It was not until Lisa started talking about her traumatic experience in Amsterdam that she realized the man had sexually assaulted her. She was blaming herself for a poor choice when in fact he raped her. The perpetrator got her drunk and then did not stop his sexual advances when Lisa asked him to, which clearly makes the experience nonconsensual and forcible under the statutes of the law.
Treatment focused on working through the traumatic experience and removing Lisa’s intense, overwhelming feelings of self-blame. Lisa was able to make the connection between the rape and her movement toward an eating disorder versus her long-standing history with eating problems. She always wanted to be thin and beautiful and have control over her weight. For the first time, she felt like she was able to achieve this goal. She felt if she was not thin, she was not beautiful or loveable. She had an “all or nothing” mentality where there was no middle ground. The idea that being thin would bring her happiness was challenged constantly during the course of treatment.
Lisa did recover fully from her eating disorder. She worked incredibly hard at challenging the eating disorder thoughts that were present in her daily life. It takes a lot of courage to embark in recovery from an eating disorder. It is not an easy process. Unlike recovery from other addictions where the person can stay away from the addictive substance (such as alcohol or drugs), the person cannot stay away from food. Can you imagine asking alcoholics or gamblers to recover from their addiction with the built-in problem that they would still have to drink or go to the racetrack up to three times a day?
Know that there is hope and there are wonderful treatments available with specialists who can help in the recovery process of an eating disorder. If you are looking for an eating disorder specialist, contact your local psychiatric hospital or university health center. They should be able to provide you with resources in your area.
