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WHAT ARE EATING DISOrDERS?
WHAT ARE EATING DISOrDERS?
Eating disorders are not a choice someone makes and are mental conditions that can impact all aspects of a person's life. Eating disorders cover a wide range of conditions that involve a disturbance in the behaviours, thoughts, and attitudes toward food. Eating Disorders can include eating too much or too little. Anyone can be affected by an eating disorder regardless of age or gender.
What is Bulimia Nervosa?
What is Bulimia Nervosa?
Bulimia Nervosa (also known as Bulimia) typically occurs after intense periods of dieting and is characterised by a person experiencing a lack of control over food intake. This lack of control often leads to feelings of guilt and shame, resulting in the person experiencing these feelings taking compulsive, preventative measures to stop any weight gain.
A person with Bulimia can become stuck in a cycle of binge eating and then taking preventative measures, with these behaviours becoming increasingly compulsive and uncontrollable over time. These behaviours can lead to an obsession surrounding food, eating, and body image.
Common Experiences
Common Experiences
Symptoms of Bulimia can include:
Binge eating
Compensatory behaviours (behaviours that make up for the guilt a person feels)
Being sick
Misuse of laxatives
Fasting
Excessive Exercise
What is anorexia nervosa?
What is anorexia nervosa?
Anorexia is characterised by a restriction of food resulting in a significantly low body weight
It also accompanied by an intense fear of food and weight gain
Anorexia can cause changes in the brain that make it difficult for a person to realise that the impact of their condition
Atypical Anorexia Nervosa
Atypical Anorexia Nervosa is a subtype of anorexia. A person with Atypical Anorexia will meet all of the characteristics of Anorexia but a persons body weight may not fluctuate as much as others.
Despite the person's body weight, Atypical Anorexia is just as serious as Anorexia.
Common Experiences
Common Experiences
Symptoms of Anorexia can include:
Food restriction
Fear of gaining weight
Body image disturbance
WHAT IS BINGE EATING DISORDER?
WHAT IS BINGE EATING DISORDER?
Binge Eating Disorder is characterised by a lack of control regarding food, resulting in a person binge eating large amounts of food. This lack of control creates feelings of guilt, typically causing the person to retreat and hide away their habits out of shame.
Common Experiences
Common Experiences
Symptoms of Binge Eating Disorder may include:
Frequent episodes of binge eating
Feelings of guilt or shame around food
Overeating/ eating very quick
Secretive about food intake
what is avoidant restrictive food intake disorder?
what is avoidant restrictive food intake disorder?
Avoidant restrictive food intake disorder (ARFID) is a new diagnosis and is similar to anorexia as both disorders include restricting food intake. However, the main difference is that those with AFRID lack distress about body shape or size.
AFRID is a common disorder alongside other conditions such as ADHD and Autism, where a person might refuse food due to texture or not being able to notice feelings of hunger.
Common Experiences
Common Experiences
Symptoms of ARFID include:
Significant weight loss
High levels of nutritional deficiency
Negative reactions and avoidance of certain food textures
Eating disturbances are not caused by a lack of food being available
Orthorexia
Orthorexia
Although not an official diagnosis, awareness about orthorexia is increasing. Orthorexia is an eating disorder where a person becomes obsessed with healthy eating and fitness to the point where it can be harmful to them and others.
Those with orthorexia prioritise the 'goodness' of their food over anything else and prioritise checking the nutritional value of their food. This can lead to the development of other eating disorders as well as largely impacting a person's life.
Common Experiences
Common Experiences
Becoming emotional when rules surrounding food are broken
Cutting out entire food groups
Fixated on the quality of their food
Regardless of what type of eating disorder a person has, eating disorders can be extremely disruptive to a person's life. Sometimes, people with eating disorders will avoid social situations due to fearing food which can lead to strained relationships. Anxiety is also a common experience among those with an eating disorder and can make basic daily tasks difficult.
It is important to remember that anyone can experience an eating disorder regardless of weight, age or gender!
EXPERiENCES WITH BODY DYSMORPHIA
EXPERiENCES WITH BODY DYSMORPHIA
Body Dysmorphic Disorder (BDD) is a mental health condition in which you can't stop thinking about one or more perceived flaws in your appearance. A person with experiencing body dysmorphia might also feel embarrassed, ashamed, and anxious that they might start avoiding social situations.
When you have body dysmorphic disorder, you intensely focus on your appearance and body image, repeatedly checking the mirror, grooming, or seeking reassurance, sometimes for many hours each day. Your perceived flaw and the repetitive behaviours cause you significant distress and impact your ability to function in your daily life.
A person might turn to cosmetic procedures to try to "fix" their perceived flaws which can result in a cycle of anxiety and continuisly trying to fix parts of yourself.
If you feel like you are struggling with anything you have read or any other aspect of mental health, then there are services out there that can help. If you need to talk to someone you can sign up here for our peer coaching service.
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