Does Someone You Know Have an Eating Disorder?

Introduction

Eating disorders affect typical eating patterns, either through eating too much or too little. Eating disorders normally begin when food is used as a coping method for traumatic events or emotional pressure.

Eating disorders can be triggered by low self-esteem, depression, a distorted perception of body image, or even trauma. Reasons can be complex, but almost always require psychological treatment. Eating disorders affect the whole family, not just the sufferer.

The commonest eating disorders include:

• Anorexia Nervosa, when sufferers adopt intense eating rituals and food-obsessions, often avoiding food altogether and starving the body. This is potentially life threatening but recovery is possible, even in the most extreme cases
• Bulimia Nervosasufferers eat a large quantity of food to fill the emotional or hunger gap, then purge themselves by vomiting or taking laxatives, starving or reducing food intake or working off the calories with exercise to avoid weight gain. Bulimia is more difficult to notice as weight loss is not so dramatic and can fluctuate

What to look out for if you think someone you know is suffering from an eating disorder:

• Intense fear of gaining weight and obsessive interest in food of others
• Distorted perception of body shape or weight
• Denial of the existence of a problem
• Changes in personality and mood swings, finding it difficult to concentrate and losing interest in usual activities
• Hoarding food and lying about how much food they have eaten
• Restlessness and hyperactivity, including over-exercising
• Avoiding eating with other people
• Vomiting and /or taking laxatives
• Cutting food into tiny pieces to make it less obvious that they have eaten very little, while also making the food is easier to swallow

What to do next?

Getting over an eating disorder can take a long time. It can be hard for someone with an eating disorder to admit they have a problem, so the support of family and friends is extremely important.

Specialist psychological and medical care can help treat the psychological causes and physical problems and there are a number of support and self-help groups which can help.