Tony Paulson, clinical director of Summit Eating Disorders and Outreach Program in Sacramento, made an appearance at Sacramento State’s Forest Suite Tuesday to provide his audience with the facts about eating disorders, as well as tips on how to help friends with this disorder.

Paulson opened his presentation with the fact that one out of 10 people die from an eating disorder, and most of these people go to sleep and do not wake up. He said eating disorders are caused by self-concept, emotions, relationships, family dynamics and “The Thin Ideal.”

Paulson recommended those affected should immediately seek medical treatment. He said, however, hospitals can only monitor behavior temporarily, as well as treat medical complications that come with the eating disorder; they cannot completely treat it.

He said the levels of care are: outpatient psychotherapy, intensive outpatient programs, partial hospitalization programs, inpatient programs and residential programs.

Paulson said a person with an eating disorder cannot get better without support, preferably from the support of their family.

“I would actually venture to say that it is impossible for people to get better by themselves,” he said.

He further said the loved ones need to take a very supportive role when dealing with someone dear to them who suffers from an eating disorder. Saying things such as “How was your day?” and “I’m really concerned about you,” he said, will help.

“Offering them support and trying to connect with them on an emotional level? That’s the kind of support they need,” Paulson said. “Don’t use punishment to get through to them.”

When seeking medical treatment for loved ones, Paulson said to ask lots of questions when speaking with therapists. Ask questions about how long they have been doing their job, what their philosophy is, what their approach is, and if they have a plan to fall back on.

“If you don’t feel comfortable with what (therapists) told you, then you need to call a different one,” he said.

Paulson went on to say it does not matter how well a person may look, because one often cannot tell how sick someone is just by his or her physical appearance. He said people with eating disorders who are 24 hours away from death and people with eating disorders who throw up once a week can look the same.

Junior nursing major Cynthia Zein said Paulson’s presentation added more to her knowledge of eating disorders.

“I did not know that people who live with an eating disorder rely on it as their friend. A lot of the information was helpful to me,” Zein said.

Senior psychology major Chanel Murphy said she really enjoyed the presentation and thought it was extremely useful, especially since she will be studying clinical psychology. She also said she knew a lot of the given information, but it was nice to be exposed to it again.

“Before the presentation, I took a nutrition class. The professor talked to my class about eating disorders. I never met anybody who suffered from it, so I wanted to learn more about them,” said junior nursing major Shuting Huang.

Huang said afterwards she was astonished by the information Paulson provided regarding treatment of eating disorders. What stood out to her the most was the impact family can have on someone who suffers from an eating disorder, and how eating disorders can be triggered by one’s perception of his or her body.

“The patient is going to win, or the disorder is going to win. You can’t have both,” Paulson said.

Jacqueline Tualla can be reached at [email protected]