Eating disorders are severe, intricate, and perhaps fatal mental diseases. Disturbances in behaviors, beliefs, and attitudes around diet, food, and weight or form define them. Eating disorders negatively affect a person’s quality of life and have major physical, psychological, and psychosocial repercussions.
Eating problems are widespread and becoming more prevalent. For women, the predicted lifetime prevalence is 8.4%, while for men, it is 2.2%. Regardless of age, weight, height, appearance, gender identification, sexual preference, cultural origin, or financial status, eating disorders can affect anybody.
category of eating disorders
Types of eating disorders
In accordance with the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, there are several forms of eating disorders. Depending on the clinical presentation, frequency, and occurrence, classifications are formed. Some of the types of eating disorders are:
Anorexia Nervosa
The greatest fatality rate of any mental condition, according to experts, is found in anorexia nervosa. This makes it the most serious of the 12 forms of eating disorders, in our opinion. This condition necessitates rigorous exercise, severe dietary restrictions, and other purging habits.
Bulimia Nervosa
Bulimia nervosa is a disorder that develops when a person often binges on a large number of calories and afterward purges it. Purging activities might include pushing oneself to vomit, exercising excessively, and using laxatives and diet medications. Both bingeing and purging are risky habits, and when they occur simultaneously, they can produce life-threatening medical symptoms.
Overeating Disorder Binge (BED)
Episodes of eating excessive quantities of food are a hallmark of BED. When someone eats too much food in a two-hour period, it is referred to as a binge. Binges are characterized by a trance-like condition, weight gain, and subsequent feelings of regret and humiliation. BED often does not involve any purging practices, in contrast to bulimia. BED patients are frequently overweight or obese as a result of their binge.
Prader Willi Disease
This condition is brought on by an underlying genetic disorder that results in excessive eating and obesity. It starts with newborns’ delayed growth, poor eating, and weak muscles. The illness then results in an excessive appetite in children. Children who have Prader-Willi Syndrome struggle to adopt a typical lifestyle and acquire diabetes.
Avoiding and restricting food intake disorder
Limiting the quantity or kind of food consumed is a symptom of avoidant restrictive food intake disorder (ARFID), formerly known as a selective eating disorder. Individuals having ARFID do not suffer from distorted body images or a severe fear of gaining weight, in contrast to those with anorexia nervosa. Middle childhood is the most prevalent age for the development of ARFID, which often starts sooner than most other eating disorders do. While many kids suffer through moments of fussy eating, an ARFID child or adult does not consume enough calories to sustain fundamental bodily functions or to develop and grow normally.
Impact of eating disorder in the life of an individual suffering from the same
People with eating disorders may have a sense of worthlessness that may motivate them to engage in self-destructive behavior. Since they cannot see a full stop to their issue or eating disorder, the sensation that they are out of control has a significant influence on their capacity to operate properly.
Many people claim that their disorder creates a sense of being entrapped since they seem powerless to regulate their eating problems and that they are being controlled by those problems. Guilt problems might result from a trapped sensation. In order to punish oneself for not sticking to the plan one has created to stay slim, guilt leads to dissatisfaction, which may lead to a reduction in caloric intake and an increase in exercise time.
The individuals are impacted by an eating disorder in a variety of ways, and as they are rarely to be felt in isolation from one another, the condition will ‘attack’ the person in a variety of ways.
Physical conditions
The greatest detrimental effect that an eating problem may have on a person’s life is possibly physical sickness. Due to the body’s exposure to food deprivation, patients with anorexia are more susceptible to several mild ailments since their immune systems are underdeveloped.
The body image
A distorted body image is when a person has a poor perception of their physique that is not accurate. This is associated with body dysmorphic disorder, a dangerous medical illness that frequently coexists with eating disorders.
Refusal
A person who organizes their day around food may not necessarily plan when and how much to eat, but rather how to avoid it at all costs.
This is particularly common among those who may actually have a phobia of food or being overweight. This can imply that they stay away from any circumstances that include eating or even people who are overweight.
15 Self-help tips that can be brought into action when dealing with an eating disorder
We need to understand that self-help techniques can add significantly to the recovery from an eating disorder. It depends on the magnitude and intensity of your disorder and whether self-care strategies need to be paired up with other interventions or not. Usually, relying only on self-help strategies is suggested for those individuals who are not clinically diagnosed with an eating disorder but show a few symptoms of the same.
For individuals clinically diagnosed with an Eating disorder, self-help strategies are suggested in conjunction with other interventions such as therapy, nutritional counseling, medication, and medical assistance.
Here are 15 effective self-help techniques to help you manage your eating disorder.
Join support groups or confide in someone you really trust
This is not the time to “go it alone,” so maintain contact with the support groups you are a part of and the other therapists on your team. having a friend or family member who is aware of your issues with eating disorders and with whom you can maintain a regular connection may be really helpful. There are many different people who could serve as mentors, so if you do not yet have someone in your life who fills this function, there are a number of criteria to keep in mind as you look for someone with whom you may form this kind of relationship.
In order to heal from an eating disorder, gratitude and thanks are crucial.
Expressing thankfulness might assist with the lethargy that comes with fighting an eating issue. It’s crucial to focus on what you currently possess rather than what you lack. Being nice and expressing thanks assists in shifting attention away from you and toward someone or something else. This encourages the disordered eating sufferer to be more optimistic, which may assist to alter the eating disordered person’s life.
The path to recovery from an eating disorder is a lengthy one.
It requires dedication and commitment to the process. The healing process involves numerous crucial phases, but these stages change over time based on the point in your journey.
Understand the importance of your feelings and emotions
The Importance of Feelings Deep sentiments and emotions may be harmful to one’s general health and well-being if they are chosen to be suppressed or ignored.
Allow Your Mind to Relax
Additional considerations that might be useful include: To continually weigh oneself and examine your physique in the mirror requires a lot of energy. Stop immediately if you discover yourself doing it. Get a lot of shut-eye at night. Take a vacation from the negative or erroneous information you are exposed to online, on TV, and in periodicals.
Assist others
It requires a significant amount of time and effort to worry about eating and weight reduction. Help others who are in need by using that energy. You’ll feel better about the world and about yourself as a result.
Develop Healthy Eating Habits
A diet high in berries, and veggies, including whole grains should be prioritized. Eat whatever you want when you’re hungry. Stop when you’re full. And find out from your doctor if you need to take any dietary supplements.
Concentrate on the now
Don’t consider what your future could hold for you. The procedure is just prolonged as a result. Do not ponder when your rehabilitation from an eating disorder is complete. When can you resume your workouts? When will you be able to eat whenever you please? All of these ideas won’t make you feel better. I assure you that the moment will arrive when you will become ED-free forever. Focus on now and make the existing moment wonderful till then.
Employ all your senses when eating
The more linked we are to our satiety and pleasure when we consume with all our five senses, the less likely we are to overeat mindlessly.
Practice body awareness
Take a few seconds every day to tune in with your body’s physical sensations. Consider them as signposts. Allow for insight without passing judgment and pay attention to how your physical body is feeling.
Exercise mindfulness
You don’t have to connect to every notion, so realize that. Imagine letting go of any unpleasant thoughts that come to mind.
Keep yourself well hydrated
When trying to understand our appetite and satiety cues, it’s important to keep ourselves properly hydrated in order to understand what our bodies are telling us.
Feel your completeness
This might be difficult! It’s possible that you won’t feel the urge to quit eating until you’re overstuffed. Start by being in the moment and attempting to feel what it is like to be “full” without becoming overstuffed.
Encourage contentment
You experience much more satisfaction when you give yourself the freedom to eat whatever you desire. Respect your likings and pay attention to how they affect satiety.
Keep to your treatment plan for eating disorders
Even if you’re feeling better, don’t skip out on counseling or other components of your treatment. Stick to the advice given by the medical professional. Don’t skip the self-care practices.
Read blog: Treatment and Interventions for Eating Disorder and Self-help Strategies for Speedy Recovery
Download our free worksheet to break free from eating disorders.
