Here at Fairwinds Treatment Center, we see firsthand the toll that anorexia can take on one's body — a toll so severe that it all too often results in death. But while anorexia has dramatically destructive physical symptoms, it is a disease that has its roots in the mind. In fact, anorexia is sometimes described as the deadliest of all psychiatric killers. According to BBC News, it kills more people than alcohol, drugs and depression. 

Many people mistakenly believe that anorexia is a "choice," blaming the disease's victims for their illness. However, since Fairwinds Treatment Center opened 25 years ago, our experts have strongly contended that anorexia is almost always caused or exacerbated by underlying issues such as depression, anxiety, obsessive compulsive disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder and bipolar disorder. Treating a sufferer's external symptoms without also addressing these internal challenges is almost certain to result in a failed recovery. That's why our globally renowned eating disorder expert, Dr. Pauline Powers. uses our unique dual diagnosis methodology to promote healing both minds and bodies. 

Since we opened our doors in 1989, medical research has continued to support the center's cutting-edge combination of clinical treatment and therapeutic counseling. In fact, one prominent study found that 97 percent of eating disorder sufferers also had another psychiatric illness. Top British researcher Bryan Lask tells the BBC that more treatment centers should adopt Fairwinds' approach. 

"[At most places] the focus is so much on re-feeding and weight restoration," he tells the news outlet. "We are struggling with the idea that once their weight is restored they're cured. It's nonsense. They're not at all." 

If you or a loved one is suffering from anorexia or another eating disorder, know that recovery is possible. There is simply no better place to find healing than Fairwinds Treatment Center here in Clearwater, Florida.