Eating disorders explained

Anorexia Nervosa

Anorexia Nervosa is a serious mental health illness. People affected often keep their body weight low through dieting, vomiting, laxative abuse or obsessively exercising and will often see themselves very differently from those around them. They often go to great lengths to hide their behaviour from family and friends.

Losing weight can make a person feel in control of their body when they may not feel that they can control their life. Because they often perceive themselves to be overweight, losing weight can become an achievement.

Sadly, Anorexia Nervosa carries the highest mortality rate of all eating disorders. This is due to the medical complications that can arise from the illness and suicide also contributes to this statistic. The latest research has shown that 20% of people affected by Anorexia will die prematurely. It is therefore important to seek professional help as soon as possible.

How to spot the signs

There are a number of signs that can cause concern. It’s important to remember that each person is different, although there will be a similarity between cases. Someone affected by Anorexia Nervosa will be experiencing and fighting their own personal battle.

Below is a list of some of the common behavioural patterns:

• Fear of gaining weight
• Obsessively counting calories
• Strict Dieting
• Incorrect perception of their body image
• Excessive Exercising
• Makeing excuses for not eating and not wanting to eat in front of others
• Obsessive behaviour
• Socially withdrawn

Important Note: People affected by Anorexia may also use diet pills, or appetite suppressants

Bulimia Nervosa

Bulimia Nervosa, like Anorexia Nervosa is a serious mental health disorder. People affected by Bulimia often feel that they have lost control of their eating habits. They will often be caught in a cycle of eating large quantities of food, known as binge eating. Once they have consumed the food, the tendency is for them to vomit, or use laxatives or diuretics.  This is referred to as purging. Those affected by Bulimia believe that purging will prevent them from gaining weight.

Bulimia can often be hidden and generally, people affected tend to be a healthy weight. It is the ritualistic and obsessive behaviours they carry out, that causes them harm. Bulimia can dominate daily life and lead to difficulties in relationships and social situations. It’s common for people to swing from Anorexia Nervosa to Bulimia Nervosa.

As with Anorexia, people affected by Bulimia will often have low self esteem and confidence issues. The way they perceive themselves may be very different from how others see them.

How to spot the signs?

There are a number of different signs that can cause concern for someone and their surrounding family and friends. It’s important to remember that each person is different, although there will be similarities between cases. Someone affected by Bulimia will be experiencing and fighting their own personal battle.

Some of the common behavioural patterns of someone suffering from Bulimia can include:

• Binge eating
• Mood swings
• Disappearing to the toilet after eating
• Distorted perception of body shape and weight
• Excessive exercising

Binge Eating Disorder (BED)

Binge eating disorder (BED) is another serious mental health issue more commonly seen in adults. People affected by binge eating will be unable to control the amount of food they eat at any given time. Binge eating occurs when a person eats large amounts of food in a short amount of time. Unlike Bulimia, people who binge eat will not vomit. They tend to gain weight and can be regarded as obese although, this in itself is not an eating disorder.

Binge eating like all eating disorders is linked to low self-esteem and emotional issues. The urge to turn to food for comfort can cause excessive eating until uncomfortably full.

Binge eating affects both men and women equally. Often, eating will be done in secret so family and friends may be unaware. This is generally because people affected are ashamed of their eating habits and feel huge amounts of guilt after overeating so will do it on their own in private. BED is likely to be diagnosed when a person binges at least once per week over a period of three months or more.

How to spot the signs?

As this disorder is often kept hidden, weight gain can be attributed to obesity and it can be difficult to spot.

Some of the common behavioural patterns include:

• Significant weight gain
• Purchasing ‘special’ binge eating foods
• Eating excessive amounts of food, even if just eaten
• Hiding Food
• Secret eating – possibly during the night when everyone else is sleeping

Emotional Overeating

Emotional overeating occurs when someone turns to food for comfort when they’re feeling anxious or depressed. It is generally a response to negative emotions. This behaviour is a way for that person to cope.   However, the emotions a person will experience after overeating will generally make them feel worse.

Emotional overeating will often lead to weight gain, which leaves the person affected with very low self-esteem.