What is Eating Disorder

When an individual finds their thoughts and behaviour regarding food, their own body weight and body image to be difficult, it is considered an eating problem. It affects their mental well–being and day to day functioning. It is the inner struggle of an individual that leads one to develop unhealthy eating habits.

Having a craving, eating more than usual, or feeling less hungry, can be common occasionally. This condition starts with being preoccupied with food consumption, body shape, and weight. It is considered to be severe, or an eating disorder, when it leads to serious health difficulties affecting other areas of life. It can keep worsening if left untreated.

There are various symptoms one may have observed in such conditions. Most common ones are: restraining from food, overindulging in food or getting rid of food from the body, by throwing up or over exercising. Experiencing such symptoms has an effect on:

1. How you behave

2. How you feel

3. The way you eat or think about food

This can affect anyone at any age, though most reported in adolescents or young adults.

Types

Anorexia Nervosa

The extreme fear of gaining weight has an impact on how one recognizes their body shape and self-worth. This fear clouds their thinking, like- considering themselves to be overweight even when they’re under-weight, having a distorted body image, and being unhappy about their body shape. Avoiding certain kinds of food, constantly monitoring calorie intake, and weight are few of the common observable issues. This leads to withholding themselves from getting the required energy to stay healthy. One may avoid participating in any social event and it has an impact on other areas of their life too.

Bulimia Nervosa

Individuals struggling with this condition keep dwelling in a loop of eating large quantities of food at one go, to deal with the emotions or problems they are struggling with. This is followed by feeling guilty or ashamed of eating too much, hence, resorting to compensatory behaviour, i.e., forcing oneself to vomit, fast, excessively exercising or using laxatives. It is difficult to understand whether one is going through this painful experience as they usually tend to maintain a normal weight. The observable side effects are swollen or sore throat, tooth decay, acid reflux, stomach irritations and extreme dehydration.

Binge Eating disorder

Individuals struggling with this condition indulge in eating large amounts of food, and can’t control themselves, even if they want to. The feel-good factor attached to this behaviour makes one resort to food, when having difficulty dealing with their feelings. It is also known as ‘compulsive eating.’ It is a common experience for them, to be stigmatized for body weight.

Signs

Mind

MIND

Thoughts mostly centred around food
Swift or sudden changes in mood
Feeling out of control
A need to achieve perfection, in terms of body image or shape
Telling oneself, “I am not good enough!”
Scared of putting on weight
Feeling mentally exhausted
Inability to see any solution to the problem

Body

BODY

Feeling shame and guilt in regards to food related habits and body image
Feeling hatred towards one’s own body
Feeling low and upset most of the time
Feeling lonely
Getting angry easily if habits regarding food intake or weight is challenged

Heart

HEART

Experience difficulty maintaining or changing weight
May feel dehydrated due to the unhealthy eating habits, which affects the skin as well
Women may experience irregular periods or none at all
Dental issues and sore throat is usually observed
Digestive issues, which may lead to serious heart conditions
Affects immunity

Action

ACTION

Either reduce food intake or lose control over cravings and can’t stop eating
Spending time counting calories of everything you eat (except in binge eating)
May hide food
Spend time checking body weight (except in binge eating)
Exercise a lot (except in binge eating)

Causes

Characteristics of an individual – It defines the way one thinks, feels or behaves. The following could be a contributing factor to this issue.
1. A need or desire to be perfect, known as perfectionism.
2. Finding it difficult to be satisfied with what one has done.
3. Being overly critical of oneself.
4. Getting over-competitive towards people around them.
5. Being preoccupied with unwanted thoughts (obsession) or indulging in uncontrollable actions (compulsive behaviour).
6. Inability to express feelings due to a lack of confidence.

Challenging life experiences – Experiencing an unwanted, negative or stressful situation could be the starting point for an eating disorder in an individual’s life. Few example of such situations are –
1. Abuse (physical, emotional or sexual).
2. Severe family issues.
3. Academic or work pressure.
4. Being bullied.
5. Death of a loved one.
Food in such situations gives the warmth and satisfaction one looks forward to.

Family issues – Having an adverse family condition or constant struggle with family members could contribute to developing the disorder. The experiences, especially in childhood, link deeper to this issue. In order to deal with such complex emotions, food becomes an easy escape. Few such conditions are:
1. Having strict or controlling parents.
2. Home not associated as being a safe space to be in.
3. Parents with high expectations, causing pressure on the individual.
4. Family rules and practices affecting one’s character development.
5. Unhealthy eating habits shared by most family members.

Major life transitions – Going through major life changes could be tough at times. Food, in such situations, ends up being their tool to deal with the situation. Example:
1. Onset of puberty (developing physical and sexual maturity at the age of 13 or 14).
2. Changing school or college, or starting a new job.
3. Exploring one’s sexual orientation and interests.
4. Moving to a new place, away from home.

Social difficulties – Social standards and rules may not directly cause eating problems, but they can add to it. These standards are usually endorsed through movies, advertisements, posts and stories on social media. A common problem is to compare oneself with unrealistic standards, leading to low confidence about one’s own self and body image. Today it has become a common practice to use filters, or go extreme, by altering one’s face or body parts to look flawless. It is necessary to take help when it starts taking over the real identity of an individual.

Difficulty maintaining physical and mental well-being – Having a physical health problem could make one feel helpless and powerless, which could develop into eating problems as well. The eating behaviour makes one feel more in control of their situation.
In case of mental health issues, one may also develop eating problem, few such examples are:
1. Feeling mostly low or unhappy about self and situation (Depression).
2. Having excessive worry-some thoughts affecting different areas of one’s life (Anxiety).
3. Having erratic shifts in mood along with other behavioural difficulties (Bipolar disorder).
4. Experiencing out of proportion, negative, intrusive thoughts about one’s own body, and resorting to uncontrollable behaviour like looking in the mirror repeatedly to reduce anxiety (Body Dysmorphic disorder).

Myths and Facts

How to help self?

Coping with critical comments – Many a times, in the disguise of helpful comments, comes a critical comment. Others may have passed an opinion about how one could manage their weight, what one should eat or how much one should eat. These words come with the pre-assumption that an individual in such conditions can control their feelings and actions, which is not true. It makes things more difficult for the person experiencing it.

Coping with gaining weight – Getting better and recovering from the situation does not mean gaining weight. It helps you feel and think in a positive direction. There are few things that could help you when struggling:
1. Make a list of the reasons why you want to get better. And look at them when you’re facing difficulty dealing with your emotions.
2. Donate or give away clothes that no longer fit you, and de-clutter the space.
3. Find clothes that you feel comfortable and confident in.
4. Avoiding comparisons with others. Each and every individual is different, in all terms.

Knowing ways to manage setbacks – The mind rewinds back to the old unhelpful thoughts and behaviour, especially when going through a difficult phase. Identifying these situations helps to avoid the triggers. The triggers could be as follows:
1. Changes in weight – losing or gaining.
2. Changes in the body shape.
3. Going for a celebration or social event.
4. Adopting healthy eating habits.
5. Life hassles, like – academic or work pressure, conflict in relationships, etc.

In such situations, identifying the changes in your behaviour could prevent you from indulging deeper into the setbacks. Things like changes in eating pattern, compensating for the unwanted calorie intake, checking your own body repeatedly, etc. It could further help you understand more about the problem and your patterns. The setbacks are a part of the process of improvement.

Alter unhealthy habits – It is difficult to alter habits or routines centred around food, hence, making small changes could be beneficial.
Here are few tips:
1. Consult a professional, when deciding upon dietary rituals. Deciding upon a diet has a lot to do with the body mass index (height and weight ratio).
2. Distract yourself with an activity of your interest. For example, any of your hobbies, whenever focusing on body and weight unnecessarily.
3. Try relaxing practices, whenever your mind is worried about ridding the food from the body.

Sharing your feelings with someone you trust– Letting someone trusted know what you’ve been through, and how you have been feeling, can give you the much needed relief. You could also vent your feelings and thoughts to a professional, who could help you further, without burdening your loved ones. It will help you gain another perspective.

How to help others?

Be a patient listener of their experience– Sharing their experience helps them vent out their locked up feelings, and feel at ease when worked up. Having a patient ear for listening is one of the best help you could provide. Knowing their day to day difficulties can help you better empathize with their struggles. When listening, avoid common assumptions, like eating disorders are only about body image, or being able to tell whether one has it only by looking at them.

Ask them the ways you could help –Your friend or family member may have an idea of how you could help them. So creating an open space to communicate that will help them be vocal about their difficulties. And ask for the kind of support that they need from you. For example, when they are feeling emotionally low, you could lend a calm shoulder for them to rest upon.

Don’t emphasise or remark on their appearance – Comments like, “You look good today” or “You look well” could act as a trigger to them, even though these seem to be kind and positive words. The focus on the appearance at times, hides away the feelings within, hence, it is best to avoid them.

Gaining more awareness about eating disorders from the right sources– Knowing the symptoms, causes, and its effects can give you a basic idea of what your loved one is suffering from. Reading about what others have gone through can give you a better understanding of how it develops and their experiences. It is very important to remember that every individual has different experiences and reactions. Directing them to trusted sources can help them practice safe eating and exercise habits.