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Not so rare -

Eating disorders may not be so common as other psychiatric conditions, but they are far more common than you might think.

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Statistics -

Research shows that globally, around 10% of people will experience an eating disorder during some point in their lifetime.

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Perspective -

This means that while you may not have experienced an eating disorder yourself, it is likely that you know more than one other person who has.

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The problem statement -

Eating disorders may be common, but there are still some fundamental misconceptions about them that make them notoriously difficult to treat.

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Definitions -

So ,what exactly is an eating disorder? The term covers a range of conditions that are characterized by certain harmful eating behaviors.

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Example behaviors - These behaviors include restricting calories, eating excessive amounts of food and then purging through vomiting, taking laxatives, and exercising excessively.

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Anorexia - A person with an eating disorder may exhibit any one or any combination of these behaviors. People with anorexia, for example, normally restrict their food intake.

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Bulimia -

Bulimia nervosa, by contrast, is normally characterized by binge eating and then eliminating, or purging, the calories later by vomiting.

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Important - It is these behaviors and these behaviors alone that characterize eating disorders. You cannot tell by someone’s weight whether they are living with an eating disorder.

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Common misconception - In fact, this is one of the popular misconceptions that make eating disorders so slippery and difficult to treat. People tend to think that eating disorders always make people super thin.

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Medically healthy - The truth is, however, that people with a weight that would be classed by a medical professional as ‘healthy’ can also have an eating disorder.

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Complications - It is even possible that someone of a healthy weight can have a severe eating disorder that causes them serious long-term health complications.

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Another misconception -

Another misconception about eating disorders is that we can get rid of them by changing our eating patterns. That is to say, by eating differently.

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Psychiatric condition -

The reason this does not help is that, fundamentally, eating disorders are psychiatric conditions. From what we know, sufferers tend to have a skewed self-perception.

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Overly self-critical -

People who develop eating disorders tend to be severely critical of themselves. When asked, they can normally name many self-perceived flaws.

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Internal chaos -

One theory is that they may use their eating habits to try and gain a sense of control because they have an internal sense of chaos.

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The cause -

Experts are not sure what exactly causes eating disorders, either. It is likely that there are a number of genetic and environmental factors at play.

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Contributing factors - Certain psychological factors such as perfectionism and body image dissatisfaction appear to be relevant, as do other mental illnesses, such as depression and anxiety.

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Further contributing factor -

Social factors, too, seem to bear some relevance. These might include internalized weight stigma, exposure to bullying, and limited social networks.

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People affected -

Eating disorders are more commonly associated with women, but people of all genders can be affected.

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Teenagers -

The fact that these disorders deeply affect the development of a person’s identity and self-image makes individuals particularly vulnerable to developing them as teenagers.

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Treatment -

Eating disorders may be notoriously difficult to treat, but there are options out there. Many people who receive treatment for an eating disorder make a full recovery.

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The sad truth -

Treatment is more likely to succeed if the disorder is caught early, but unfortunately less than 50% of people suffering with an eating disorder will actually seek treatment.

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Actual treatment -

In terms of the actual treatment, there are lots of options out there. Eating disorders have a complex effect on both the body and the mind.

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Combination of methods - Treatment therefore normally involves a combination of nutritional counseling and monitoring, psychotherapy, and sometimes medication.

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Combination of methods - For most eating disorders, there are evidence-based psychotherapy treatments, such as cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) and family-based therapy.

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Talk therapies -

The talk therapies help people build the skills to handle the underlying psychological problems that caused their eating disorder to develop.

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Current research -

In some cases, patients do not respond to traditional treatment. Researchers are therefore investigating other treatments, such as transcranial magnetic stimulation.

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Potentially life-saving -

The success of treatment for eating disorders does vary, but it’s important to remember that proper treatment can be life-saving in serious cases.

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All in all -

Eating disorders can be very destructive to those who suffer from them and those around them. Debunking the myths around eating disorders helps to erode stigma, improving access to treatment.

Sources: (TED)

See also: The warning signs of an eating disorder

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