Eating Disorders

What is an eating disorder?

Anybody can suffer from eating disorders. Eating disorders are a way of coping with feelings that are making you unhappy or depressed. It may be difficult to face up to and talk about, feelings like anger, sadness, guilt, loss or fear. An eating disorder is a sign that you need help in coping with life, and sorting personal problems. If you suffer from an eating disorder my advice to you would be go and see your GP as soon as possible, I know how it feels it makes you feel like you have something inside you eating away every day you feel weaker and weaker until you start losing weight, but it makes you feel very low and I do think If It was not for the support I received I would not be here today.

I have included more information below about the 2 most well known eating disorders this information is from a leaflet but I think it’s something that everybody should know, if you want more advice either go and see your DR or log on to the Eating Disorders Association website www.edauk.com/ which I think is excellent and they have more advice and people to contact on their site.

read on..............................

What is Bulimia?

Bulimia means 'ox hunger' or voracious appetite. Other terms which have been used for the same syndrome include:

the abnormal weight control syndrome

the binge-purge syndrome

the dietary chaos syndrome

chaotic eating

dysorexia and bulimarexia

The diagnostic criteria for bulimia nervosa are as follows:

a. Episodes of binge eating (rapidly eating a large amount of food) occurring at least twice a week for three months.

b. A feeling of having no control over eating behaviour during the binges.

c. Regularly engaging in either self-induced vomiting, use of laxatives or diuretics, strict dieting or fasting, or vigorous exercise, in order to prevent weight gain.
d. Persistent over-concern with weight and shape

What is Anorexia?

Anorexia is colloquially referred to as the 'slimmer's disease', but this title does not give a very useful description of the condition. Anorexia is a serious condition, and not merely an obsession with weight or slimming.

The medical label, anorexia nervosa is also unhelpful for those trying to understand the condition. The term literally means 'loss of appetite from nervous origins' but the patient has usually conquered her appetite, not lost it. Although you may claim at the time to have no appetite, many recovered patients admit that they were often extremely hungry but refused themselves the right to eat.

A patient is diagnosed as suffering from anorexia nervosa when they fulfil the following criteria:

a. Refusal to maintain an adequate body weight

b. Intense fear of gaining weight or becoming fat, even though underweight

c. Cannot see how thin you are

d. In females, absence of at least three consecutive menstrual periods