Eating Disorders | Anorexia, Bulimia, & Binge Eating
Summary: Eating disorders are characterized by abnormal eating habits that usually involve an insufficient or excessive intake of food that usually disrupts the person's physical and mental wellbeing. An eating disorder is many times considered a coping mechanism for stress, anxiety, and depression.
Table of Contents
Introduction
Hi everyone! This video is going to be about eating disorders, specifically anorexia, bulimia, and binge eating. Essentially eating disorders are characterized by abnormal eating habits that usually involve an insufficient or excessive intake of food that usually disrupts the person’s physical and mental wellbeing. An eating disorder is many times considered a coping mechanism for stress, anxiety, depression, any negative feeling really. Someone may feel those negative emotions and eat to cope with this. Others may develop an obsession with their physical appearance and need to be thin because they see themselves as overweight. It can take many forms.
Dealing with an eating disorder as well can be a tricky task. Diets in general tend to not work as they often come from a place of resistance and negativity. Perhaps someone wants to lose weight because they dislike themselves and wants to change who they are. Their focus is on changing themselves because they hate who they are. They hate the weight that they have. So, due to this negative perspective, they will not lose the weight but in fact gain even more. All things they try fail since they are simply trying too hard. If instead this person were to approach this in increments, but most importantly, from a place of positivity and self-love, they will get to where they want to be. It’s the negative focus and resistance that is holding them back.
Generally people are in this negative space due to embarrassment, self-hatred, and stigma or misinformation. They may not seek treatment due to fears of being judged by others. And due to stigma, many people may not understand the person and say things like, ‘fatty,’ ‘lose the weight,’ ‘stop eating so much.’ Or perhaps an underweight person may hear, ‘you are a bag of bones,’ ‘skeleton,’ ‘eat some food,’ ‘see a dietitian.’ Regardless, this is often times why those with eating disorders refuse treatment. They may truly want help, but due to the stigma and fears of judgement, they often do not. Nevertheless, it is up to the person to be serious about treatment, want help, and most important of all, approach it with positive intentions and self-love, wanting to better themselves instead of from a point of negativity and resistance where they hate themselves and want to distance themselves from it.
So, I will now discuss these three eating disorders, anorexia, bulimia, and binge eating.
Anorexia
Anorexia is characterized by the obsession of being thin. Often people with the condition see themselves as overweight so they do whatever they can to lose this perceived weight. They will often be very careful about the portions of food they consume which is often very little. This is often followed by a need to constantly weigh themselves, take laxatives, or anything else that would help them lose that perceived weight. Their self-esteem is determined by how thin they are, which they often see as being overweight and as a result, have a negative self-image. Due to their preoccupation with their diet, they may be withdrawn from others and not want to be seen eating. Health concerns include dehydration, which can lead to problems with bodily organs and blood pressure which may lead to life-threatening conditions.
Often times this condition will affect more women than men. For instance, a female may feel like they are ‘too fat’ due to very thin people calling her overweight, despite her having a healthy weight. Nevertheless, this woman sees these other thin females getting more attention and praise for their body, so they decide to eat less and get rid of some of the weight. They start getting a lot of people looking at them and praise for how thin they are. They then think that if they were even thinner it would happen even more. When they get to this stage they will certainly get more attention but it’s often negative due to being unhealthily underweight.
Finding this article helpful?
Bulimia
Bulimia is characterized by episodes of binge eating followed by forced vomiting, or purging, perhaps even laxatives, exercise, or other forms of getting rid of the food and weight. They will often maintain a relatively healthy weight, unlike those with anorexia, but they still maintain that fear of gaining weight. Their self-esteem is dependent on their body weight which they often are unhappy with. They may partake in the binge and purge cycle multiple times a day which they often associated with disgust. Health concerns, like anorexia, include dehydration which could lead to issues with bodily organs and life threatening circumstances. But also those with bulimia also risk having problems with their throat and mouth due to stomach acids being passed through. They may get sores in their throat and mouth, teeth may decay, and they may have other gastrointestinal problems and acid reflux.
Binge Eating
Binge eating is similar to bulimia in that people will eat large quantities of food in one sitting. However, it’s not followed by purging. As a result people who are binge eaters are often overweight or obese. Those who binge eat often use it as a form of escape to fill the void. It will take their mind off their depression and stress. They often view themselves negatively as a result and will often eat alone as they view the behavior as shameful and disgusting which could lead them to repeating the process of binging all over again. Health concerns include things like high blood pressure, diabetes, heart problems, and organ failure.
Conclusion
So in conclusion, eating disorders are to be taken seriously as they can pose a number of physical and mental health concerns. Often those with an eating disorder will refuse to seek treatment due to stigma, feeling ashamed, and low self-esteem. But, it is possible to work through it and overcome the problem by acknowledging it, knowing why it is happening, and most importantly, focusing on positive future goals by releasing resistance and working from a place of self-love. I hope this video was informative and helpful. Thanks for watching!
Additional Info
While I’ve personally never struggled with an eating disorder, I have received some of the negativity related to my body weight. Due to how thin I am, people have certainly made fun of me and thought I was anorexic in high school. However, there was a point where I would weight myself quite frequently and when I would gain even as little as just three pounds I would say to myself, “I need to stop eating so much junk and get in shape.” I was terrified of gaining weight. These days I eat a healthy diet and exercise so I don’t worry as much about weight gain.
About the Author
