Eating Disorders
An eating disorder is a preoccupation with body image, distorted eating and weight loss behaviours. Eating disorders include anorexia nervosa (low weight), bulimia nervosa (often with normal weight), binge eating disorder (BED), and compulsive overeating. A common perception of eating disorders is that they only affect young women, but men suffer with them too. In the UK, eating disorders affect 3 in every 1000 males and 24 in every 1000 females (NICE).
Problems with food begin when it is used to cope with difficult emotions and situations. A person with an eating disorder may think it is a way to keep control of their life, but overtime the eating disorder itself takes control. The symptoms of eating disorders include anxiety, depression, distorted eating, guilt, isolation, serious physical problems, and distorted weight loss. People with eating disorders often try to hide their eating and weight loss behaviours from others.
On Panorama on BBC1, the late Diana, Princess of Wales provided us with an insight into eating disorders by publicly discussing her bulimia. Calling bulimia a ''secret disease'', she described how she inflicted it upon herself due to self-esteem issues, filling her stomach up to four or five times a day in order to obtain a feeling of temporary comfort, then vomiting due to the feeling of disgust at her bloated stomach. Diana described this as a "repetitive" and "destructive" pattern.
The causes of eating disorders are believed to include bereavement, disturbed body image, emotional abuse, family relationships, oral fixation, self-esteem issues, sexual abuse, and stress. The social pressure to be thin is often blamed, but the causes are usually more complex. If you are concerned about a problem do not diagnose yourself. Always consult your GP or a therapist who is qualified to both diagnose the issue and help you work through it.
Articles on Eating Disorders
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