What is an Eating Disorder? Anorexia Nervosa, Bulimia Treatment

Eating Disorders

Unfortunately, so many women and men suffer from eating disorders. These very horrible diseases can eventually lead to death if serious action is not taken. The most common and well-known eating disorders are anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa. There are also other disorders such as binge eating and compulsive eating which are very dangerous and life threatening. People suffering from an eating disorder should seek help immediately before it is too late.

Anorexia nervosa is a very common eating disorder. Those who are suffering with this illness have a low self-esteem and want to gain control of all the things around them. Their way of controlling their surrounding is through food. People who suffer from this disorder usually have experienced unhappiness, insecurity, and feeling like life is spiraling out of control. People with this disorder can be very sensitive about their weight and have an extreme fear of becoming overweight. Their low self-esteem and need for acceptance causes them to turn to extreme diets and starving themselves as a way to control not only their weight and the emotions that they are facing inside. Some also feel that they are undeserving of happiness and pleasure so they can become distant from those that are close to them and they deprive themselves of eating.

Bulimia, another common eating disorder involves a person eating large quantities of food in a short period and then use laxatives or make themselves throw up. The use of laxatives is viewed as a sort of punishment. It is not all about the food. The vomiting is their way of coping with their emotions. This self-punishment can represent how they feel about themselves or their way to cope with a bad life experience. Those suffering from this eating disorder may binge and purge to in order to let out feelings of anger, depression, stress or anxiety. Bulimia is their coping method. If you think that someone close to you is suffering from an eating disorder there are warning signs. Below is a list of signs that someone may have an eating disorder:

Dramatic weight loss
Complaining of weight problems
Obsession with calories and fat content of foods
Continuous exercise.
Frequent trips to the bathroom after eating
Food restriction and self-starvation
Bingeing/ purging
Isolation.
Fear of eating around and with others.
Unusual Food rituals Hiding food in strange places
Secretive eating patterns/behaviors
Frequent soar throats
Low self-esteem.
Feeling worthless.
Mood swing and depression

There are also eating disorders in which people consume too much food. This is called compulsive overeating People suffering with compulsive overeating have an addiction to food. They use food as a way of hiding emotions and they use food as a way to deal with daily stresses and issues in their lives. People who suffer with this eating disorder are usually overweight. By them being overweight, this leads to life threatening health issues. Binge eating is similar. Binge eaters consume large amounts of food. They eat until they are uncomfortably stuffed and are usually overweight and face health problems because of their weight. Some of the signs of compulsive and binge eating are:

Not being able to stop eating
Isolation
Chronic dieting
Believes that life will be better if they can lose weight
Hiding food
Weight gain
Blames failures on weight
Believing that food is their closest friend
High blood pressure and/or cholesterol
Leg and joint pain
Weight gain
Decreased mobility due to weight gain
Loss of sexual desire
Fatigue

There is not just one particular cause of eating disorders. Numerous things such as cultural and family pressures can trigger them. They can also be caused by personality disorders. Genetic factors can also play a role in causing an eating disorder.

Although these are unfortunate disorders to go though there is help out there. Several treatment facilities use therapy and other methods to help people overcome their eating disorders. Most treatment plans include inpatient treatment, individual/group therapy, family therapy, eating disorder education, nutritional counseling, and medical monitoring to make sure you remain healthy throughout the treatment process.

Eating disorders are a problem that many people face. It threatens their health and is an overall unfortunate thing to go through. If you think, someone you know has an eating disorder talk to them about it and try to help them. These eating disorders can be overcome. Treatment options are out there to help.