We’ve known her since junior high but it wasn’t
until after she left college the problem
developed. We kept in touch but I noticed she
was always on the petite side of sizes as we
would see her maybe once a year. It turns out
she has what is known as “exercise bulimia”.
Basically she has always been praised for being thin and she counts calories. She knows exactly how much she needs to exercise in order to burn off the calories she consumes in order not to gain weight.

During a recent stay with us she would exercise 2 hours after a meal and she is rail thin, her doctors have ordered her not to lose any more weight not even a pound as her organs will start to shut down. I didn’t realize how dangerous and eating disorder could be and how hard it is to get the help you need to change.

I put together a new site that is designed to be
an Eating Disorders Information Portal where you can get the latest articles and the various
eating disorders, as well as the latest news on
eating disorders and references to e-books and regular books to help people dealing with eating disorders. It is truly an information portal for anyone dealing with and eating disorder
personally or friends and family helping a loved
one with an eating disorder.

Eating disorders truly are a matter of life or
death, please use this site to help yourself or a
loved one to get the help they need…. It’s a
matter of life or death visit now.
All Eating Disorders.com

It is considered to be a psychiatric disorder in which a person fails to exercise control over the consumption of food periodically. This disorder is characterized by one’s incessant intake of large amounts of food at a time and during a binge bout, the person eats far more quickly than he or she does normally.

It is different from someone who eats out of hunger, for in binge eating the person is not actually hungry but eats still and keeps eating till the time he is on the verge of bursting. Invariably though, the binge eater feels sad, depressed, disgusted and guilty after the eating is over.

Binge eating is much similar to another eating disorder called bulimia nervosa. It is similar to binge eating because in this disorder too, the person has two bouts of overeating per week. However, in bulimia nervosa the binge eating is followed by extended periods of fasting or excessive exercise. This is their purging session. However, in case of binge eating there is no purging involved. Besides, bulimia patients are mostly normal weight while binge eaters are normally overweight, if not downright obese.

Binge eating disorder is also similar to compulsive eating but is distinct from it in its finer characteristics. For one, the the binge eaters do not feel the compulsion to eat, neither do they constantly fantasize about food. They simply have bouts of eating and start eating uncontrollably.

Quite surprisingly, some of the binge eaters do not harbor positive feeling towards food itself as food does not hold any special significance in their lives. However, people suffering from compulsive eathing disorder have an abnormally strong liking for food. They spend a great deal of time just thinking and fantasizing about food and eating.

All of these disorders are expressive disorders, meaning they are a manifestation of deeper and graver psychological complications. Many experts believe that binge eating disorder is not a separate category of eating disorder but is just a milder form of bulimia nervosa.

However, there are other specialists who insist that binge eating is distinguishable from bulimia nervosa and should thus be treated as a different kind of eating disorder. The final word on it is still to arrive. But for those who are worried about their eating habits must see a doctor so that a strategy to cure the disorder could be devised at the earliest.

Generally, anorexic individuals have the intense fear of becoming fat thus pushing them to have their dieting habits particularly with adolescent girls. They continuously think that they are overweight even after they become extremely thin, very ill and near death. Anorexic often have a strange eating habit like refusing to eat in front of other people or preparing meals but refuse to eat any of it.

Anorexic people have many medical risks including mineral loss, low body temperature, irregular heartbeat, shrunken bones, permanent failure of normal growth, development of osteoporosis and bulimia nervosa. Other anorexic persons show many symptoms of anorexia while others don’t. Symptoms include body that is inconsistent with age and build and height that is usually 15% below the normal weight. Other symptoms are loss of at least 3 consecutive menstrual periods for girls, not wanting or refusing to eat in public, anxiety, and shortness of breath, weakness, brittle skin, and obsessiveness about calorie intake. Other anorexic individuals continuously use laxatives without even knowing that the excessive use of the thing is harmful to their body. It wears out the bowel muscle thus causing it to decrease in function. These laxatives contain harsh substances that may be reabsorbed into the human system.

Since most anorexic individuals are women and with the fact that they are to be conceiving a child any time in their future and will be going through pregnancy stages, it’s like you’re telling the anorexic women that she has to gain 100 pounds. Anorexic women will definitely have trouble conceiving a baby and carrying it to its full term. The irregular menstrual cycles and weak bones make it more difficult to conceive. Both you and the baby you are conceiving could be in danger you being underweight and don’t eat proper variety of foods. Women with eating disorders such as anorexia have higher rates of miscarriages and the baby might be born prematurely thus putting them at risk for many medical problems. Particularly those anorexic pregnant women, they should always take proper pre-natal care such as taking pre-natal vitamins and having regular pre-natal visits. It is a good idea to enroll in a prenatal exercise class to be sure you are not overexerting yourself.

Generally, anorexic has a poor self-image, low self-esteem, loss of control and a yearning for a better body as they are obsessed with being thin. Anorexic individuals lose a lot of weight and terrified of gaining weight. They believe they are fat even though they are very thin. Therefore, they tend to starve themselves, avoiding high calorie foods and exercise constantly. Moreover, treating anorexic is difficult because people with anorexia believe that there is nothing wrong with them. Anorexic who are on their early stages of anorexia may be successfully treated without having to be admitted to the hospital. However, those anorexic who are with more serious conditions need care in the hospital and usually in a special unit of people with anorexia and bulimia. The patient often needs counseling so they can work on changing the feelings that are causing their eating problems. Most importantly, family and friends of anorexic individuals may help in making the patient feel safe, secure and comfortable with their illness.

Psychotherapy is the commonly prescribed treatment because experts agree that the problem is psychological. People often engage in bulimic behavior - eating and vomiting - because of low self-respect, distorted body image, insecurities, and other psychological factors like depression and stress. Therapists usually start treating bulimia by addressing the mental and psychological issues. They believe that if these negative perceptions are erased or converted, controlling bulimic impulses will be easier for the patient.

With all psychological therapy, it is required that the patient acknowledges her problem. She must accept that treatment takes time and effort - her disorder did not happen overnight, and neither will recovery. Given that, there are several bulimia treatment methods a counselor uses. Cognitive behavior analysis is the most popular of these methods. This type requires the patient to write a journal or food diary. Thoughts and daily food intake are recorded in the journal which the patient reads with her counselor. This will make the patient more aware of her eating habits and the emotion she attaches to her eating and food. The journal keeps everything in perspective, allowing the patient to see herself objectively, making it easier to address the emotional and psychological issues that trigger bulimic behavior.

A similar treatment is behavior analysis. The counselor suggests different rewards and reaction as means of fighting bulimic impulses. The treatment emphasizes the use of alternative activities and even food when the patient suffers bulimia attacks. For example, if the patient feels the onset of bulimic impulses, she can divert her attention to reading or taking walk rather than doing a fridge raid. Behavior experts suggest replacing the contents of the fridge and the pantry with healthy food like nuts, grains, vegetables, and fruits. This way, if the impulses become too difficult to resist, the patient won’t feel compelled to purge because the food she consumed were health foods.

Joining support groups is also an effective in bulimia treatment. Having other people with the same problem encourages the patient and provides her with a support network. Enlisting the help of family members and friends is also a healthy option because the patient is assured of love and support regardless of her weight. The patient had bravely recognized the disorder as first step in her battle with bulimia. What she needs now is to come to terms with herself, her relationship with others, and loving support.

Eating disorders are not just about food and weight. Often, eating disorders will result from a series of long-standing behavioral, emotional, psychological, interpersonal, and social factors. People who have an eating disorder will use food as a way of being able to feel as though they have control on their daily lives. For many, the pain of a past or current event is too overwhelming to cope with and so an eating disorder can be a way of coping with the situation by feeling “in control”. However, this disease will, in fact, damage a person’s physical and emotional health, self-esteem, and sense of competence and control.

There are numerous psychological factors that can contribute to an eating disorder. Some of these include feeling inadequate, depression, anxiety, anger and loneliness. All of these factors result in the person not feeling in control of their life.

From a personal and relationship standpoint, individuals may have difficulty expressing feelings and emotions, may have been bullied and teased and may have a history of physical or sexual abuse.

From a societal perspective it is important to note the impact that the media plays in influencing young people in regard to body shape and look. This pressure that teens feel to fit in with the right “look” can have a dramatic effect, resulting in an obsessive approach to appearance, weight, dieting, calories and so on.

The most common eating disorders are anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, and binge eating disorder. Scientists are currently examining a link between possible biochemical and biological causes of eating disorders. It has been found that in some individuals with eating disorders, the chemicals in the brain that control hunger, appetite and digestion have become imbalanced.

Eating disorders can become a destructive disease if not treated so if you suspect that a loved one is displaying any characteristics related to an eating disorder, seek professional help straight away. Research has shown that when dealt with early with intense treatment, eating disorders can be overcome. If left untreated, they can be fatal.

When the body isn’t getting the type of nutrition that it needs, there can be many consequences as the body tries its hardest to keep operating normally. The mind can suffer through depression and anxiety when bulimia is present, and a low self-image often pervades. One side-effect that is common in women with the disorder is a lack of menstrual period. The period may occur at irregular times, and may even stop occurring at all. The purging that occurs when one has bulimia can cause many dental problems as the regurgitation of stomach acids can wreak havoc upon the mouth. Cavities and erosion of tooth enamel are common in those with bulimia, with gum disease being another possible side effect. One of the most deadly aspects of bulimia is what it can do to the human heart. An irregular heartbeat may begin to take place, and heart failure or low blood pressure can be a result of bulimia. Ulcers may occur in the stomach, and the stomach may rupture. Bulimics can become anemic, and many face dehydration due to the lack of fluids present in their bodies. Intestinal health may also suffer, and constipation, diarrhea, and abdominal cramping may take place in those with the disorder.

If you know someone who is facing a problem with bulimia, it’s important to show your concern for their health. Be kind and compassionate when speaking with them, and be sure not to ‘talk down’ to them, as shame and guilt may intensify the problem. Most bulimics can only be aided by the help of a counselor or a doctor, so you should do your best to convince a friend with the problem that they should look into the idea.

Anorexia Nervosa: Anorexia is an eating disorder in which a person denies their body food and nutrients. Clearly, this pattern of self-starvation can wreak havoc with a person’s health. When a person stops eating, the body becomes weak and all the natural processes begin to slow down in an effort to conserve energy. When this goes on for an extended period of time, several serious health complications may result. The most serious health consequences include heart problems, specifically a slow heart rate and lowered blood pressure that indicate change or even damage to the heart muscle. Overall muscle loss, weakness, and reduction in bone density (osteoporosis) become possible. Kidney failure becomes possible if the body becomes dehydrated enough. A person with anorexia nervosa may manifest physical symptoms including dry hair, dull skin, and hair loss. Lanugo, the growth of fine hair all over the body, may also result. Lanugo is the body’s response to the body’s attempt to keep the body at a steady temperature. The anorexia patient may also become susceptible to fatigue, fainting spells, and consistent feelings of allover weakness.

Bulimia: Bulimia is another serious eating disorder in which the patient engages in a cycle of binge and purge sessions. Bulimia can be more difficult to detect than anorexia because the patient often appears to eat normally and usually maintains a normal weight. But bulimia poses several health risks. The recurrence of these binge and purge cycles may cause the body to react with chemical imbalances and electrolyte imbalance that can inflict serious damage to the heart and other vital organs. Specific health risks of bulimia include heart problems, including irregular heartbeats and even possible heart failure. Bulimia patients often suffer from dehydration and loss of potassium and sodium. This in turn causes severe electrolyte imbalance in many cases. Gastric rupture and other serious digestive problems can arise from constant binging. Rupture and inflammation of the esophagus can also result from repeated vomiting. Dental problems include serious tooth decay is also common due to damage from stomach acids from frequent vomiting. Bulimia patients often also suffer from irregular bowel movements and constipation.

Binge Eating Disorder: This eating disorder affects those who cannot control the amount and types of food that they eat. Often, a person with binge eating disorder will engage in eating binges, consuming a day’s worth of calories in a matter of a few hours. People with binge eating disorder often suffer from high levels of cholesterol and high blood pressure. These patients are at a much greater risk for clinical obesity, developing diabetes, heart disease, and gallbladder disease.

Anorexia nervosa is both an eating disorder and a psychiatric one at the same time. It is usually associated with body image distortion and is mostly encountered on women than on men. The fixed idea that they need to carve their body to a specific form deemed by our society as “perfect” leads individuals to harsh eating habits such as voluntary starvation, excessive exercise, taking diuretic drugs, taking diet pills and so forth. These are all components of the anorexia nervosa eating disorder and they may have extremely unhealthy effects on the stomach, esophagus and to the entire digestive system.

Purging through vomiting, laxatives and the “chewing and spitting” method are usually related to bulimia rather than anorexia. Bulimia has similar psychological causes but the main idea behind it is to “trick” the body in the eating process. By eating an excessive amount of food, individuals get the pleasure of eating what they want without caring for the nutritional value of what they eat and then by vomiting it out for example, the fat and calories from the food are eliminated. This process has two main negative aspects. By vomiting, acid forms up in the stomach and esophagus which can get damaged quickly and the body doesn’t receive the required amount of vitamins, minerals and other nutritional elements from the food, mainly because the digestive system doesn’t have time to extract them before they get purged.

So as you could see, in both these cases, an eating disorder is in 90% of the time triggered by psychological factors. The other 10% may include intolerance to some forms of food. For example, an individual may acquire a calcium eating disorder because of his lactose intolerance, although the causes for his intolerance may not be entirely psychological.

Medicine also considers having an unhealthy diet as an eating disorder. For example, a daily diet that includes a lot of fast-food, excessive roasted food, excessive coffee and alcohol drinking, lack of vegetables and fruit and other similar diets may form an eating disorder, or in time, lead to one. These diet eating disorders may not have a psychological cause, but they can easily be caused by our fast paced daily schedule or simply by the lack of variation in one’s eating habits.

http://www.anred.com is a wonderful site that can help you to deal with your eating disorder. There are plenty of resources available on the site which can help you with any questions that you may have. The website’s name stands for Anorexia Nervosa and Related Eating Disorders, and they are a non-profit organization which is dedicated to helping those with problems related to eating disorders. They’ve been helping eating disorder sufferers for over 25 years, with their first year of operation occurring in 1979.

http://www.mirror-mirror.org is another popular web destination when it comes to obtaining help with an eating disorder. There are several unique features on the site, including a ‘Survivors wall’ upon which one can write the story of overcoming their battle with anorexia or bulimia. People afflicted with an eating disorder can look upon this ‘wall’ and take in the knowledge that real people have been able to overcome their problems with eating disorders. They may also provide some significant knowledge that can be helpful in changing your view of the world, helping to pave the way for a change in your dietary habits. The site also helps to dispel many of the myths that surround eating disorders, helping you to learn what is true and what isn’t when it comes to the problem.

The National Eating Disorders Association has also composed a website which deals with the problems eating disorders can cause. Located at http://www.edap.org, the site offers ample opportunity for helping in the fight against eating disorders. It is well composed and it does a great job of showing that eating disorders are not a problem that you have to face on your own. They are a national organization which has provided numerous grants to institutions that are leading the fight against eating disorders, and they are a great place to donate to if you wish to assist others who are fraught with the problem.

These are just a few of the many sites on the internet that can be helpful if you are facing a problem with an eating disorder. There are many sources of help out there, and if you feel that you are facing a serious problem with an eating disorder that you need help to overcome, you should consult your physician or a counselor in order to speak about your problem before you cause significant damage to your body. The decision to seek help is within your hands and only you can make the changes necessary to save your own life.