Important disclaimer and warning: Eating disorders are extremely complex. Each case is individual. There are no hard and fast rules. A diagnosis can only be made by an expert in the field.
Recognizing Eating Disorders
If someone you know presents the following behaviors, they may be suffering from an eating disorder that requires immediate attention.
Anorexia Nervosa
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Excessive fasting and dieting
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Disgust with body size
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Extreme weight loss in a short period
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Obsessive exercise routines
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Distortion of perception of body image
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Binge eating
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Eating in secret
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Bluish redness on the hands or knuckles
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Inadequate food intake leading to a significantly low body weight
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Obsession with their weight, intensely fearful of gaining weight or becoming fat, even though underweight and persistent behavior to prevent weight gain.
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Self-esteem is disproportionately related to their body image.
Bulimia Nervosa
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Frequent visits to the bathroom after meals
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Throwing up
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Frequent bouts of consuming large quantities of food followed by behaviors to prevent weight gain, such as self-induced vomiting
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Feeling out of control during these binge-eating episodes.
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Self-esteem is disproportionately related to their body image.
When confronted with their behaviors, strugglers are in denial as to the severity of their situation.
It is a popular misconception that eating disorders are merely forms of attention seeking that can be “rectified” through reasoning, lecturing, punishing or bribing. Unfortunately, this has been proven wrong and dangerous, and these methods usually make matters worse.
Eating disorders such as anorexia and bulimia are serious medical conditions requiring professional intervention. The struggle with food and body image is just the beginning. Left untreated, these self-harm practices cause permanent physical ailments and even death.