What Are Eating Disorders And How Can They Affect Your Life

When we think about addiction, the things that come to our mind are alcohol, heroin, cocaine, prescribed medicine, and others. The list will hardly contain food.

Yes, you read it correctly!

Food can also be an element of addiction. In fact, food has always been an element of addiction; it is just that people have started noticing today.

Perhaps, the reason why you are overweight is not because of your junk food eating habits, but because of an Eating disorder.

Does this sound interesting? If so, keep reading! Today, we are here to discuss eating disorders and how they affect our daily life.

What Is Eating Disorder?

An eating disorder is a serious physical condition where a person shows persistent eating behavior. This behavior not only affects your health, emotion, and ability to function normally but also affects your social life.

Here are a few common eating disorders –

• Anorexia Nervosa.
• Bulimia Nervosa.
• Binge-Eating Disorder.

Most eating disorders involve your physical body, weight, and body shape. This behavior of your body can prevent you from getting appropriate nutrition. All in all, eating disorders hold the potential to harm the heart, bones, digestive system, and immune system.

To know more about eating disorders or food addiction, click here to contact.

Types Of Eating Disorder?

An eating disorder is a type of serious mental health condition. These conditions are categorized by several disturbances in eating behavior.

Typically people suffering from eating disorders develop an unhealthy preoccupation with food, body size, and weight.

Here are a few eating disorders that you need to be aware of.

1. Anorexia Nervosa

Anorexia Nervosa is categorized by restriction of food intake. This either results in weight loss or being unable to gain weight. Either way, the patients suffering from Anorexia eating disorder significantly lose body weight.

The person suffering from Anorexia looks at the food in a distorted way. They had this image about the food that eating them will result in excessive weight gain.

In recent studies, it has been found that Anorexia and be further divided into two subparts –

• Binge-Purge Type: This activity includes binge eating to the fullest and using external stimuli for self-induced vomiting.
• Restricting Type: In this case, the person might impose a self-imposed rule on food intake.

2. Bulimia Nervosa

Bulimia Nervosa is categorized as a short-lived eating disorder where a person eats uncontrollably and purges it. People who go through Bulimia Nervosa have shared the experience by saying that they lose control over their eating and can’t stop.

This activity is short-lived but has a high frequency. For instance, it can happen multiple times a day.

People suffering from Bulimia Nervosa may have average or above-average body weight, and this is what differentiates them from people suffering from Anorexia Nervosa.

3. Binge-Eating Disorder

Binge eating disorder is quite common and happens to almost everyone. Binge eating is when you get your favorite meal to eat. So, instead of just having enough to make you full, you eat a little bit of extra just to satisfy yourself.

The best way to find whether or not someone is suffering from a binge eating disorder is by seeing their eating behavior. Eating even without feeling hungry or just because they like it can be due to a binge eating disorder.

How Eating Disorder Affects Your Life?

Whether the eating disorder occurs on their own or together, they can have a negative impact on your life. Eating disorders can deteriorate a patient’s quality of life. Each of the eating disorders mentioned in the above section requires a personalized treatment approach.

Eating Disorder Affecting Daily Life

People with eating disorders experience the most difficulties when their eating disorder has progressed to the point that it affects their daily life.

The immense amount of time invested in controlling the food intake might feel like a daily obligation rather than a necessity. This can lead to many problems down the road.

In addition, other aspects of the patient’s life might start declining. A lack of treatment towards the eating disorder can affect your professional and personal relationships.

Therefore, it is important for people to seek medical treatment upon becoming aware of their eating disorder.

Any delay in acquiring treatment can lead to several mental and physical health complications. These complications make your recovery more challenging.

Physical Health Repercussions Of Eating Disorder

Physical health repercussion is one of many physical health problems that occurs when a person is suffering from an eating disorder.

The physical symptoms may initially come in the form of stomach cramps, fainting spells, dizziness, weak muscles, brittle nails, and dry skin.

As your eating disorder continues, it results in low-calorie intake and vitamin deficiency, making the symptoms severe.

Furthermore, people suffering from eating disorders start to grow fine hair on their bodies, and their teeth start to decay.

In the end, if an eating disorder is not treated, it can leave lasting damage to your internal organs. In the worst-case scenario, eating disorders can impair your freedom of movement.

Treatment For Eating Disorder

Eating disorders can be effectively treated.

The only thing that stops you from treating eating disorders is you. The earlier you accept your eating disorder, the easier the recovery process will be.

Yes, recovery might take time. But, it’s not impossible.

The health care provider that takes part in the treatment process are:

• Physicians.
• Psychiatrist.
• Nutritional advisors.
• Dieticians.
• Nurses.

Treatment includes diet education, advice and interventions, and mental ailments treatments.

Conclusion

Eating disorders are not the kind of disease to be depressed about. If you can identify the signs and take immediate action, you can easily treat them.

If your friends and family are suffering from an eating disorder, consider talking to them and making them understand its consequences. Yes, talking might not be able to stop the development, but reaching out might help them feel encouraged to seek treatment.