Source: Good News Network
Food is one of our most basic biological needs for survival. If the need for food becomes the source of fear or is seen as dangerous or frightening, this is one indication of an eating disorder.
When dieting or the focus on weight loss has become your primary concern—if you are spending an inordinate amount of time thinking or acting on behaviors that would lead to weight loss—it is reasonable to assume that your relationship with food has become disordered.
Problematic eating behaviors include: overeating or bingeing, characterized by eating very large amounts of food in a short period of time until uncomfortably full; anorexia, characterized by gradual to severe food restrictions despite being underweight; and bulimia, characterized by purging food (by vomiting, diuretics, laxative use, or even excessive exercise).
Eating disorders are often minimized or camouflaged by words like ‘eating healthy’ or ‘clean eating’. When clean eating becomes obsessive and restrictive, this is called orthorexia. Some individuals will use athletics to manage their weight and emotions. Again, if the behavior is excessive, it becomes a disorder—in this case, hypergymnasia or anorexia athletica.
What causes disordered eating patterns? This is a highly complex issue, but in short, individuals with eating disorders have difficulty sitting with an emotional discomfort and use a particular type of behavior (like, problematic eating behaviors) as a means of managing that discomfort.
Adult eating disorders often start in teenage years. Because adolescence is a period fraught with unfamiliar and intense emotions accompanied by a strong desire to be accepted by peers, young people are especially vulnerable to eating disorders.
Within families where there is an over-interest in appearance, perfectionism and/or weight, and no guidance given on the importance of healthy emotional expression, the stage is set.Any Recovery Should Treat the Body, Mind, and Emotions
1) Physical recovery will reconnect the act of eating with physical hunger.
2) Behavioral therapy will retrain your brain using therapeutic approaches such as Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, Internal Family Systems Therapy and Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (and others). These therapies can help clients examine and challenge their negative belief systems, teach emotional regulation and help individuals develop alternative, adaptive ways of coping.
3) Emotional recovery can be achieved by creating a support network. It’s imperative to have allies and a support system to call upon when you are struggling. (If you…
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