims may be suffering from cognitive distortion. This means the victim sees him or herself distorted in reality. Frost used an example of Houdini who fought for two hours to escape from a prison cell. As he threw himself down onto the floor in exhaustion, he bumped the prison door which had been open the whole time. Immediately he escaped. Frost compared this with the feelings some eating disorder patients have about themselves. "People lock themselves out, not by reality but by what they think of themselves," said Frost. A social-cultural perspective also leads to eating disorders. Frost said this is where society tells people, especially women, that being thin is the ultimate goal for being beautiful. Frost said this is not new, he told of a woman who died at age 22 from wearing a corset that was too tight during her teen-age years. However, he said that most people who have an eating disorder use this excuse initially, but what they're really trying to handle is pain. Megan Gygi, a former student of BYU and Center for Change patient, spent the rest of the evening telling her story of her battle and recovery from both anorexia nervosa and bulimia. She said that her struggle was not about fat, calories or food. She was trying to deal with underlying pain. Gygi began engaging in anorexia nervosa during high school. "My biggest regret is not nipping it (the disorder) in the bud, before it got out of control," she said. Both Gygi and Brooke Parker answered questions from members of the audience and invited them to seek counseling or get help for anyone with signs of an eating disorder. Utah State offers its own counseling services. For more details, go to www.usu.edu
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