TRIGGER WARNING: This post contains potentially triggering material in regards to eating disorders. For that reason, if you start to feel triggered STOP READING and reach out to your support.
WHAT ARE EATING DISORDERS
Eating disorders are life threatening mental and physical illnesses. They stem from a range of biological, psychological, and sociocultural factors. E.D.s are an obsession with food, body shape and weight. In many ways, they are a coping mechanism to gain a level of control in one’s life. According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness, 1 in 20 people will be affected by an eating disorder in their lifetime (NAMI). Consequently, there is no one reason someone develops one and no one kind of E.D.
Control over food is a very big part of eating disorders. An obsession with food and body tend to be the physical and most noticeable consequences but that is just the beginning. Everyone has underlying reasons that contribute to their disorder.
WHO DO THEY IMPACT
First of all, anyone can have an eating disorder. According to The National Eating Disorder Association, 20 million women and 10 million men will struggle with an eating disorder at some point in their lifetime (NEDA). Eating disorders do not discriminate, however, they are often seen as thin, white and female issues. As a result, many people go undiagnosed or ignored.
Many people who are socially labeled as “fat” are also ignored and pushed aside which can cause a lot of harm. Everyone’s body is different. A healthy BMI and weight will look a lot different on “me” then it will on “you”. Someone may look “overweight” or a socially deemed “healthy size” and still be suffering from an eating disorder.
WHAT TYPES ARE THERE
There are many different kinds of eating disorders. I want to make it clear: there is NO SUCH THING as a better or worse disorder. All of them are destructive illnesses that take people’s lives every day.
All definitions are from the National Eating Disorder Association (NEDA). To learn more click here: https://www.nationaleatingdisorders.org/information-eating-disorder
3 MOST RECOGNIZED
- Anorexia Nervosa
- Anorexia nervosa is characterized by weight loss (or lack of appropriate weight gain in growing children); difficulties maintaining an appropriate body weight for height, age, and stature; and, in many individuals, distorted body image (NEDA).
- Bulimia Nervosa
- Bulimia is a cycle of binge eating and behaviors. This includes self-induced vomiting designed to undo or compensate for the effects of binge eating (NEDA).
- Binge Eating Disorder
- When someone eats large amounts of food to the point of discomfort. After the binge, they experience a feeling of being out of control. As a result they tend to feel ashamed, distressed or guilty. Finally, BED involves regularly using unhealthy measures to counter the binge eating (NEDA).
E.D.S YOU MIGHT NOT KNOW
- Orthorexia
- Orthorexia was coined in 1998 to describe an obsession with proper or ‘healthful’ eating (NEDA).
- Eating Disorder Not Otherwise Specified
- When someone does not meet the strict criteria for anorexia or bulimia but still has a significant eating disorder (NEDA).
- Avoidant Restrictive Food Intake Disorder (ARFID)
- Previously “selective eating disorder,” ARFID is when someone limits the amount and/or types of food they eat. It does not involve fear of fatness and body shape (NEDA).
- PICA
- Someone who only eats items that are not food (NEDA).
- Rumination Disorder
- Rumination Disorder consists of throwing up food regularly for more than a month. Food sometimes is re-chewed, re-swallowed, or spit out.
- Unspecified Feeding Disorder
- When someone struggles with some but not all of the symptoms used to diagnose an eating disorder (NEDA).
- Laxative Abuse
- Laxative abuse is serious and dangerous. It involves the repeated, frequent use of laxatives to get rid of calories, lose weight, “feel thin,” or “feel empty ”(NEDA).
- Compulsive Exercise
- When someone exercises so much that it interferes with their life. Many people struggle with symptoms associated with this term (NEDA).
CLOSING THOUGHTS
If you or someone you know is struggling with an eating disorder please call the hotline: 1-800-931-2237 .
Also check out this great article from NEDA called Nine Truths About Eating Disorders.
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