Eating Disorders: symptoms, causes, and treatment
Hello, this is Light In-U Counseling Center located in Songdo, Incheon.
Today we will start our discussion with “What is an eating disorder?”
For starters, eating disorders are quite secretive and complex in nature. Most families and parents do not recognize the presence of the eating disorder in the patient until it reaches a severe stage due to its secretive beginnings.
Also, eating disorders are the mental illness with the highest fatality rate and the treatment process is difficult and complex.
Eating disorders can be broadly divided into anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, and bulimia. We will now discuss the general definition, causes, and symptoms of eating disorders that these three types have in common.
What is an Eating Disorder?
An eating disorder is a condition in which physical and psychosocial functioning is significantly impaired due to persistent controlling of weight, obsession with appearance and distorted thinking, or difficulty in normal eating.
To be diagnosed with an eating disorder, disordered eating must not be a secondary symptom of another medical or psychological condition.
At times, we may binge eat or control our appetite even if the purpose is not to control weight. For instance, if you get invited to a birthday party, have a special event, or are going to a buffet, you will likely eat more than usual.
Someone may fast for religious reasons or control food consumption for a period of time to improve their health. These types of eating habits are natural.
However, we can draw the line at where an eating disorder starts: people with eating disorders refuse to eat healthily and engage in purging (the act of regurgitating food and vomiting it up) in order to avoid or control painful and negative emotions. In other words, they relieve uncomfortable emotions with food or become obsessed with weight-related behaviors.
If these behaviors become more severe they can threaten one’s life and getting early treatment is of the utmost importance.
Each type of eating disorder can be difficult to define accurately. In other words, the standard is by no means explained solely by weight and distorted body image but is also intertwined with various additional factors such as lifestyle habits and personality traits.
Additionally, there may be an overlap in symptoms or characteristics between each type of eating disorder, making it difficult to subdivide all of the problems.
Please look at the symptoms below, and if any of your children or family members are experiencing any of them, please seek professional help.
The symptoms of eating disorders
Most eating disorders start from dieting, something we all likely have tried at least once. In particular, dieting is a common topic that is often discussed, given that most cultures idealize slim body types.
So, when they hear that their child is starting to diet, many parents may praise the child, encourage the behavior, or be simply neutral about it. This is because we may also have experience dieting.
Some people may think that if their child is obese and binge eats, then dieting is necessary. Therefore, they may enroll their child in a dieting program but this method only reaps short-term benefits. It is an undesirable method as it may encourage obsessive thoughts about dieting.
Eating disorders can be fully prevented if you keep in mind that complacency and indifference toward dieting can worsen symptoms and cost you significantly later.
Please look for the following early symptoms and pay close attention if your child or people around you have any of them.
The first signs of eating disorders:
- Starting to diet
- Reading books about dieting and websites about food and eating disorders
- Beginning to be picky eaters and try to eat only certain foods, or even becoming vegetarian
- Starting to skip meals
- Focusing on cooking and preparing food often, but gives it to others without actually eating it themself.
- When eating food, checks calories or reduces the amount of food
- Almost every time they eat, they go to the bathroom right after
- Often taking a shower right after eating
- Food at home (mainly high-calorie foods: cookies, ice cream, chocolate, cereal boxes, snack boxes, etc.) disappears
- Having frequent stomach aches and abnormal symptoms
Typical symptoms of an eating disorder: (When to start treatment)
- Fasting or skipping meals regularly
- Trying not to eat food with family
- In the case of women, menstruation stops for a second time along with weight loss
- Binge eating increases
- Vomiting food
- Starting to take diet drugs or laxatives
- Beginning to exercise excessively (more than an hour a day) and rapid weight loss occurs
- Sticking to only diet foods and refusing any other foods
- Not eating or refusing food prepared by others
- Obsessively checking calories and limiting food portions (maybe even weighing portions of food)
- Not eating with friends
Recent findings on the causes of eating disorders
The causes of eating disorders are diverse and include disordered eating habits, nutritional imbalance in the body, problems with neurological function, vulnerability to stress, distorted body image, distorted beliefs about food and weight, personality traits, family environmental factors, and trauma. Evidently, it is very complicated.
Recently, there has been an increase in the number of studies about the genetic and biological factors that influence eating disorders as well as the relationship between physiology and brain chemistry. However, unfortunately drug treatment has not shown significant effectiveness, so the role and importance of psychotherapy is increasing.
In particular, research has shown that bulimia nervosa or bulimia shows the highest improvement when combined with medication and psychological treatment. In the case of anorexia nervosa (anorexia), it was reported that drugs showed little effectiveness, and the role of psychotherapy played a significant role in improving treatment.
Eating disorder treatment
In conclusion, as eating disorders are very complex and secretive, they are slow to be treated and have the highest mortality rate among mental disorders, so early professional treatment is most important.
It is very scary and painful for a child or family member to have their life threatened. Therefore, dealing with this disorder can be traumatic for parents and family members and involves considerable stress.
Light In-U is an organization that specializes in eating disorders. The director has received training in the US and UK and provides counseling services.
We combine scientifically proven family-based therapy, cognitive therapy, dialectical therapy, and nutritional therapy to treat eating disorders.
We offer our sincere condolences to those suffering from eating disorders and their families. We will support you for treatment and recovery with warm hearts and empathy.
If you would like to make a reservation for therapy, please fill out the Naver reservation or website consultation application form and we will be happy to assist you.