Eating Disorders Symptoms, Treatment and Complications of Eating Disorders

While overweight people are often ridiculed, sometimes it is not simply a matter of choosing to be overweight; sometimes it’s an addictive eating disorder. This is not to say that there aren’t some lazy people who don’t take care of themselves, but there are also people who would love to be healthy and fit, but have an addiction that is every bit as serious and difficult to control as alcohol or tobacco cigarettes.

People with eating disorders do not like food; for them it is an addiction. Anorexics regard it as an enemy to be avoided at all costs. Bulimics choose food that will be easy to regurgitate; binge eaters will eat whatever is in the refrigerator or cupboards, however unappetizing it may be; comfort eaters choose indulgent, easy-to-eat foods - cookies, cakes, candies, white bread, all of which produce short-term contentment by releasing serotonins in the brain.

What we are alluding to is the brains ability to reorganise or rewire its neuronal pathways that has lead to certain wanted or unwanted actions or behaviours. For example, in case of people suffering with eating disorders it is unwanted actions like negative thoughts about their body image that lead to the development of at ED. This could have manifested itself by starving, overexercising or binging and purging over a period of time

The second most common eating disorder is bulimia nervosa and the general symptoms of this problem are the person eats like there’s no tomorrow, and then instantaneously feels responsible about this loss of self control. The important point to note in this type of eating disorder is people suffering from bulimia may look normal but in reality they are extremely insecure people. In most cases they feel ashamed of everything about themselves and often get angry with their existence.

The difference between emotional eating and a normal diet is that emotional eaters don’t necessarily pay attention to their bodies signals that tell them when they are full. Instead, they continue eating to feel satisfied based on whatever emotion it is that they are feeling, not a physiological response. This is where the danger can occur. Eating for any other reason than because your body needs nutrients is not necessarily the wisest idea. Doing this over the course of years and years can lead to significant weight gain.

Let’s consider going with the resistance if you will, and cooperate with her desire and legitimate need for control. The reality is you both want control over her eating behavior. You want her to eat; she wants the opposite and is resistant to any attempt you make to get her to eat more. So, how can you as her parent give her a healthy sense of control?

People can also inherit certain personality traits that make them vulnerable to developing eating disorders: like perfectionism, tendency towards anxiety and depression, competitiveness, impulsiveness and extreme stubbornness. All these can make people vulnerable to developing eating disorders.

Hunger is a natural thing and has to be satisfied. If you deprive yourself of food needed to satisfy your hunger this could be the beginning of an eating disorder. Dieting in the short run causes weigh loss but almost 95 percent of it is regained in addition to extra pounds. What happens if you go off your diet is that you end up bingeing because the body starts reacting to what is called the built in starvation reaction which is natural.