Eating disorder
Eating disorders are described as a condition in which an individual has an unhealthy relationship with food. The three major types of eating disorders are: Anorexia Nervosa, Bulimia Nervosa, and Binge Eating Disorder. Anorexia Nervosa is described to show significant weight loss due to excessive dieting and exercise. There are individuals that often diet and exercise to the point of starvation. Individuals with anorexia often feel that they will never be thin enough and continue to see themselves as over weight despite their extreme weight loss.
Bulimia Nervosa is an eating disorder in which the individual takes part in extreme overeating. This type of eating is known as bingeing; individuals with this disorder often follows their bingeing by purging or other serious behaviors to compensate for their overeating.
Binge eating disorder is a condition in which the individual experiences a series of times when they are overeating and they have feelings of lacking control over their eating.
Eating disorders have been found to develop during the teenage years and young adult years. They are mostly common in girls and women. There has been no cause of eating disorders but they seem to coexist in individuals that have psychological and medical issues like
low self-esteem, depression, anxiety, poor coping mechanisms and emotional control, and substance abuse.
Symptoms of these disorders include but are not limited to:
Dramatic weight loss
Wearing loose clothes to hide weight loss
Preoccupation with food, dieting, calorie counting
Refusal to eat certain foods, such as carbs or fats
Avoiding mealtimes or eating in front of others
Preparing elaborate meals for others but refusing to eat them
excessively exercising
Lack of menstruating
constipation or stomach pains
disappearance of large amounts of food in a short time, or finding lots of empty food wrappers or containers
Evidence of purging, including trips to the bathroom after meals, sounds or smells of vomiting, or packages of laxatives or diuretics
Using gum, mouthwash, or mints excessively
Hoarding food
Treatment for these disorders consist of
receiving Cognitive-behavioral therapy. CBT is used to treat the mental and emotional elements of an eating disorder. CBT works to change how an individual thinks and feels about food, eating, and their body image. Is will also It is also help correct eating habits and prevent relapse.