Causes of eating disorders :

• “Still don’t fully know what causes an eating disorder. However, the latest research  is revealing that a combination of genes and environment is involved.”

• Recent studies have shown that  50-80% of the risk for developing an eating disorder comes from genetics.

• For vulnerable individuals, dieting is a ‘gateway drug’ to an eating disorder.

 

Types of Eating Disorders: Some of these fit into one another.

Anorexia - Not eating or eating very little

Binge eating - losing control while eating,

Bulimia nervosa - eating but then forcing yourself to vomit back up.

Emotional Eating - eating patterns due to emotions, could eat more or less when dealing with certain emotions.

Purging

Malnutrition

Food Addiction

 

Treatment :

• The first step for help should be to see your GP, who can give professional treatment recommendations

• There is little evidence that drug treatments alone work to resolve eating disorders, although they can be useful for related conditions like depression 

• Medical treatment - treating problems caused by malnutrition and purging - takes priority over psychological treatment

• Because nutritional factors reinforce and worsen psychological symptoms, it's important to resolve these issues before working on underlying causes.

 

Good Concept to understand:

You or someone else may not know they have a problem,

It's not easy to help someone who doesn't want help. Anosognosia is a classic symptom of an eating disorder, which causes patients to lack insight into their disease and fails to recognise that they have a problem. For parents, loved ones and medical professionals, this symptom can be incredibly frustrating, and often makes treatment more difficult. It's important to understand that your loved one isn't just being difficult – patients with anosognosia truly do not feel sick, and experience their own thoughts and behaviours as normal.

 

Getting help - speaking to your doctor

 

A question that is often asked by people recovering/wanting to recover from an eating disorder is, do I have to get professional help? The answer to that question is YES!!

Because it is difficult for an individual to get better themselves and a very few people manage to get better by themselves without professional help. Eating disorders are very very complex. If the illness is left untreated it can impact on physical and mental health.

 

Going to a doctor can be extremely hard for someone going through an eating disorder. Being scared of going to the doctors will lead to the patient putting off the appointment. But they need to understand that doctors are trained and well educated on mental health issues so they will guide you in the right direction and help with recovering.

If you are too scared of going by yourself take a close friend or family member for moral support, especially if you think it will help you open up.

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what to do if you are worried about a friend?

• Start by talking to your friend about what you have noticed. Be as gentle as possible and try to really listen and be supportive of what your friend is going through.

• If they open up then offer to go with your friend to talk to someone like the counsellor.

• If they don't want your help then go and chat to the counsellor yourself for advice. You need to look after yourself when you are looking after someone else.

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                          Further information on how to help a friend - click here