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TSR Wiki > Life > Health and Relationships > Health > Mental Health > Eating Disorders

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People often think about ED as Dieting. Whereas Dieting is often for the improving the health of the body by losing a bit of weight slowly, ED is an illness when a person tries to feel better about their life through food / lack of food. It can be caused by many factors – depression, stress, lack of self-esteem, pressure from friends/media, trauma etc.

Contents 1 Anorexia Nervosa 1.1 Binge-eating/purging type 1.2 Restricting type 2 Bulimia Nervosa 2.1 Purging type 2.2 Non-purging type 3 Compulsive Overeating 4 Binge Eating Disorder 5 Eating Disorder not Otherwise Specified (EDNOS) 6 Support 7 Help 7.1 On TSR 7.2 Sites 7.3 Books 8 One Members Experiences of Eating Disorders

Anorexia Nervosa

• refusal to maintain body weight at / above minimal normal weight
• intense fear of gaining weight, despite the patient being underweight
• denial of being seriously underweight / extremely critical of own body shape/weight
• absence of at least 3 menstrual cycle (this is a little vague)

Binge-eating/purging type

Patient regularly binge eating/purging(ie. self-induced vomiting/misuse laxatives, diuretics or enemas)

Restricting type

Patient not regularly binge eating/purging

Bulimia Nervosa

• recurrent binge-eating (eating a much greater amount of food than normal people in a period of time & lack of self-control over eating)
• self-induced vomiting/misuse of laxatives/fasting/over-exercising to compensate for binging
• extremely critical of own body shape/weight

Purging type

Patient regularly self-induce vomiting/misuse laxatives

Non-purging type

Patient tries to compensate by fasting/over-exercising, but w/o self-induced vomiting/use of laxatives

Compulsive Overeating

• engage in “emotional eating” (using food to cope with stress/problems)
• patients tend to be overweight, are ashamed of it, have low self-esteem & have a strong desire for love/affection which they lack
• an on-going cycle of binging to cope with stress  guilt/stress  further binging
• unlike anorexia/bulimia, patients are aware of their abnormal eating habits
• at risk of heart attack/high blood pressure & cholesterol etc

Binge Eating Disorder

• recurrent uncontrolled binges (eating till uncomfortably full)
• usually above average/overweight/rapid weight gain
• binging to cope with stress (like CED) OR self-punishment for doing "bad" things (like Bulimia)
• unlike bulimia, patients do not engage in compensatory behaviours
• similar health risks as CED

Eating Disorder not Otherwise Specified (EDNOS)

• meets all criteria for Anorexia Nervosa but:
  • has regular menses
  • “normal” weight despite substantial weight loss
• meets all criteria for Bulimia Nervosa but:
  • binges less than twice a week/for less than 3 months
• normal body weight but regularly engage in inappropriate compensatory behaviour after eating small amounts of food (ie. purging/over-exercising)
• repeatedly chews and spits out & does not swallow large amounts of food

EDNOS is usually much more difficult to diagnose and often unsuspected by other people because patients are not severely under/overweight. Unlike what some people might think / see on TV, patients with ED usually do not publicly show/admit that they have ED’s, instead they try to HIDE their ED’s. (a tsr member once thought that bulimics go binge in groups in the bathroom)

Support

• remember ED’s often arise from emotional problems, and often the best way to help is to show your support rather than focus on food
• avoid saying “you’re too thin” “eat more” “go on a diet”, these phrases often make ED patients feel offended / worse about themselves, which could worsen their conditions
• do not force/restrict eating – this often leads to more binging/compensatory behaviours

Help

• one-on-one therapy / psychiatrist
• support groups
• medical / hospital treatment (for severe cases)

On TSR

The Eating Disorder and Support Thread

Sites

• Something Fishy
• Lots of Eating Disorder Links
• Eating Disorder Association UK
• Pale Reflections
• Purple Chocolate Forum
• A video you might like to watch

Books

Type(s) of treatment is up to the patient’s choice and the usefulness of treatment often depends on the individual. However, bear in mind that patients with ED are often afraid to ask for help / do not feel they deserve help. If you suspect your friends/family members are suffering from ED, it’s important to show concern and support, and to keep watch over them. Hope this would help clarify a few things about ED’s.

AND a VERY good book - Conquering Anorexia - Clare Lindsay. Although the author was Anorexic, it is also a very inspirational book for Bulimia & EDNOS. Reading the first page already struck me almost to tears because of the resemblance of our thoughts and feelings, and I would highly recommend it to those suffering from ED's as well as those who want to understand ED's.

The BEST BOOK I've read so far though is Wasted - Marya Hornbacher. It's another autobiography, and she was both bulimic and anorexic and I can identify with it so much. It explores many issues about eating disorders and I can identify so much with it. It is really worth reading. And for those without ED or want to understand it - it's a great read too.

Bulimia/Anorexia: The Binge Purge Cycle and Self-Starvation - Marlene Boskind-White, William C. White. This is the only self-help book which I've enjoyed reading about eating disorders, and it focuses more on Bulimarexia / Bulimia Nervosa more than Anorexia Nervosa. Highly recommend it.

One Members Experiences of Eating Disorders

I'm posting this because I want to let those who are suffering from the same problems know that it's not the end of the world. It is, on the contrary, the beginning of a new start.

I'll try to keep this brief so you won't get bored and I won't let myself drone on. I've been suffering from depression since longer than I know - mainly due to family problems - my parents have a very poor relationship. My depression grew, and in April 2003, it brought about my eating disorders. I went on a cycle: binge-bulemia-binge-anorexia-binge-anorexia-bulemia-binge. I lost at least 17 lbs in less than 2 weeks in my 1st anorexia, and the 2nd time only lasted for a week before I turned bulemic again, (that was brought about by my friend's suicide). I gained almost 25 lbs from Sept to Jan, and my mom finally found out. She confronted me, I refused to talk to her. I felt ashamed, and I wanted her to just go away and leave me alone. I thought she would have yelled at me for my bad attitude, but she was surprisingly patient and finally convinced me to see a shrink.

I started my treatment and medication. I also started realising the worsening of my mom's depression, which I've been suspecting for 2 years. She also found out about her - breast & uterus lumps, back/hip/neck-bone problems. Acknowledging my problems also got me to try understand depression & ED's. I finally begged her to see a shrink. She refused to believe she's depressed - partly because all her siblings and my cousins have developed depression (2 have schizophrenia). It took 2 months of endless begging to get her to see a shrink, by then it was May.

She also started reading up on depression and ED's, and we got closer than ever. When she breaks down, I become her "mother". When she cries, I try not to cry in front of her so she won't cry even more. One time she said, "When you return from uni, I'll probably be in a mental institute." I broke down the next day, and couldn't stop crying.

Despite all this, we've developed this trust that has never existed before. One night I didn't feel like eating, but she didn't force me to eat / make any negative comments. Instead, she just said, "It's OK then." Later, she lent me the book she bought on ED full of case studies which made me cry. I cried because I empathised them. I also cried because I finally realise why my mom has been so much more understanding lately. She's going through her depression, yet she still tries to understand my problems to help me. I regretted being so selfish in the past because I have always taken her for granted. I never appreciated her for her efforts and I felt so bad about it.

Ironically, it took our depressions to pull us together. But it also made me realise that although the path of recovery is long and difficult, it is not something to be afraid of, but to embrace. Cliche but true, because it means that everyday I'm getting better. I've had moments when I fell off-track and binged, and I was tempted to give up. But then I see my mom and I know that I should. Every morning when I take my medication, it reminds me that I've not given up, and I love and thank my mom more than anyone else.

So please, learn from my mistakes. For those without eating disorders, please don't take anyone for granted. And those in my shoes, please don't be scared to acknowledge your problem and receive treatment. It's not easy, but don't give up, because by stepping out of the dark and getting help, you've made the biggest step to a brand new start.