Thinking About Eating Disorders

Allow me to tell you the story of a friend of mine.

A young teenage girl we know recently suffered through the death of her mother and consequently had to be faced with being raised by her father in whom she was petrified of. Did I mention she was to be in charge of raising her 6 younger brothers and sisters.

She was always thin, but now weighs 90 pounds. She doesn’t think she has a problem and her father doesn’t think she has a problem. There are many questions in this situation, the major one being does she have an eating disorder. If she does have an eating disorder, what type is it….anorexia, bulimia?

It’s clear she needs help, others have tried, however her father prevents any intervention. The question becomes, what is causing the eating disorder? That’s why I assembled this collection of articles and ebooks on eating disorders. Hopefully, you…the reader, might see yourself or someone you care about in the articles to come. Perhaps you might see that you are experiencing the symptoms discussed for anorexia or bulimia. Maybe you binge eat.

In a society that is increasingly placing standards of beauty upon the youths of our population, people are at more of a risk than ever when it comes to developing an eating disorder. The celebrities in television and the media display stick-thin figures which can create a high standard of beauty that can lead to many problems with an individual’s self esteem. When coupled with the fact that an obesity epidemic is overtaking much of the modern world, it’s important to have a full understanding of the eating disorders which are prevalent in society today in order to be able to catch the warning signs when an individual you know is afflicted.

This truly is a life and death discussion. Admitting you might have an eating disorder of some type is the first step in finding a solution to your problem. I pray that you might listen to the voice inside your head as you read the following material.

What Is Binge Eating Disorder?

Binge Eating Disorder is a disorder in which people use food to satisfy a variety of emotions in order to cope with them. People may binge when they experience any negative emotion, such as anger, sadness, or depression. Another reason a person may binge is shear boredom. People have used food as a coping mechanism for so long that now that it is a habit to turn and use food to make them feel better. People do not know how to deal with their “life” anymore without food. Binge Eating Disorder is the most common of all eating disorders. It affects about 25 million people.

When a person binges, they usually experience some, if not all, of the following: eating an usually large amount of food, feeling a loss of control while eating, consuming food more quickly than the average person, eating large amounts of food even when they do not feel hungry, feeling better eating alone because the amount of food is typically large, and feelings of guilt, disgust, and even becoming ashamed of themselves after a binge occurs.

The cause of Binge Eating Disorder is unknown. Depression and other emotional problems are prevalent in binge eaters. Many researchers think that there is a connection between people who diet and binge eat. When people diet, they deprive themselves of certain foods which causes them to want it more. When they do give in, they usually eat too much of this food and it most likely turns into a binge. Then the negative feelings set in and they make a promise that they aren’t going to eat bad anymore. This usually results in starting the cycle all over again and this is known as yo-yo dieting.

There are many consequences to bingeing. High blood pressure, heart disease, diabetes, and obesity are just a few complications that can arise when people binge. Many people can become sick from a binge because the foods that they chose to binge on as not full of vitamins and nutrients. The foods are fuller of sugar and fat and this, obviously, is very unhealthy.

Treatment for Binge Eating Disorder has the highest recovery rate of any disorder. People usually meet with a psychotherapist or psychiatrist. The health professional will ask questions about the person’s past to figure out when they started comforting themselves with food. They will get to the root of the problem and why is started and will give advice as to how the person should deal with those feelings when they happen. If this does not work, some medications may be added to treat the binge eating.

Changing the habit of turning to food is the key point in getting started. Changing all of the old habits will put you one foot closer to stop binge eating and to start getting on with your life.

About the Author:

Kristin Gerstley is a former binge eater that now has a healthy relationship with food. She is also the owner of http://www.endbingeeating.com which is a site that helps people overcome Binge Eating Disorder. She publishes a free newsletter offering tips on how to stop binge eating and regain control of your life.

Written by: Kristin Gerstley