Eating Difficulties |
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Most women (and men) can easily identify things they don’t like about their body, but the degree to which we’re dissatisfied with our appearance varies. People with mild body image dissatisfaction may feel insecure about their appearance only every now and then, whereas other people might suffer from a constant stream of negative thoughts about their body. Strong body image dissatisfaction like this can lead to dietary restriction, binge eating, or self-induced vomiting after eating – all of which can be hard to stop.
Having an eating disorder is impossibly hard. Eating becomes a dreaded event associated with anxiety and guilt – the intensity of which seems more serious than the medical consequences of maintaining an unhealthy weight – and because most people fail to understand that living with an eating disorder isn’t a choice, it’s also an incredibly lonely experience.
Regardless of whether you have a diagnosable eating disorder, if food makes you feel anxious and stressed or if you feel out of control around food, consider seeking help from a clinical psychologist.
Click here for more information about eating disorders, and here for tips on how to build a positive body image and a healthy relationship with food.
The main symptoms of Anorexia Nervosa are:
Why someone develops Anorexia Nervosa will differ from person to person but the onset of Anorexia is nearly always preceded by a period of dieting. Whether to lose weight or to be healthier, dieting starts as a resolve to cut out “junk food”, but over time other food groups are cut out as well. Portion sizes dramatically reduce with time and calorie restrictions become more severe.
The main symptoms of Bulimia Nervosa are:
Triggers for binge eating vary from person to person but common triggers might include stress, low mood, loneliness, boredom, or dieting. Strict dieting can lead to intense hunger which can cause binge eating and breaking a food rule can also trigger a binge. After binge eating, people with Bulimia Nervosa usually feel distressed and frustrated. To try to cancel out binge calories, they may force themselves to vomit, take laxatives or diuretics, resolve to restrict their food intake the following day, or exercise.
Like people with anorexia, people with bulimia are usually dissatisfied with their body, want to lose weight, or are afraid of gaining weight. Unlike people with anorexia, people with bulimia are usually within a normal weight range (though some people may be slightly under- or overweight). Unfortunately people with Bulimia Nervosa are often ashamed of their binge eating so they avoid getting help.
The main symptoms of Binge Eating disorder are:
Binge eating can be triggered by strict dieting, but it might also develop as a way to cope with low mood, loneliness, low self-esteem, or boredom.
Regardless of whether you feel you meet criteria for an eating disorder, if eating difficulties are negatively affecting your mood or interfering with your enjoyment of life it may be worthwhile seeking advice from a clinical psychologist.
