What are Eating Disorders?
What are eating disorders?
Eating disorders affect people across the lifespan and do not discriminate based on color, national origin, socioeconomic class, religion, or any other means. Those with eating disorders represent a wide range of shapes and sizes, and it’s estimated that in the US alone, 20 million women and 10 million men experience an eating disorder at some point in their lives. Since the pandemic began, eating disorders are at an all-time high with greater hospitalization rates and some centers experience double the in-patient admission rate.
Eating disorders are an unhealthy obsession with weight and body image and are a way to manage underlying anxiety. Eating disorders may manifest as a binge/purge cycle, exercise obsession, an inability to control the intake of food, or an avoidance of food, including particular types or textures of foods, among other manifestations. While much research is being done in the field, it is believed that eating disorders stem from a variety of biological, social, and psychological factors.
The treatment of eating disorders requires a team with the integrative approach of a therapist to treat the underlying psychological factors, a doctor to treat the medical manifestation, and a dietician to provide education and help with creating a healthy meal plan and developing healthy attitudes towards food and eating.
Symptoms manifest themselves differently from person-to-person but may include:
Physical:
-Infrequent menses or amenorrhea, the cessation of menstruation
-Frequent body checking
-Obsessive weighing
-Mood swings
-Gastrointestinal issues, including bloating, constipation, acid reflux
-Fainting
-Hair loss, weak or broken nails
-Dry skin and hair
-Muscle weakness
-Cuts and calluses on finger joints
-Esophageal burning or lesions
-Dizziness
-Difficulty concentrating
-Feeling cold when others don’t
-Dental decay, including cavities, gum disease, yellowing of teeth, cavities
-Lanugo or fine, baby-like hair all over the body
-Low heart rate, low blood pressure, and abnormal lab results, such as low potassium, anemia, low white and red blood cell counts, low hormone levels, and low thyroid
-Decreased immunity and difficulty recovering from wounds
Behavioral and Psychological:
-Behaviors and attitudes that reveal that control of food, dieting, and weight loss take precedence over other areas of life
-Preoccupation with dieting, weight loss, fat, calories, carbohydrates
-Atypical food rituals, such as only eating certain types of foods, counting the number of chews per bite, cutting food into small pieces
-Reducing the number of meals or the quantity during meals
-Withdrawal from loved ones and previously enjoyed activities
-Exercise compulsion even when injured and tired
-Extreme weight loss
-Evidence of binging behavior, such as eating a large amount of food in a short period of time, wrappers of certain foods in the trash, or hiding food
-Frequent trips to the restroom after meals
-Frequent dieting and calorie counting
-Using a scale as a barometer of self-worth
Eating disorders are often veiled in secrecy and shame, but you do not have to feel alone. Early detection and treatment are essential to being able to recover and to lead a full and meaningful life free of an eating disorder. We can help you identify and address the underlying anxiety that is contributing to your eating disorder, and we can work with your treatment team to ensure that you can live your best possible life.