Why do some doctors prescribe Ozempic to treat eating disorders? What are the dangers of seeking treatment without a full assessment? How can you shield yourself from the schemes of the diet industry? In this podcast episode, Dr. Cristina Castagnini and expert Dr. Anita Federici discuss the uselessness - and dangers - of using Ozempic as an eating disorder treatment.

MEET DR. ANITA FEDERICI

Dr. Anita Federici is a Clinical Psychologist and the Owner of The Centre for Psychology and Emotion Regulation, a private Clinic specializing in the assessment and treatment of eating disorders, personality disorders, and trauma. Anita has an established reputation for her work as a therapist, clinical trainer, researcher, program director, and consultant. A distinguished Fellow of the Academy for Eating Disorders, Anita is a recognized authority on eating disorder treatment and dialectical behavior therapy (DBT). Her work has been presented at international conferences and published in peer-reviewed journals and invited book chapters.

Visit The Centre for Psychology and Emotion Regulation and connect on Instagram and LinkedIn.

IN THIS PODCAST

  • Looking for answers in the wrong places
  • Lack of proper assessment
  • Remember, it’s an industry

Looking for answers in the wrong places

The whole thing is a mess, since eating disorders which are neurobiological affect people’s health, so they go to doctors. Most standard family doctors and practitioners don’t have full experience with eating disorders, and so they prescribe medication that does more harm than good, like Ozempic.
There’s some big concerns here because we trust our doctors … You go to your doctor and you think that they know everything. So you know, a lot of people will go; “Why should I question it?” … Especially if [they] are suffering. (Dr. Federici)
When a person is actively within their eating disorder, they will easily believe medication can resolve an issue because they are hyper-focused on quick fixes, like they believe diets to be. There is no single medication that can - alone - resolve an eating disorder.

Lack of proper assessment

A commonplace issue is that there is a lack of efficient or insightful assessment done on a person before giving them treatment to see whether or not they may be suffering from an eating disorder. What usually happens is that doctors, without adequate experience in eating disorders, prescribe medication or lifestyle changes to clients who are already physically and mentally unwell. These changes can have a further detriment to the client's already failing physical and mental health, even though they were recommended to help them.
It’s actually a fallacy that putting someone on a crash diet of weight loss is actually going to make them less suicidal. In fact, the research shows that it makes them more suicidal. (Dr. Federici)
Medical interventions that are given without addressing the root cause of the eating disorder often cause many more problems down the line, like bariatric surgery and prescribing medications like Ozempic.
They’re in a starved state, they’ve lost a bunch of weight, and nobody is there to support them or to help them, and if you have an eating disorder, bariatric surgery or Ozempic does not treat an eating disorder. So, now you have people that are in an even worse condition, and there’s no support for them. (Dr. Federici)

Remember, it’s an industry

It’s called the weight-loss industry for a reason; it’s a business model, and the model is designed not to work so that products can keep being sold and new medications created for the money to continue coming in.
The diet industry is like the casino business. You’re not meant to win. We always say; “The house wins”, it’s the same thing here. For the pharmaceutical companies, there’s a lot of money in you not succeeding, and you hating your body, and you needing their interventions. (Dr. Federici)
If we could create cultures in the world where you didn’t hate your body simply because of your weight or shape, you wouldn’t need them. They would cease to exist. They only exist because they have convinced you that you are “wrong” and they have the “solution”. It’s just a narrative because health comes in many sizes.

USEFUL LINKS

MEET DR. CRISTINA CASTAGNINI

  I am a licensed Psychologist and Certified Eating Disorder Specialist. While I may have over 20 years of clinical experience, what I also have is the experience of having been a patient who had an eating disorder as well. One thing that I never had during all of my treatment was someone who could look me in the eye and honestly say to me "Hey, I've been there. I understand". Going through treatment for an eating disorder is one of the hardest and scariest things to do. I remember being asked to do things that scared me. Things I now know ultimately helped me to get better. But, at the time, I had serious doubts and fears about it. If even one of my providers had been able to tell me "I know it's scary, but I had to go through that part too. Here's what will probably happen...." then perhaps I would not have gone in and out of treatment so many times. My own experience ultimately led me to specialize in treating eating disorders. I wanted to be the therapist I never had; the one who "got it". I will be giving you my perspective and information as an expert and clinician who has been treating patients for over 2 decades. But don't just take my word for it...keep listening to hear the truly informative insights and knowledge guest experts have to share. I am so happy you are here!

THANKS FOR LISTENING

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