Understanding eating disorders
Eating disorders are very serious mental illnesses, second only to drug overdose as a cause of death. If not treated, they can take over a person's life and cause severe, sometimes deadly, medical problems.
While they most often affect young women (ages 12 to 35), anyone—of any age or gender—can develop an eating disorder. These are serious conditions that harm a person's body, mind, and social life. They involve harmful behaviors around food, such as:
Strictly limiting food or avoiding certain foods.
Eating huge amounts of food (bingeing).
Getting rid of food by throwing up, misusing laxatives (purging), or exercising too much.
Causes
A mix of factors can cause an eating disorder:
Family History: You are more likely to have an eating disorder if a parent or sibling does. Brain chemicals, like serotonin, may also play a role, suggesting a biological link.
Culture and Surroundings: Society often praises certain body shapes, putting huge pressure on people. Media and pop culture often link being thin (for women) or muscular (for men) with success, beauty, and happiness.
Peer Pressure: Being teased, bullied, or made fun of because of their size or weight can be a strong trigger, especially for young people.
Emotional Health: Having traits like perfectionism, acting on impulse, or struggling with relationships can lower self-worth. Also, a past history of physical or sexual abuse can contribute to developing a disorder.
Types and Symptoms
Eating disorders all involve extreme issues with food and weight, but each one has its own unique signs.
Anorexia Nervosa
This has the highest death rate of any mental illness.
People with anorexia starve themselves because they are intensely afraid of gaining weight. Some may only restrict food, while others also binge and purge (force themselves to throw up, misuse laxatives, or exercise too much).
Not eating enough makes a person dangerously thin. The body slows down to save energy, causing things like missed periods, constipation, and stomach pain. Life-threatening problems include irregular heartbeats, very low blood pressure, and kidney failure.
Bulimia Nervosa
People with bulimia go back and forth between strict dieting and binge eating.
They feel completely out of control when they eat a lot of food quickly. Afterward, they try desperately to get rid of the calories by forcing themselves to vomit, misusing laxatives, or exercising excessively.
Bingeing and purging severely damage the digestive system. Frequent vomiting damages the teeth, and acid reflux is common. Excessive purging can cause dehydration, throwing off the body's natural balance of chemicals (electrolytes), which can lead to serious heart problems or death.
Binge Eating Disorder
People with this disorder lose control while eating and consume huge amounts of food in a short time. They may eat even when they aren't hungry or after they are painfully full.
This can lead to serious conditions like obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure, and heart disease.
Treatment
When doctors suspect an eating disorder, they will usually perform a physical examination, conduct an interview, and order lab tests. This will help form the diagnosis and check for related medical issues and complications. In addition, a mental health professional will conduct a psychological evaluation. They may ask questions about eating habits, behaviors, and beliefs. There may be questions about a patient's history of dieting, exercise, binging, and purging.
Often, a person with an eating disorder will have symptoms of another mental health condition that requires treatment. Whenever possible, it is best to identify and address all conditions at the same time. This gives a person comprehensive treatment support that helps ensure a lasting recovery.
Having a child with an eating disorder places significant responsibility on parents, making them active partners in treatment planning and implementation. Parents need to feel comfortable and confident in the professional’s approach and abilities, and in discussing the disorder. Finding a mental health professional with experience treating young people or children with eating disorders and their families is important.
Each person’s treatment will depend on the type of eating disorder, but generally, it will include psychotherapy along with medical monitoring and nutritional counseling. Treatments will vary depending on the type of disorder.
Most people get treatment without needing to stay somewhere full-time. However, some people need to stay at a special treatment center or hospital if they are dangerously underweight or have serious medical complications from poor nutrition.
Self-Help
It is helpful to understand when behaviors are destructive, but it may be difficult to control them. Treatment can offer ways to cope. Here are some things to be aware of:
Lifestyle: It’s important to begin making changes to remove the reminders and stop negative behaviors associated with the disorder. Resist the impulse to check the mirror or weigh several times a day. Fight the urge to diet or skip meals.
Identify the triggers: Certain places, challenging situations, and some friends may spark unhealthy behaviors. Understanding what these are can help in preparing a plan to deal with them.
Work with healthcare providers: Give healthcare providers the information they need to help support recovery. Don’t skip therapy sessions and be consistent with meal plans.
Learn more: Read self-help books that offer practical, credible advice. Research helpful topics online.
Connect with others on online message boards or peer-support groups. Share thoughts, fears, and questions with other people who have dealt with an eating disorder.
Supporting Loved Ones
If you know someone with an eating disorder:
Learn the Signs: Understand the symptoms of different eating disorders.
Be Supportive: Suggesting they see a doctor can be hard, as they might not see or admit they have a problem. Be supportive instead of arguing.
Avoid Blame: Don't make them feel blamed, guilty, or ashamed about their actions or beliefs related to the disorder.
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