Benefits of Seeking Eating Disorder Treatment in the Fall

If you are thinking about postponing eating disorder treatment until after the holidays, consider some of the benefits of reaching out for help sooner rather than later. There is no single best time of year to seek treatment for an eating disorder. Ideally, the best time is as soon as possible, and from a trusted eating disorder treatment center.

If you are considering eating disorder treatment this fall, here are our top six reasons not to delay it.

1. Early Eating Disorder Treatment Boosts Chances of a Successful Outcome

Eating disorders can be difficult to treat, and without prompt intervention, destructive behaviors are more likely to become ingrained and resistant to treatment. Seeking help right away this fall is recommended as a means of boosting odds for successful treatment. Seeking help can reduce eating disorder symptoms, improve the speed of recovery, and increase the chances that the eating disorder will not resurface in the future.

2. Use Treatment Insurance Benefits Before the New Year

While your insurance benefits and deductible depend on the health insurance plan schedule set by your employer, most insurance deductibles reset on the first of each year. For this reason, many people seek treatment in December to use their benefits before they reset.

Your treatment options might be more limited if you wait until December to seek treatment. Hospital beds are more likely to be full if you are seeking residential treatment, and your provider options could be more limited. If you begin treatment in the fall, you can avoid these pitfalls while still maximizing your insurance benefits before they reset.

3. Start the School Year Strong with an Academic Liaison

By seeking treatment from a trusted treatment facility in the fall, you can take advantage of support from academic specialists. Center for Discovery, for instance, provides academic liaisons who are trained to work with your child’s school. The goal is to ensure that your child can continue their studies in a supportive residential treatment facility.

4. Develop Coping Strategies for the Holidays

Eating disorders are difficult to manage and can be highly resistant to treatment. With the holidays approaching, it is important to get ahead of some of the food-related challenges that may surface during the holidays. The best way to do this is to learn appropriate coping mechanisms in the fall before the onset of the holidays.

By seeking professional medical treatment in the fall, individuals with eating disorders, such as Anorexia Nervosa, Bulimia Nervosa, and Binge Eating Disorder, will be better able to handle the endless array of side dishes during holiday dinners, or the endless supply of food and drinks at holiday parties. They can also learn how to respond to potential comments about their eating habits or people monitoring their food consumption.

5. Reduce the Days of Missed School

By moving forward with treatment in the fall, children will miss fewer days of school than they would at another time of year. Schools across the United States recognize Thanksgiving and give children two or more days off from school. Others receive a week off of school for fall break.

6. Avoid Serious Eating Disorder Health Consequences

Delaying treatment for a child with an eating disorder can cause life-altering consequences such as:

• Amenorrhea, or the absence of periods in females
• Stunted growth and physical development in young children
• Decreased estrogen/testosterone/thyroid hormone(s)

The best way to avoid these consequences is to move forward with treatment in the fall instead of delaying care. An immediate intervention can often be the difference between a complicated recovery and a successful treatment outcome.

Concerned About an Eating Disorder?

Whether you are a parent of a child with an eating disorder or are worried that you may have an eating disorder yourself, it is important to seek help from an experienced professional. You can begin this process by taking a free eating disorder evaluation and completing our contact us form today. By taking this evaluation and requesting care, you are taking the first and most important step on the path to recovery.

—
At Center for Discovery, we provide treatment for adults with eating disorders, teens with eating disorders, teens with mental health disorders, and teens with substance abuse issues. Each of our locations is dedicated solely to one of our specialized treatment programs. By keeping each location specialized to one of our treatment programs, we are able to provide the most effective and efficient treatment. For more information, please visit www.centerfordiscovery.com.