Different Types Of Eating Disorders

Eating disorders are dangerous psychological illnesses which cause individuals to associate their sense of self and well being with the quantity of food they eat or don't eat. Eating disorders at their worst can even cause deaths of the victims. The diagnosis of eating disorders is not very old, these disorders came into public attention in 1980 with the death of pop singer Karen Carpenter (1953-1983). She died from complications that resulted from anorexia. From then on, psychologists have begun to research the affects and causes of these eating disorders. As Carpenter's death pointed out, if such disorders are left untreated, they can lead to death. The most common eating disorders are Anorexia Nervosa and Bulimia Nervosa. Research is also ongoing to include Binge Eating into this category of eating disorders.

Anorexia Nervosa:

Anorexia Nervosa is an eating disorder that causes individuals to refuse to maintain a healthy body weight. People whose body weight is 15 percent below the normal body weight for their gender, age ad height fall under this category. Anorexia Nervosa literally means ‘nervous loss of appetite'. This is not entirely true as an Anorexic does not suffer from lack of appetite; he or she struggles with hunger on a daily basis. People who suffer from anorexia live in constant fear of gaining weight and are terrified of the fact that food will cause them to appear fat to others. Such people are difficult to spot as they will camouflage their excessive thinness by wearing loose clothing or several layers of clothing. Anorexics need these extra layers of clothing because they lack body insulation which is provided by fat. Anorexics generally tend to avoid situations in which they may have to eat or make excuses to not eat. If they are forced to eat, they will likely indulge in purging afterwards.

Bulimia Nervosa:

Bulimia Nervosa literally means ‘ox hunger'. Bulimia is characterized by repeat cycles of binge eating and purging. A ‘binge' is when a person eats an abnormally large amount of food in a particular period of time. This happens on a regular basis, so holidays or special occasions that warrant a little extra eating don't count. The binge is followed by an episode of purging. Purging when a person expels food from their body by inducing vomiting, taking high doses of laxatives or diuretics (the former causes enhanced bowel movements while the latter causes the body to expel water through urination), the use of enemas. The person may also engage in excessive fasting. Bulimics engage in such behaviors at least twice a week, while in excessive cases it may even happen daily.

The binge episode is triggered by a severe emotional situation or stress. The binge eating temporarily helps the bulimic feel good about themselves but shortly afterwards a feeling of guilt overcomes them. The bulimic will then engage in excessive fasting or purging to get rid of the extra food. Like anorexics, bulimics also have very low esteem and unhealthy self-image. They associate what they eat with their self-worth, success and esteem. They will often maintain a normal body weight, so no one will be able to guess their bulimic condition.

• John Palsson
• 08/01/2009, 2:59 PM
• 0 Comments