Eating Disorder Information
Eating disorders are very serious. We have only
included an overview of information on this site.
If you think that you or someone you know might
have an eating disorder, please visit our resources
and seek help. Remember that it is not always
obvious that someone has an eating disorder.
Eating disorders include serious and extreme
attitudes, behaviors, and emotions surrounding
weight and eating issues. They have serious emotional
and physical consequences. An eating disorder
can affect anyone regardless of sex, gender identity,
race, class, or sexual orientation. The most
common element in all eating disorders is low
self-esteem. A person does not need to have all
of the signs or symptoms to have a particular
eating disorder and to need help and a person
can have a combination of eating disorders at
one time.
Disordered eating refers to mild and temporary
changes in eating patterns that occur in relation
to a stressful event, an illness, or some other
reason. Disordered eating does not lead to significant
mental, social, health, school or work problems
and rarely causes major medical complications.
If disordered eating is not dealt with it can
become more serious, cause many problems and
eventually lead to a full eating disorder.
Types: The most common eating disorders are
anorexia nervosa, bulimia
nervosa, compulsive
overeating, binge eating, and compulsive
exercising.
Causes: There is no single cause for eating
disorders. Some factors that are considered contributors
to eating disorders include low self-esteem,
media portrayal of bodies, societal and cultural
emphasis on looks, comments on a person's size
and weight, confusion of food with emotions,
loss of sense of hunger, as well as physical,
sexual or emotional abuse. Not everyone with
eating disorder experiences all, or necessarily
any, of these causes, but all of these factors
have been correlated with eating disorders.
What to do: If you think that you have an eating
disorder, find someone that you feel comfortable
with and talk to them about it. Talk to a counselor
or a doctor and seek help. The longer you wait,
the harder it will be. If you think that someone
you know has an eating disorder, help them find
professional assistance if they are willing.
Be supportive and validate their feelings. Do
NOT reinforce their poor image of themselves
by saying negative things about their looks or
their behavior. Let them know that you care about
them and that you believe that they deserve help
in dealing with this. Even if you try hard to
help someone you care about, if they are not
ready or do not want to seek treatment, there
may be very little you can do for them.
Anorexia Nervosa
Emotional signs can include fear of becoming
fat, fear of losing control, and feeling undeserving
of pleasure in life.
Behavioral signs can include obsessive exercising,
calorie or fat counting, starvation, use of pills,
laxatives and diuretics to control weight, hiding
and throwing away food, and persistent concern
for body image.
Physical symptoms of anorexia nervosa and bulimia
nervosa can include weight loss, loss of menstruation
in women, hair loss, dizziness, headaches, low
blood pressure, often feeling cold, mood swings,
loss of sexual desire, depression, fatigue and
insomnia.
Bulimia Nervosa
Emotional signs can include being overwhelmed
by emotions, hiding feelings of anger, depression,
stress or anxiety, and feeling of lacking control
over eating behaviors.
Behavioral signs include repeated episodes of
bingeing (consuming large quantities of food)
and purging (self-induced vomiting, abuse of
diuretics, laxatives or pills, excessive exercise
or fasting). Behaviors can also include frequent
dieting and hiding food to eat later.
Compulsive Overeating
Emotional signs can include feelings of shame,
self-hatred, guilt, hiding from emotions, and
feeling a "void" inside.
Behavioral signs can include having an "addiction" to
food, uncontrolled or impulsive eating, using
food as a coping mechanism, eating until uncomfortably
full and having obsessive cycles of eating.
Physical symptoms of compulsive overeating and
binge eating can include weight gain, excessive
sweating, shortness of breath, high blood pressure,
leg and joint pain, loss of sexual desire, mood
swings, depression, fatigue and insomnia.
Binge Eating
Emotional signs are similar to those of compulsive
overeating.
Behavioral signs are also similar to those of
compulsive overeating, but occur in binge-episodes,
or eating a large amount of food within a certain
amount of time. During the binge episode, food
is usually eaten rapidly and episodes generally
occur about two days a week or more.
Compulsive Exercising
Emotional signs include needing to exercise
at any cost, feeling of tremendous guilt when
unable to exercise, needing a temporary sense
of power or control, and trying to relieve feelings
of guilt through purging.
Behavioral signs include excessive exercise,
missing obligations in order to exercise, feeling
no satisfaction from achievements or victories,
always thinking of next physical activity, and
rarely exercising for fun but rather as a form
of self-punishment.
Physical symptoms of compulsive exercising include
dehydration, stress fractures, reproductive problems,
heart problems, electrolyte imbalances, arthritis
and difficulty sleeping even though tired.
What can I do if I think my
friend anorexic or bulimic?
- Don't jump to conclusions. Make sure
you've spent enough time with your friend
to know that she has an eating problem.
If she throws up once, she's probably
just sick. If it happens every day, there's
a good chance she's bulimic.
- Show concern and caring. Let her know
you're there to talk.
- Remember that your friend's not crazy,
she's coping with problems.
Don't try to control her eating habits.
- Get help from a school counselor or
nurse who knows how to help women with
eating disorders.
- Not every nurse or doctor knows how
to deal with anorexia or bulimia. If
you don't feel confident about the help
your friend is getting, support her in
finding someone else to talk to.
*Reprinted with permission from GirlSource. |
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