Brooke Hayles asked:


Anorexia Nervosa and Bulimia Nervosa are two of the most common forms of eating disorders. Statistic gathered by the Academy of Eating Disorders state that more than ten percent of women have symptoms, varying in degrees, of eating disorders.

Anorexia Nervosa is an eating disorder that is defined as having an intense fear of gaining weight. The person who suffers from this disease will do anything it takes not to gain an ounce. If they gain even as much as half a pound, it can send them into a panic and they will stop eating altogether. In extreme cases, the person affected becomes emaciated to the point where hospitalization is required.

Although Anorexia Nervosa is generally found in women, the amount of men that this eating disorder affects is rapidly increasing.

There are several other severe reactions that the body can have to this eating disorder. Women will stop menstruating, and in girls, it can be delayed altogether. Puberty is can be delayed. For boys and men, their *** hormones decrease or in severe cases, disappear completely.

Anorexia Nervosa also has psychological symptoms. Irritability, withdrawal and depression can be found in all victims of this eating disorder. Another symptom of Anorexia Nervosa is that the person afflicted with will develop compulsive eating habits. All food is put into two categories; good and bad.

The person afflicted with this eating disorder are deathly afraid of eating the foods that are in the “Bad food” category.

Often, a person who develops Anorexia Nervosa because they cannot control certain aspects of their life. They feel that the food that they eat is the one thing that they can control.

Bulimia Nervosa is another form of eating disorders. This is different from Anorexia because the person afflicted will binge eat.

This is when the person diets or starves themselves for long periods of time and then eats enough to fulfill their hunger. When they are done eating, they will begin to feel guilty then an intense fear of gaining weight will overcome them and they will purge themselves. To do this, they will either make themselves vomit what they consumed or they will use laxatives to clean out there system. Some who are afflicted with this eating disorder will exercise to the point of exhaustion. Although they think they have it under control, they do not. The cycle will start all over again.

Although those with bulimia maintain a normal body weight, it can still have devastating effect. From vomiting over and over again, a victim of Bulimia can develop esophageal erosion similar to acid reflux disease, as well as the erosion of tooth enamel.

If you are a parent of someone who has either one of these eating disorders, it is critical that you seek medical attention as soon as possible. Even if you are not sure your child has these disorders, let a medical professional confirm it or put your fears to rest.

Anorexia and Bulimia are a very private part of the victim’s life. They will have the fear that treatment means weight gain and they will go to any extent for that not to happen.

These eating disorder can be deadly. It is important to recognize the symptoms, and if there are any changes in your child’s eating patterns. If they start to eliminate their favorite foods from their diet ask questions and do not stop until you have a satisfactory answer.

Through the help of a physician medical treatment can be done to correct the physical damage caused. Therapy from a mental health professional one on one and in a group setting is usually the course of treatment, which works hand in hand with a doctor.

Summary:

Anorexia and Bulimia can only be diagnosed and treated by a physician. It is important that you seek treatment as soon as you recognize the symptoms. Part of the treatment will be session, whether private or group, with a psychologist. Group session have shown great results as the people afflicted with these eating disorders share their stories and usually support each other.



Susan

the boy you love to hate asked:


Okay. I have the opposite of the norm of eating disorders. I eat too much. I never feel hungry, so I just keep eating and eating and eating, yet I never feel satisfied. How can I get rid of my eating disorder and lose some weight?

P.S.
I’m in high school, and I’ve been stressed, with college applications and homework and social stuff, etc. Does stress cause people to eat?

Gordon

Scotty M. asked:


My good friend eats, I know this for sure. But she feels uncomfortable about eating in front of her friends, like many others do. Now her dad is sure she has an eating disorder. Is this really one?

Wayne

Hippie chic asked:


I have ednos, and I was wondering if every eating disorder in some way is linked to depression?

Judith

Sara asked:


When I first started out modeling, I was very self concious, and developed an eating disorder. Now, after numerous therapy sessions, I’ve become healthy and confident.
My old modeling agency where I first began, wants me to speak at their graduation. They don’t know about my eating disorder though. Should I tell them I had an eating disorder and let them know if it’s right that I should still talk to the graduating class?
P.S. I really want to talk about my eating disorder, to make sure the girls (and guys!) know where to go for help if they were ever in my situation. Would it be too bad if I just got up and started talking about my eating disorder without telling them beforehand? Ever potential model should know about the risks of any eating disorder.

Adrian

Michael Sampson asked:


Thousands of women and increasing number of men look in the mirror everyday and **** what they see. The image that stares back at you in that mirror is not real as fairy tales are not real. You see in that mirror what your eating disorders want you to see as you are not seeing the true picture. Millions of people are made miserable by eating disorders while thousands will die from them yearly. The good news is that eating disorders can be beaten and be a prisoner no more to this. You have the power to beat such disorders and you will for sure. Although recovery may take lots of time and hard work, it is all worth doing. Finally, you will be free and you will love yourself. After the recovery, you will be able to look yourself in the mirror and it will be obviously the real you.

Many people misunderstand what causes their eating disorders and how dangerous it is and they deny that they even have a problem. When people hear of someone with eating disorders, they almost automatically assume the person has a problem with food. Eating disorders are not a sign that a person has a problem with food, to a certain extent disorders are actually only the symptoms of underlying problems in that person’s life. With proper treatment, that person may recover from the disorder.

While it has been found that some eating disorders sufferers have imbalances in certain chemicals in the brain that control hunger, appetite and digestion, potential biochemical or biological causes of eating disorders are still being examined by researchers In addition to biochemical or biological factors, several psychological factors, socio-cultural and interpersonal factors can be attributed as causes of eating disorders. A significant risk factor for the development of eating pathology appears to be represented by low self-esteem. The tendencies to be perfectionist and setting rigid standards for oneself may lead to some eating disorders. Depression, anxiety, emptiness or loneliness, anger and feelings of lack of control in life or feeling of inadequacy are other psychological factors that greatly cause eating disorders.

Socio-cultural factors could be cultural pressures placing extreme value on “thinness” and obtaining the “perfect body”. The cultural norms placing emphasis on physical appearance and not on inner strengths and qualities as well as defining beauty as extremely narrow including specific body weights and shapes greatly contributes to the development of eating disorders. Furthermore, media messages encouraging dieting likely lead to high rates of chronic dieting also has some part being played for the risk of having disorders. Eating disorders develop from a variety of causes and they are creating self-perpetuating cycle of physical and emotional destruction. Moreover, all eating disorders require professional help.

Some individuals who have difficulty expressing one’s feelings and emotions may add up to other causes that leads to eating disorders. Interpersonal relationships, family disharmony, history if being ridiculed based on body size or weight, history of sexual abuse and/or physical abuse and family factors such as obesity in the family, parental preoccupation with eating and weight, unrealistic expectations achievement are all interpersonal factors that develop eating disorders.

Lastly, the number one stepping stone to eating disorders is dieting and it is important that you put your bad dieting on trash. You have to be real by freeing your body from the possible impact that your dieting is about to give you after. Better off spend your money and your passion on something that really matters to your without you risking your health.



Julio

Tricia Greaves asked:


If you suffer from an eating disorder or obesity and are searching for a solution, it’s important to know that not all help is equal. Eating disorder treatment is extremely expensive ($1,000 a day) and so is on-going therapy. And how can you be sure that the treatment you are seeking will work?

Having been helping people with eating disorders, weight loss and addictions for 20 years, and having overcome an eating disorder myself, I have identified 5 key points that I believe are crucial for successful treatment. When researching your options, have this checklist available. The closer your options come to meeting these criteria, the better your chance of success.

1. Be cautious of “cures”.

Despite having lived free from the food problem for 20 years I don’t consider myself cured. “Cured” is a tricky term so I suggest that before you buy anyone’s claim to “cure” you of your eating disorder you do a little detective work. An anorexic who gains weight and a bulimic stop stops purging may be considered “cured”. So may an obese person who loses significant weight.

My experience with all eating disorders is that eliminating the immediate symptom does not end the more persistent compulsion and obsession with food and weight – another significant component of the problem. A life time of obsession and dependence on the eating disorder as a life coping tool cannot be cured in 30 days. This doesn’t mean someone has to struggle with food the rest of their lives either. But recovery requires vigilance in self-awareness and self improvement. Don’t be tempted by a “quick fix”. Seek a real solution based on ongoing inner and outer change and you will come to appreciate the life lessons the eating disorder is here to teach you.

2. Seek help from those who have “been there”.

We have been used to being told by well meaning therapists, doctors, dieticians and coaches to just “eat less, exercise more, moderate your portions, etc.” It’s sound advice but close to impossible to follow at times if you’re a real emotional eater. There is a “disconnect” when you are trying to get help from someone who doesn’t truly know how you feel. Somebody who has not lived the hell you are living (the self-hatred, the insanity of the food obsession and the powerlessness to control oneself, etc.) will have trouble reaching you because in the back of your mind you are thinking: “they don’t really understand”. It’s too easy to tune them out – feeling even more isolated and alone with our problems than ever.

The bottom line is that getting help from those who have actually “been there” and overcome it (that’s important) is the only way to receive help in the deepest way. Not only will the information make sense because it’s based on personal experience and not book knowledge (which has never worked for us) but it will penetrate into our hearts. Our hearts open when we believe that those who are helping us truly understand what we are going through.

3. Help must have a spiritual component.

Much of the help available today primarily addresses the psychological and physical aspects of eating disorders. Unfortunately, this isn’t enough. People spend years in therapy and working with dieticians yet continue to harm themselves with food. Their brains are filled with sound psychological insight as well as information about calories, exercise, eating schedules and nutrition, yet they continue to give in to cravings for hamburgers and ice cream!

The truth is that eating disorders, emotional eating and addictions are driven by a soul-sickness that no amount of intellectual understanding or personal will power can heal. A person must be given spiritual tools they can use and rely on when their own personal resources fail. It’s important to note that there is a difference between spirituality and religion, and in this case I’m suggesting the use of the former. By being encouraged to cultivate a belief in a higher power that is loving and ever-available for support and strength, a person can begin to depend on that power for the intervention and grace that can help them stop their destructive behavior.

4. The solution must address the underlying causes.

There is no hope of overcoming an eating disorder without looking beyond the eating disorder. Obsession with food and weight and other addictions are symptoms of deeper problems. They conveniently distract us from extreme unhappiness and self-loathing that lie underneath the surface. Any treatment program that focuses on primarily on food, body image and weight management is missing the point.

A person must be supported in looking at the cause of the self-loathing and subsequent self-destruction. (We don’t ever just happen to **** ourselves.) We are engaging in destructive thoughts and actions that cause us to believe we deserve punishment. By changing these thoughts and actions (most of which have little to do with food and body) we can feel deserving of better self-care. Anyone who has struggled for more than a few years with an eating disorder, if honest, will be able to admit that their problem really isn’t about food. Finding a program that reinforces this and addresses the real problem is essential.

5. Recovery includes changing your life.

How we live determines how we feel about ourselves. How we feel about ourselves determines how we eat. Therefore, in order to eat differently we have to live differently. Many treatment centers consider a person to be “cured”, or well on their way, if their symptoms of anorexia, bulimia or obesity lessen while in treatment. (If anorexic, they gain a few pounds; if bulimic, their episodes decrease or stop; and if obese, they lose some weight.) The problem is that they eventually have to leave treatment and return to the same life that perpetuated or caused their problem in the first place. This is why relapse is so common.

Eating disorders are a symptom of living a life that is severely out of balance. Recovery comes when a person makes concrete, significant changes in her life. Change must be deeper than body behavior and diet. Change includes communication, thoughts, relating to people, priorities and attitude. There is no 30 day program that will automatically cause a person to overcome an eating disorder or help a person lose weight for good. It is the hard, but necessary, ongoing changes in one’s life that enable a person to break free. Be sure that the help you seek isn’t skin-deep. There is no success without a commitment to real life change.

Bonus: It needs to work!

“Does the treatment work?” Believe it or not, people forget to consider this critical question when evaluating options. They also forget to ask this of themselves after receiving help. People turn to treatment centers, doctors and counselors for answers but never stop to ask if the help they are receiving is actually making a dent in their actual behaviors. They may feel comforted, supported and heard, but is it actually changing their symptoms? And if the answer is “yes”, ask how much are the symptoms changing. Most people feel that going from purging 7 times a day to 3 is good enough. But how good can one’s quality of life be when one is still purging (or bingeing) at all? I am well aware that progress of any kind is never to be discounted. However, I have had the privilege of routinely witnessing people’s symptoms being removed completely. In light of the knowledge that a person can be totally free of their eating disorder, settling for “a little less self-destruction” doesn’t seem like such a great deal after all. Be sure that the help you’re seeking isn’t just a “feel-good” measure, but an actual solution that shows results.

These 5 (and a bonus) key elements for seeking help for eating disorders are crucial for true success. Many people search for decades and spend thousands of dollars on programs that don’t give them results. It’s easy to let the desperation of this disease drive you to spend money now and ask questions later. It’s important to let your head and intuition – not your emotions– make your decision. You deserve to be (and can be) totally free from your problems. While only you can issue the permit for freedom, getting the right help along the way can make all the difference in the world.



William

Jamieee (: asked:


If I don’t want to suffer from an eating disorder, what can I do to avoid getting one?

James

Nadine Ann asked:


“I could die if I don’t eat food.” “I could die if I do eat food.” Those two statements were a near reality for me as I silently tortured myself into thinking that food could take away my living hell.

Why do I want to write my story and share my personal details with the world? Because I have something important to say and I have learned that without speaking about healing binge eating disorder others who suffer from it might stay that way forever when they truly don’t need to.

My experience with eating disorders started with anorexia when I was 16 years old. Growing up I had always been self-conscious about my body even though I was of normal height and weight. But being “normal” doesn’t make a hill of beans if you don’t feel it on the inside. That’s just the outside. My grandmother used to tell me I would be fat if I ate those “bad” foods and those thoughts were the start of an unhealthy view of food. I adopted her belief that I would become fat so I feared food and I feared becoming fat.

As I got older I kept an unhealthy relationship with food at an arms length. At age 22 I was married and by 25 had my first daughter. At 27, I left my husband. I chose not to live a life filled with deception and corruption which is what my husband had gotten into. He was embezzling money from the police department he worked for and was blaming me for it. I couldn’t believe that my husband who claimed he would love me forever would blame me for his wrongdoings. Did he ever really love me?

Even though I was 3 months pregnant with my second baby, I took my 2 year old and left with a broken heart. He didn’t care about me, my 2 year old or my unborn child and my self-esteem hit rock bottom. In the three weeks that followed, I lost my job, I lost my grandfather, I lost my marriage and I lost my unborn child. My life would never be the same.

At first I used food as consolation. I had lost just about everything in my life that was important to me and food seemed to soothe my soul. I was depressed, angry, sad, hurt, and desolate. A few months had passed and I started to put myself back together for the sake of my daughter. I started exercising and dieting because in my twisted mind I thought that no man would want me unless I looked like a skinny model from a magazine. I was 27 years old, getting divorced and had a 2 year old. What man would want to be involved with a woman like me?

I started starving myself and compulsive exercising and the weight just melted off my body. Of course so did my muscles and immune system. But I didn’t care because my body was responding to the control I wanted to have over it. I couldn’t control what was going on in my life but I sure could control my own body.

My family was close to doing an intervention as I pushed my body beyond healthy limits. I was smoking cigarettes so I wouldn’t eat and still compulsive exercising. My lungs were screaming at me but I kept pushing. My knees finally gave out from overuse and it was then that I was forced to stop exercising compulsively. My body was trying to regain control over my brain and it was using methods to get me to stop. It finally worked. It amazes me now when I think about how brilliant the human body is and how it sends messages when the brain isn’t listening!

In the meantime, I began dating again and found that I was still attractive to men even with a child in tow. My self-esteem seemed to get a little better but food was still an issue. I hardly ate and still smoked. I had not dealt with the underlying issues of abandonment from my marriage so there was still emptiness in my heart.

A few years later I met my current husband. I was ready. I had waited 7 years after my divorce to meet him, had let go of the pain I felt inside, and he was like a fairy tale prince. It seemed that my life had turned for the better and I fell head over heels in love with him. We were planning our wedding and building a house at the same time so my stress level was enormous but I was on cloud nine.

Here is the interesting thing about eating disorders though. Even though you may feel euphorically happy, you can still have inner struggles that bring out those dormant eating disorder feelings. Because I didn’t deal with the issues, I began to binge eat. I used food to combat my stress. And of course as I became a full time binger I had to hide what I was doing. How ashamed and embarrassed I was that I had become this hideous person that hid cakes in the bottom of the refrigerator and stuffed myself so full that I could barely move after. And to top it all off, I started to gain weight.

After three years of hiding my binging, I “came out of the closet”. Binge eaters typically hide their pain and food intake from everyone so coming out is scary but liberating. Another thing that happened when I finally decided to stop hiding is that I wanted to heal my eating disorder as fast as I could. I needed a way out of this disorder and I was going to find it.

I attended Overeaters Anonymous meetings for some time but they were of no help to me whatsoever. My experience with OA was that a hand full of people got together at my local church and sat around complaining about how stressed they were. No one knew how to deal with binge eating. No one knew how to heal it. In fact, every time I went to a meeting I had to state my name and that I was a compulsive overeater. I just didn’t believe that was the truth. I wanted to say that I was cured. I also got tired of listening to other people complain. my next attempt at help was to call my primary doctor.

My PCP had no idea what binge eating disorder was. She suggested I join a structured eating program like Weight Watchers. She also thought I should try an anti-depressant. She sent me home with a prescription for pills and a huge dose of frustration. Didn’t anyone know how to heal this? What kind of options did I have? It turned out, not many.

That’s when I decided to study holistic health and nutrition. I realized that I had been sent on my path of eating disorders for a purpose and that was to help other people find options to heal their disorder when they finally reach the point of “coming out”.

Finding the help I needed was miraculous. My healing included: stress management, challenging my old belief systems, getting to the root cause of my disorder, learning meditation, visualization, and assertiveness training and coping skills. It all came down to me and no one else. All of my actions and decisions up until the time I began healing my disorder where focused on everyone else except me. It came down to realizing that I have a great deal of value and self-worth and I can participate in life by being true to myself.

I learned that anyone can have an eating disorder no matter what their background is or income is or color is. I learned that stress can literally put you over the edge and cause you to binge eat and not knowing how to deal with stress correctly is part of the problem.

I also know that with healing comes an obligation for me to speak out so that other wonderful individuals don’t go home with a prescription for something that only masks the problem and not solves it. I urge people to learn about the disorder, to find online or offline methods available for help and stick it out. Healing binge eating disorder is possible. I am living proof of it.

“My name is Nadine and I am a healthy, happy, beautiful person.”



Jean

Katie asked:


So, I’ve been dealing with an eating disorder on and off over the past year. I’m 5′10 and I’ve dropped from 190 to 145 and wouldn’t mind losing another 5 pounds, but overall am fairly happy with my weight. My eating disorder has consisted of basically, anywhere from 500-1,500 calories per day some days in one sitting sometimes in several. Exercising about 3-4 days per week burning about 300 calories per workout with both cardio and weight lifting. Now, I would like to adopt a healthier diet, but would like to do so without gaining back any weight. Any advice on doing this would be great as I realize my recent diet has not been very healthy.

*Please no useless replies or comments.

Thanks!

Roger