Eating disorders are grievous psychological conditions related to persistent eating behaviours that negatively impact your health and ability to function and even lead to death in the worst conditions. Eating disorders are amongst the deadliest mental health disorders that might start with an obsession with food, body weight, and body shape. While eating disorders are most common in teens and young adults; they can develop at any age.
In this article, we’ll discuss about the symptoms, treatment, and recovery of eating disorders.
Signs/Symptoms of Eating Disorders
Symptoms of eating disorders may vary, depending on their type. While some eating disorders involve an extreme focus on food and eating, others focus extremely on weight.
Mental and behavioural signs of eating disorders include:
- Denying feeling hungry
- Repeatedly weighing oneself
- Concern about eating in public
- Dramatic weight loss
- Excuses to avoid mealtime
- Complaints of constipation, abdominal pain, cold intolerance, and excess energy
- Refusing to eat certain foods
- Patterns of binge eating
- Excessive exercise
- Missed menstrual periods
- Developing rituals around food
- Intense fear of gaining weight
Physical Signs include:
- Dry skin
- Dizziness
- Fainting
- Difficulty concentrating
- Stomach cramps
- Thin hair
- Muscle weakness
- Poor immune function
- Sleep irregularities
- Feeling cold every time
- Poor wound healing
Types of Eating Disorders and Their Treatment
- Anorexia Nervosa
Anorexia Nervosa is a serious eating disorder affecting more women than men. Anorexia tends to develop during adolescence or young adulthood. People suffering from anorexia are characterized by self-starvation and weight loss resulting in low BMI (body mass index) than what is expected according to their height and age. In an adult individual with anorexia, BMI typically falls under 18.5.
A few common symptoms of anorexia are:
- Distorted body image
- Restricted eating patterns
- Intense fear of getting overweight
- Relentless pursuit of thinness
- The heavy influence of body weight or image on self-esteem
If an individual develops a serious anorexic condition, they may experience symptoms, such as:
- Heartburn and reflux
- Cold intolerance
- Dizziness
- Depression
- Irritability
- Anxiety
- Brittle hair
- Severe constipation
- Stress fractures
In severe anorexic cases, the complications can be life-threatening and include heart abnormalities in patients with kidney problems, seizures, and who use laxatives to vomit.
People with anorexia must be encouraged to normalize their eating habits and maintain a healthy weight during the treatment period. A diet chart or nutritional plan can help adults to include a balanced range of foods and vegetables, not only to maintain a healthy weight but also to counter their anxiety about eating. For adolescents, parents can help their children develop positive thinking about body image. They must support and monitor their child’s meals. However, for those who have issues with body dissatisfaction takes longer to correct their weight and eating habits, small steps every day can help.
Also, if the outpatient treatment fails, admission to an inpatient speciality program for eating disorder treatment is recommended. The therapists and doctors at a residential facility help patients restore their weight and normalize eating behaviour.
Bulimia Nervosa
People with Bulimia Nervosa eat large amounts of high-calorie food for a specific period of time and then eventually undergo dieting. During these episodes, people lost control over their eating and then try to get rid of the calories in an unhealthy way. The binge-eating is usually secretive and people feel shame and guilt. As a result of which, they exercise too much, force vomiting, or use other methods, such as laxatives, to lose weight. Just like anorexia, people with bulimia nervosa are excessively terrified of gaining weight and always surrounded by thoughts of food, body shape, etc., which negatively affects their self-worth.
Individuals affected by Bulimia Nervosa cannot be characterized by the way they look. They may be underweight, normal weight, overweight, or even obese. Hence, people with Bulimia Nervosa are difficult to identify by family members because their eating patterns are hidden and they do not appear underweight. A few symptoms of bulimia nervosa that are visible are:
- Swelling of the salivary glands
- Frequent urination
- Laxative or diet pill misuse
- Heartburn and gastroesophageal reflux
- Chronic sore throat
- Recurrent unexplained diarrhoea
- Dizzy feeling
- Dental decay
The complications related to Bulimia Nervosa are rare but fatal and include gastric rupture, oesophageal tears, and dangerous cardiac arrhythmias. Hence, medical assistance or rehabilitation treatment is significant to patients suffering from Bulimia Nervosa to treat any possible complications.
One of the therapies for eating disorders that prove to be most beneficial in treating Bulimia Nervosa is outpatient cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT). Offering the strongest evidence, CBT helps patients normalize their eating behaviours and manage related thoughts. Many rehab centres use antidepressants for eating disorder recovery as it helps decrease urges to binge and vomit.
Binge Eating Disorder
Similar to Bulimia Nervosa, binge eating disorder is associated with the consumption of food in large quantities for a short period of time and experiencing losing control over eating. The difference between Bulimia Nervosa and Binge Eating Disorder is that people with the latter suffering do not use compensatory behaviours regularly to get rid of the food by inducing fasting, exercising, vomiting, or laxative misuse.
Also, binge eating disorder can cause serious health complications, such as obesity, hypertension, diabetes, and cardiovascular diseases. If an individual experiences frequent binges with a sense of lack of control along with features, such as:
- Eating food more than normal
- Eating food, even when not hungry
- Eating until comfortably full
- Feelings of depression, anxiety, self-loathing, and guilt
- Hidden eating habits
They are said to be suffering from binge eating disorder.
Binge eating disorder treatment requires effective individual or group therapies, such as Cognitive behavioural therapy or CBT. While CBT has shown positive results for binge eaters, interpersonal therapy also proved to be effective.
How to Help People with Eating Disorders?
If you or someone you know has an eating disorder, seeking help from a healthcare professional might help! While eating disorders are hard to overcome, supporting people with eating disorders through the treatment journey will encourage them in their recovery.
Eating disorder recovery is a long and crucial process to follow because of the periods of relapse. A few ways in which you can support someone with an eating disorder include:
- Be a Listener: Anyone with a psychological illness, such as an eating disorder needs to feel heard, respected, and supported. If a person knows that there is someone that they can confide in, it becomes easier for them to move forward with the recovery process.
- Check-on Them: People with eating disorders tend to develop feelings of depression, anxiety, and loneliness. Hence, you can reach out to them and invite them to parties, get-togethers, or just hang out. Also, if they don’t want to be social, checking up on them makes them feel valued.
Bottom Line
Just like other mental conditions, eating disorders also require medical assistance. Whether it is the therapies for eating disorders or inpatient/outpatient admission, this mental illness can create havoc, if left untreated. To overcome this problem, many rehabilitation centres in the UK offer eating disorder treatment and recovery programs. If you are suffering from an eating disorder, seek professional help today!
