What is an Eating Disorder

Eating disorders are illnesses that affect your daily eating habits and are exhibited by a person eating tiny amounts of food or going the other way and overeating way too much. This kind of eating disorder usually begins by a person either eating lesser amounts of food or eating larger amounts of food but often an eating disorder gets way out of hand. What is an eating disorder?

Who Suffers from Eating Disorders?

What is an Eating Disorder

What is an Eating Disorder

There are some who get upset about their weight and think that the only way to handle their weight problem is to either eat very little or eat a lot of food. Eating disorders usually occur with teenagers or young adults Examples of eating disorders are: bulimia nervosa, anorexia nervosa or binge eating. Also, eating disorders affect men as well as women. The question, what is an eating disorder, can be answered by saying it is a psychological and physical disorder that affects a person’s well being.

What is an Eating Disorder and Why Does it Happen?

Some eating disorders occur along side of an anxiety disorder or depression. Symptoms of Anorexia nervosa are: a fear of gaining weight, constantly exercising to lose weight, a low self-esteem, eating very little food and for young girls, problems with menstruation. With Bulimia nervosa, a person eats a great deal of food and then engages in forced vomiting or using too many laxatives to get rid of the food. What is an eating disorder?

Binge-Eating Disorder

Binge-eating disorder is when a person has no control over his or her eating. Some think that binge-eating is a reaction to stress, depression and not having any control in his or her life. Binge-eating, if continued on a regular basis, can lead to high blood pressure and heart disease. With this kind of eating disorder, the person often feels shame, guilt and emotional stress with what they’re doing. Eating disorders can be treated by getting better and regular nutrition, moderate exercise and support from loved ones. Psychotherapy and medication are also helpful in overcoming this kind of disorder. In some cases, staying in the hospital for awhile may be required; especially if a person becomes weak and unstable.

Treating Anorexia Nervosa

The main goals in treating Anorexia Nervosa along with other eating disorders is to bring a person’s weight back to normal, find out the psychological issues that brought on the condition and get rid of certain behaviors and actions that lead to the eating disorder. Research has shown that in order for a treatment plan to work with an eating disorder, there needs to be cooperation from the patient and positive feedback from family and loved ones. Once a person feels that he or she is getting support from loved ones and fully understand (what is an eating disorder)  and what led him or her to this health condition, then recovery will be more effective and productive.

by Vance Harrington