Understanding Eating Disorders
What are eating disorders ?
We all have to eat and food plays an important part in our lives. We eat because we need to and because we enjoy it. Like any other form of human behaviour, there is wide variation between individual’s eating habits. Some people go to such extremes that they harm themselves by eating too much or too little. Anorexia Nervosa and Bulimia Nervosa are psychiatric disorders that are physically and psychologically demanding, both are concerned with a fear of being fat. Anorexia Nervosa is characterized by starvation and extreme loss of weight, well below what is normal for the person’s size. Bulimia Nervosa is characterized by binge eating, while maintaining a normal weight. Eating Disorders are often a hidden illness, a great deal of shame and guilt surrounds people’s eating habits and their negative views of themselves. It is not always obvious to others around that someone is suffering from an eating disorder. Other people may think that the individual looks well, that their weight is healthy, yet the sufferer may be using extreme methods to control their weight, have a very unhappy relationship with food and feel very negative about themselves.
Who will develop an eating disorder ?
Men, women, boys and girls of all ages can develop an eating disorder. Eating disorders were more common in young women, but as boys and men become more image conscious that trend has now changed and an increasing number of men are now presenting to their GPs for help.
Why do people develop eating disorders?
Eating disorders are a cultural defined illness. What this means is that in societies where thinness is not valued, eating disorders do not exist. In Western culture, images of slim, attractive young people in the media promote the view that thinness leads to success, beauty, happiness and a better quality of life. There is pressure that we should all strive to be thin and conform to this ideal.
People who have developed eating disorders often describe a sense of control in their lives through controlling their diet and weight. Dieting and extreme methods of controlling weight also makes them the feel good about themselves in the short term and gives them a sense of achievement, even though overall the cost on themselves physically and psychologically is very high. Eating, dieting or purging also become a source of comfort and an unhelpful method of helping them cope with stress.
Signs and symptoms of eating disorders
Eating disorders range from mild to severe and these signs and symptoms may be present in varying degrees. Only through careful assessment of the problem can the Doctor or therapist help to diagnosis the type and severity of the eating disorder accurately.
- Fear of fatness and excessive worry, anxiety, guilt or shame when faced with food.
- Think about weight, shape and the amount you eat all the time.
- Excessive weight loss or maintaining normal weight by extreme methods. i.e.
Restricted patterns of eating, starvation or binge eating. Using vigorous exercise to burn off the calories, or other extreme measures to control your weight e.g. self induced vomiting, using laxatives or diuretics.
- Critical of your self all the time and feel you should do better or more.
- Feel alone in your struggle with food and your weight. Use food as a way of coping with negative feelings.
- Irregular menstrual periods or periods stop completely (girls/ women)
What treatments are available ?
- Assessment and Diagnosis : Talk to your GP. Be honest and open about your eating habits and your feelings about your self and your weight. The GP will ask about your life style and your general health to help rule out other illnesses. i.e. People with eating disorders will suffer from depression or anxiety disorders too. A blood test may be taken to check the effects of the eating disorder on your body in the inside. i.e. Reduced iron, electrolyte imbalance (body salts), vitamin deficiency and kidney function.
- Medication : people with eating disorders may need treatment with medication as well as psychological therapy. Medication is often required is someone is suffering from another illness such as depression.
- Psychological Therapy : This includes education and dietary advice. Keeping a diary of dietary intake, establishing what is a normal weight for an individual and prescribing a normal eating pattern. Education on the physical consequences of starvation, binge eating, self induced vomiting and misuse of laxatives or diuretics. Cognitive therapy includes recognizing negative thought patterns, addressing body image misperceptions, introducing new ways of thinking and prevention relapse of the condition.
Who should I contact for further information?
Talk to your GP or contact Karen Chenery at KEMH on 28082.
Eating Disorders Association, 103 Prince of Wales Road, Norwich, NR1 1DW, UK
e-mail : info@edauk.com
web site : www.edauk.com
Youthline (under 18s) 0845 634 7650
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