The Assignment on Mental Health and Illness

Running head: MENTAL HEALTH AND ILLNESS
1
Mental Health and Illness
Name
Institutional Affiliation

MENTAL HEALTH AND ILLNESS 2
Recovery assessment criteria for eating disorder recovery include the following;
Assessment of changes in their body mass indices: patients with Binge Eating
Disorder tend to consume large amounts of food within a short period of time. They are also
prone to restrictive behaviors including excessive exercise. As a result, these individuals gain
excess weight which leads to obesity. To assess the recovery of patients from Binge Eating
Disorder nurses can evaluate the changes in the patients' body masses after a treatment where
slight drops in body weight will signify recovery from the disease (Brown et al., 2018).
Evaluation of the patients’ menstrual functions: adult women with eating disorders
experience menstrual dysfunction like absence of menstrual periods. This is contributed by
factors such as disturbances in nutritional status together with metabolic disturbances. For
instance, according to (Ålgars et al., 2014) binge eating is associated with polycystic ovary
syndrome which causes irregularities in menstrual cycles due to its ability to affect energy
intake in women. Therefore, while assessing women recovering from Binge eating their
menstrual functions can be evaluated. Individuals showing a normal menstrual function
indicate the possibility that they are recovering.
Assessment of their psychiatric status: individuals with eating disorders such as
bulimia nervosa and anorexia nervosa are in many cases perfectionists and tend to have low
self-esteem. They have an intense fear of weight gain or becoming big in sizes. This exposes
them to a risk of life-threatening malnutrition as well as starvation. Additionally, many eating
disorders are linked to psychiatric problems including anxiety, drug and alcohol abuse, panic
among others. To assess the recovery of patients recovering from such disorders, nurses can
evaluate whether the patients are embracing the healthy habits and if they are able to forego
unhealthy ones (Surgenor & Maguire, 2013).

MENTAL HEALTH AND ILLNESS 3
Evaluation of patients’ clinical symptoms associated with eating disorders: clinical
symptoms associated with eating disorders include low body weight, panic disorder,
obsessive-compulsive disorder, anxiety among others. In assessing the recovery from eating
disorders, the nurses and other clinicians should evaluate whether the individual is, for
instance, able to manage the anxieties, increase weight, being able to associate with other
people without any fears among others. If the patient shows the expected normal changes,
then it can be concluded that they have recovered from the disease (Gisladottir et al., 2016).
Clinical questionnaires should be developed to determine the emotional and psychological
settings of recovering patients. Evaluation of such questionnaires helps in assessing the
recovery of the disease by the patients (Bardone-Cone, 2012).
The general treatment for eating disorders combines psychological therapy, nutritional
education and sometimes medical intervention.
Psychological therapy: this involves the use of trained personnel to evaluate an
abnormal condition such as a disease or disability hence helping the patient recover and
improve their abilities. Such therapies bring about a supportive and judgemental free
environment bringing mental healing to the patient. Among the psychotherapies used to treat
eating, disease condition are cognitive-behavioural therapy, family-based therapy, and group
cognitive therapy (Kass et al., 2013). In cognitive-behavioural therapies, the patient shares
with the trained psychologist the behaviours and feelings that stimulate their eating disorder.
It focuses on helping the patient recognize and change the behaviours causing the disorder. In
family-based therapies, family members aid in restoring healthy eating to the patient. Parents
and guardians learn how to help their children regain healthy eating habits. Group cognitive-
behavioural therapy involves a larger group of patients having similar eating disorders. The
patients meet and express their feelings and behaviours causing eating disorders to a
psychologist or a mental health professional who offers advice on behavioural change. The